July 30: celebrate National Cheesecake Day!

3 min read

Originally written on July 30, 2022 – updated 2023

Berry, chocolate, or just plain cheesecake…whatever your favorite, try making it yourself or visit a bakery, a restaurant or even a fast food to enjoy this sweet treat!

National Cheesecake Day, celebrated on this day, July 30, is one of the creamiest days of the year, and a day to indulge your favorite version of this dessert and not only!
Despite the original National Cheesecake Day was conceived and first celebrated in 1985, it didn’t really take off until 2001 when the power of the internet helped its spread, and now it’s celebrated all over the world!
Dating back to its invention by the Ancient Greeks, probably around 200 A.D., cheesecake was believed to have been one of the first “sweet” desserts in the world.
Or at least, it was one of the first to be written down.
A form of the dessert comes up as a recipe served to athletes. It has been found that the earliest attested mention of a cheesecake is by Greek physician Aegimus, who wrote a book on the art of making cheesecakes.
In its earlier time, this dish was originally made from a soft cheese but was probably very different from what we now know literally as “cheesecake”.
Over the centuries, it moved around the world and popped up as different expressions in different regions. For instance, cheesecake in Italy is traditionally made with one of local favorite, ricotta cheese, while in Germany and Poland are often made with a special kind of soft cheese called “quark”, and American cheesecake uses its own home invention, cream cheese.
But no matter local variations, cheesecake is a tasty invention that has developed and evolved over time into something that almost everyone in the world loves to eat.

How to Celebrate?
Celebrating National Cheesecake Day is absolutely easy! Just eat, bake and enjoy cheesecake of any variety.
Depending on the recipe chosen, making your home made cheesecake can either be simple or a little bit difficult. A true cheesecake recipe will be made from ingredients such as cream cheese, sour cream, and eggs, then baked in the oven for about an hour or more. It is important to bake it slowly on a low temperature to keep it from cracking.
Some simpler versions of cheesecake recipes are no-bake, which instead use the refrigerator to get cream cheese, whipping cream or other ingredients to set up into a dessert. These recipes typically do not include eggs as the cake is not baked. But they are delicious, too.
And get creative!
A slice of classic, New York style cheesecake is nothing to complain about, but some people like to mix things up a bit and get more creative. A version to try could be a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake, that includes actual chocolate chip cookie dough in the batter, and is topped with actual chocolate chip cookies.
Or Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cheesecake, with a tasty strawberry flavored cheesecake poured into a graham cracker crust, then finished off with a chocolate ganache topping reminiscent of chocolate covered strawberries. Really a dessert-lover’s dream!
Another advice?
Nutter Butter Peanut Butter Cheesecake!
This is another American favorite, peanut butter and Nutter Butter cookies are included in this recipe that is baked and then topped with a yummy peanut butter sauce and then garnished with peanut butter cookies….