What Are the Different Types of Cheesecake Filling?

Valerie Goldberg
Valerie Goldberg

A cheesecake is a rich dessert featuring cream cheese as a primary ingredient. Eggs are another important ingredient used in cheesecake to help the treat achieve its best texture. Some people enjoy eating plain cheesecake, but there also is a large market for cheesecakes with different fillings and flavors. Some cheesecakes swirl an accent flavor through the basic filling like a ribbon, while other cheesecakes flavor the entire filling. Some popular types of cheesecake filling include chocolate, fruit and caramel.

Many cheesecakes have a crust on the bottom, and cheesecake filling can be placed between the crust and the main layer of cheesecake mixture. Extras also can be mixed into a cheesecake or placed on top. Chocolate chips can be added to a cheesecake to make the dessert more appealing for chocolate lovers. Melted chocolate also can be combined directly into the cheesecake mixture, giving the entire cake a chocolate flavor and a darker color.

Fruit is a popular item that can be added to a classic cheesecake. Strawberries, blueberries and cherries all work well on top of cheesecakes or swirled into the main cheesecake filling. When a person is preparing a cheesecake for a fall celebration, he or she may want to consider using apples or pumpkin as a filling.

Caramel is another filling option for cheesecake. A person can add caramel to cheesecake by drizzling some on top of the finished dessert. A sweeter cake can be achieved, however, when a thicker layer of soft caramel is used as a cheesecake filling above the bottom crust.

Some bakers make standard cakes using cheesecake as a center filling. Cheesecake filling can be made from scratch by following any standard cheesecake recipe. If a person is baking in a rush, then he also can buy pre-made cheesecake filling at a grocery store.

New York-style cheesecake, containing a lot of cream cheese, is sometimes considered the staple of the cheesecake world. It is important to remember, however, that many other kinds of cheesecake exist. Italian cheesecake is made using ricotta cheese instead of cream cheese. This type of cheesecake has an entirely different consistency than New York cheesecake and is popular with Italian Catholics around Easter.

No-bake cheesecake requires no time in the oven. This recipe leaves out the eggs and instead mixes ingredients such as whipped cream and vanilla with the cream cheese. While a no-bake cheesecake requires no time in the oven, one should remember allow time for the dessert to be refrigerated before serving it to guests.

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Discussion Comments


@browncoat - I like strawberry flavored cheesecake myself, although it's best if it's got a high percentage of cream cheese along with a topping of strawberry sauce rather than putting the flavor throughout the dessert.

A few years ago I tried making a cheesecake that had a swirl of vanilla and strawberry through it, which looked so gorgeous in the pictures of the recipe, but it wouldn't set properly. Unfortunately, I was trying to make it for a dinner party and I ended up having to go with brownies instead because I had a mix handy. So remember that cheesecake can be complicated. It's not always going to work the way you hope it will.


@clintflint - They always seemed to me like completely different desserts, although I suppose that also depends on what you use to make them. Cheesecake with a lot of cream cheese in the filling is my favorite, but I know a lot of people prefer a milder or sweeter taste.


My family always traditionally had a no-bake cheesecake during Christmas, which was made a certain way by my grandmother and then by my mother after my grandmother passed away. I adore it, but it was a real revelation to me to finally have cheesecake that had been baked when I visited Washington DC with my friends a few years ago.

It was so fluffy and creamy, I just loved it. I'll have to find a recipe and make it at home, although I know it will never supplant our family method.

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