18

Is cheesecake technically a pie or a cake?

I'm curious as to why. Are there solid definitions of what makes a dessert a cake or a pie?

stephennmcdonald
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Paul Biggar
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    This is one of those endless debates that will never be solved. The only definitive answers can be found in pie- or cake-baking competitions. I have voted to close this as way too subjective and argumentative. –  Oct 20 '10 at 21:55
  • @daniel: Interesting, I never would have thought this would be subjective. – Paul Biggar Oct 20 '10 at 23:54
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    It is, unfortunately. Is a pie covered with pastry or not? Does a pie need to have a pastry crust or a crumb? I _personally_ would consider cheesecake to be a form of tart, but you could make equally compelling arguments that it is either a cake or a pie. These sorts of canonical "Is this X? Is this the right way to make X?" questions are inherently subjective. –  Oct 21 '10 at 00:23
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    I like pie better than cake, and I like cheesecake, so that must mean cheesecake is a pie. – Bob Oct 21 '10 at 21:22
  • @Bob - my spouse loves fruit pies and dislikes cheesecake, so there's your counter. – justkt Oct 22 '10 at 12:32
  • Or is it a baked custard? – SourDoh Oct 14 '13 at 19:52
  • In the United Kingdom this kind of argument has ended up in court. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/vfoodmanual/vfood6260.htm – David Marshall Oct 16 '13 at 11:45

10 Answers10

20

Alton Brown and an Elvis impersonator called it a custard pie.

Tesserex
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  • Bump also for the Alton reference, but ya gotta help folks out who haven't seen that show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycxKlc4aYy0 – Bruce Goldstein Dec 09 '11 at 21:07
  • Oh no... They took that video down! It's one of the most important videos on YouTube?! – Daniel Aug 24 '20 at 20:33
15

In my opinion, cakes rise, pies have crusts that are filled (and do not rise).

By those loose definitions, I would consider it a pie.

edit: Wikipedia says it's neither.

Many types of cheesecake are essentially custards, which can lead a novice baker to overcook them, expecting them to behave like true cakes.

stephennmcdonald
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    @stephenmcdonald - I've seen an NY-style cheesecake rise more than some white cakes in my own oven. – justkt Oct 20 '10 at 16:47
  • @justkt - interesting...I must be making some other style of cheesecake then :) Did it taste lighter and fluffier than a regular dense cheesecake? – stephennmcdonald Oct 20 '10 at 16:50
  • @stephenmcdonald - it was pretty light and fluffy - first time I've had a recipe that was explicitly NY-style. And definitely yes to the wikipedia quote about overbaking! – justkt Oct 20 '10 at 17:08
  • @justkt what is the [rising/leavening] agent? Does it just rise from the heat? – mfg Oct 20 '10 at 17:18
  • @mfg - for this cheesecake, the sugar was beat into cream cheese, providing an air bubble structure (this is a best guess). – justkt Oct 20 '10 at 17:20
  • @justkt, that sounds delicious, do you by any chance have a recipe link handy that I could try out? If not I can just find one on my own but figured I'd ask first! – stephennmcdonald Oct 20 '10 at 19:37
  • @stephenmcdonald - just be warned that we got our results partially by messing with the heat (had the overcooking problem wikipedia mentioned because the custard concerned us), although it still came out great. It was the NY cheesecake from the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, which means any NY cheesecake from CI/ATK will do (google should help find one, pick your favorite). – justkt Oct 20 '10 at 19:58
  • @justkt - thanks for the info, sounds like a nice weekend experiment: a "normal" cheesecake the way i normally make it and the NY style from ATK side by side. I'm sure my wife will be very upset at having to help me taste test! – stephennmcdonald Oct 20 '10 at 20:39
  • Custard is the filling, which is what makes a cheesecake a cheesecake as opposed to an apple pie or an apple tart. However, there's a crust, and the crust obviously is not a custard -- the custard and crust combined are clearly either a pie or a tart. – Daniel Aug 24 '20 at 20:34
6

Cake

  • Straight sides
  • No fruit (except as an optional topping)
  • Holds its shape when sliced

Pie

  • Separate crust
  • Not frosted
  • Doesn't rise (except temporarily while baking)
  • No crumbs

Conclusion

Who cares, let's just have some cheesecake. :-)

Marti
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    plenty of "rustic" cakes (ex: buckle) contain fruit. – justkt Oct 22 '10 at 12:32
  • In some parts of the world, the mince pie (ground beef), is "frosted" (iced) with piped mash potato – TFD Jul 07 '15 at 03:47
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    Virtually all [bundt cakes](https://www.google.com/search?site=&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1439&bih=801&q=bundt+cake&oq=bundt+cake&gs_l=img.3..0l10.506.2158.0.2295.10.7.0.3.3.0.73.442.7.7.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..0.10.448.2YdHgnwKxFw) lack straight sides. – ESultanik Jul 07 '15 at 13:08
4

It is neither; it is a unique dessert category, the cheesecake.

It has structural similarities with pies (a custard based body, a mechanically separate crust).

However, in the US for whatever reason, it is referred to as a cheesecake (you will note that rarely will someone say, for example "I will bring a cake" and show up with a cheesecake).

The unique label doesn't mean that it is a cake in the same way that a pound cake or an angel food cake are, but we have lots of inconsistent labels.

SAJ14SAJ
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3

While it has texture and body of cake, I would argue that cheesecake has more pie-like qualities.

  1. It has a discrete crust.
  2. It is more a filling than a batter.
  3. It does not need to be frosted.

My vote is "pie."

Sean Hart
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2

Cheesecake is a filling and flavor, like chocolate. You can make it into a pie with crust, you can add it as a filling between layers of cake, or even have an entire cheesecake round as a layer of the cake. Cheesecake does not require a crust for proper preparation.

In the US Cheesecake is most often served as a pie with a crust on the bottom, so many will claim it is a pie, but there is nothing about cheesecake itself that makes it a pie, any more than pudding or mouse is a pie merely because they can be served as pies.

Adam Davis
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0

My mother made several cheesecakes and cheese pies as I was growing up; there is a distinct difference.

A simple cheesecake and a simple cheese pie have, more or less, the same basic filling: everyone knows the flavor/taste. But even these two have a subtle difference (and an obvious one). Obvious: The cheesecake stands taller and is square on the sides (as mentioned elsewhere here).

Subtle: A simple cheese pie has more of a custardy texture, whereas a cheesecake is very rich and thick.

Beyond that, a cheesecake can be made into many more varieties that a cheese pie typically does not: ice cream cheesecakes, mocha swirl cheesecakes... Cheese pies do not have the body to allow for some of the structures that a cheesecake can offer. This is because cheesecakes are best made with a springform pan, which allows for many different varieties.

Please peruse this book if you get the chance. It was my mother's bible as I grew up, and I use it today.

Jason P Sallinger
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-1

Cake in its origin is a form of bread, or break like food, so it must be a pie despite its name!

Katie
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The definition of cake is a sweet dessert made from flour, eggs, sugar and other ingredients that is round or square and that is baked. CHEESECAKE IS A CAKE!

CHEFJULIE
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  • So you're saying that 'no-bake' cheesecakes are pies? – Joe Apr 23 '15 at 16:59
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    Also, it's a massive overstatement to imply that cheesecake is made from flour. Purists don't add *any* flour, and those who do add it (as "insurance") will use only a tablespoon or two. – Marti Apr 23 '15 at 17:24
-3

I think cheese CAKE means that it has to be cake... look at the name for goodness sake.

Parker Hubley
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