Cheesecakes

Cheesecake is a dessert consisting of a topping made of soft, fresh cheese, usually on a crust or base made from biscuit (such as a graham cracker crust), pastry or sponge cake. They may be baked or unbaked. Cheesecakes are frequently sweetened with sugar and may be flavored or topped with fruit, nuts, fruit sauce and/or chocolate.

Cheesecake was already a popular dish in ancient Greece before Romans adopted it with the conquest of Greece. The earliest attested mention of a cheesecake is by the Greek physician Aegimus, who wrote a book on the art of making cheesecakes (πλακουντοποιικόν σύγγραμμα—plakountopoiikon suggramma). Cato the Elder's De Agri Cultura includes recipes for two cakes for religious uses: libum and placenta. Of the two, placenta is most like most modern cheesecakes, having a crust that is separately prepared and baked.

In 1872, William Lawrence, from Chester, New York, while looking for a way to recreate the soft, French cheese Neufchâtel, accidentally came up with a way of making an "unripened cheese" that is heavier and creamier; other dairymen came up with similar creations independently. Lawrence distributed the cheese in foil, becoming a brand that is familiarly recognized as "Philadelphia". Later on in 1912, James Kraft invented a form of this cream cheese, but pasteurized it; this is now the most commonly used cheese for cheesecake.