What makes a good cheesecake? I need a majority opinion

[stealthsquiggle]

I am making a (surprise) birthday cake for someone and have been told that what she would really like is a cheesecake. Decorating ideas are, as it happens, transferable to a cheesecake, and I haven't made the cake yet, so that is fine.

Now I have strong opinions as to what constitutes a good cheesecake, but I have no idea if she (or indeed anyone else) shares them. So in the absence of more information from the cheesecake suggesters(I have asked for more) I need a majority opinion to go with...

no bake is best... I prefer the creamy texture... baked always seemes to firm.. and with unbaked you don't need the egg..

I prefer Lime to lemon.. I make a devine lime cheesecake.. strawberry and lime mini cheesecakes

and for the rest I prefer a really good vanilla cheesecake .. then you can add whatever toppings you prefer...

I did a cherry cheesecake last week and it was fab... though I did make a teeny huge amount of cherry topping that got used later on for pancake syrup and an addition to custard, which DH and DS tell me was delicious..

for the base i use the store brand digestives... with a bit of sugar if its not a very sweet digestive.. oh and a pinch of cinnamon..

lately i'm hooked on using the little ramikin glass dishes to make mini cheesecakes.

mmmmm

who would've thought cheesecake was such a divisive issue?

those funny foreign types often think it can be made with sponge. I say this with sadness having spent many years living in Switzerland and France and being lured into ordering cheesecake

Oh and don't even think of ordering "le pudding" - it's extraordinary.

I have a serious cheesecake obsession - and alternate between Nigella's New York and London cheesecakes - both baked.

Raisins in cheesecake are an abomination! Like most things in life the best way is with the least messing about!

Unbaked cheesecake is fine as a pudding in its own right, but definitely inferior to the divine texture and taste you get with a baked one.

You've got me drooling now, but sadly I currently have no kitchen and no oven, so no cheesecake for me. Will have to come back here to enjoy cheesecake by proxy.

tis cheesecake heaven on phillip and fern this morning too

I make a yummy bailey's and chocolate cheesecake and so far everyone has loved it. The base is made from choc digestives. It's chilled BTW.

It has to be plain vanilla baked topped with fruits of the forest - the frozen ones so all the juice oozes into the cheesecake.

Baked, biscuit base, plain vanilla, sour cream topping.

Hey - pidge - come back a minute. I am right now dithering between New York and London recipes (bearing in mind this has to be made tonight). Which should I do - it has to look pretty enough to be a birthday cake?

I promise I will take photos of finished article for everyone to drool over [hopeful]

No, not baked!!

Chilled all the way - either Nigel Slater's sour cream one with passionfruit toppng, Delia's lemon one with a mixed fruit topping (sliced strawbs, kiwi, mandarin, grapes etc in circles) or Nigella's cheat recipe from Domestic Goddess for Key Lime cheesecake - I made this last week, absolute piece of piss, and several people swooningly told me it was the best thing I'd ever made...

Hope it goes well whatever you make!

Don't do that to me, Lovecat. I have dithered so much, and now have a baked vanilla cheesecake and decorations looking good and ready to go (last minute assembly this afternoon). Except that I am panicking that the recipient will feel as you do .

Nothing I can do about it, anyway. I haven't got/can't afford another set of ingredients.

don't worry squiggle, they will be delighted that you have gone to all this trouble

even if someone made me the most vilest cake in the world i would be so happy and yours sounds very far from that.

I like all cheesecakes

I make orange cheesecake, which uses a can of orange juice concentrate mixed with the cream cheese. It is very simple.

I also love Nigella's chocolate cheesecake, but it is more a faff to make (because it is baked).

Generally baked (then cooled) cheesecakes are best - but there are some great non-bake ones too!! Have probably done all most of Nigella ones - London is a fave. Most of here books have at least one in them. A white chocolate cheesecake is much more like a vanilla one - its not vey chocolaty (I agree white chocolate on own is not good) but cooked up in something it does change in a good way .

If I had a chance I'd open a gastro pub and would have loads of cheesecakes on list - would need to rotate though..

Oh no! Didn't mean to make you - it'll be lovely, don't mind me - I've never eaten more than a couple of different baked cheesecakes and they were stodge city, so it put me off, but I'm sure yours will be gorgeous and the recipient very grateful!

Hope they enjoy it

Thanks for all your help/advice - photo of the result is now on my profile.

(and she liked it )

Unless you want it to taste really cheesy make sure that you only put 1/2 the amount of cheese that is stated on the recipe.