Dessert Dilemma: The One Thing I Don’t Understand About Cheesecake

Cheesecake is one of America's favorite desserts, but does it really meet the criteria to be considered an actual "cake"? Let’s explore.

There are many questions about the world that can keep us awake at night. For most folks, it's things like "What is the meaning of life?" or "If a turtle loses its shell, is it homeless or naked?" Recently, I found myself thinking a little harder than I probably should have about cheesecake after browsing the bakery at my local grocery store. Now, I love cheesecake, but personally, it seems more like a "cheese pie" to me. So, just what kind of dessert is it REALLY?

The Key Ingredients of Cheesecake

Before we dive into the debate, let's talk about what cheesecake consists of and how it's made. According to Southern Living, traditional cheesecake is made with a buttery pressed crust, most often made by combining graham crackers, a bit of sugar, and butter. The crust is then topped with a rich and creamy custard-like filling, mainly made up of cream cheese, sugar, and eggs. After it’s baked, the filling firms up while cooling to the perfect consistency to cut a slice.

What Is the Difference Between Cake and Pie?

The next part of navigating this dessert dilemma is determining the key differences between cake and pie. Southern Living describes a cake as something typically made by combining a mixture of dry ingredients with leavening agents, along with a mixture of wet ingredients like eggs, milk, and butter. The batter that is formed is then poured into a pan to make a bread-like treat. In contrast to cake, pie has a buttery pastry crust as the base and is baked with a sweet filling consisting of ingredients like fruit. Although, there are plenty of pies with a creamy base, such as pumpkin or custard pie—or perhaps cheesecake?

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Is Cheesecake Really a Cake?

Southern Living notes that cheesecake really resembles more of a pie structure, but due to its ingredients, it doesn't necessarily fall into that category. Rather, the website claims it's a hybrid of both pie and cake. As the first known origins of the dessert date back nearly 4,000 years, I highly doubt we'll be searching for a new name for this dessert anytime soon. That said, I'd still be curious about possible alternative names for this famous dessert that could easily catch on. Got any ideas?