Cheesecake: Reviews

Updated September 2008

Okay, maybe there's not such thing as a truly bad cheesecake. But if you're looking to impress at a dinner party, or want a unique mail-order gift, a few companies get top scores for classic or innovative flavors, beautiful presentation, and creamy taste. We compared taste tests from food critics, plus checked user reviews for promptness of delivery, freshness and of course, taste. Below are the cheesecake vendors that stood out most clearly.

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Best traditional cheesecake

Juniors Plain Cheesecake

*Est. $30 plus shipping Learn More

Reviews call Junior's the best plain mail-order cheesecake, and it costs less than cheesecake from other purveyors. Tasters praise the rich texture and tangy flavor of this three-pound cake. It's firm outside and fairly… expanddense within, with an unusual sponge cake crust. The sponge-cake bottom stands up better to shipping than graham-cracker crusts, which can become soggy. That said, some reviewers feel that graham crackers are a better complement to cheesecake's creamy filling. collapse

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Expert & User Review Sources:

Cook's Illustrated Magazine: Cook's Illustrated staff review nine cheesecakes, Junior's of Brooklyn Plain Cheesecake among them.

The Wall Street Journal: The Wall Street Journal's tasting panel, which includes a hotel chef, samples five plain, traditional cheesecakes available by mail.

SeriousEats.com: Levine lists seven "indisputably delicious" cheesecakes in this update to his 2004 New York Times cheesecake review.

SeriousEats.com: Levine's top two mail-order cheesecakes are Junior's and Eileen's.

DavidRosengarten.com: David Rosengarten lists several of his favorite holiday treats, but we're not sure how large his sample size was.

Ask MetaFilter: A reader asks where he can find a great mail-order cheesecake, and 13 contributors chime in with suggestions.

Buy from Juniors

Best cheesecake for non-traditionalists

Eli's Cheesecake Couture Cheesecakes

*Est. $40 plus shipping Learn More

If you're looking for a cheesecake that's out of the ordinary, reviewers recommend Eli's Cheesecake Couture Cheesecakes, which come in such unusual flavors as burnt-caramel flan and Saigon cinnamon chocolate. Like… expandJunior's, Eli's does not use graham crackers in the crust, favoring all-butter cookies instead. Reviews say that the Triple Fresh Cheese Cheesecake is a winning combination of ricotta, goat cheese, mascarpone and a refreshing swirl of lemon curd. collapse

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Expert & User Review Sources:

The New York Times: Eli's Triple Fresh Cheese Cake and Burnt Caramel Cheesecake Flan win approval from a tough critic, Marian Burros, who's been writing this annual roundup of food gifts for more than 20 years.

Cook's Illustrated Magazine: Cook's Illustrated editors review nine cheesecakes for this article, paying attention to flavor and texture.

The Wall Street Journal: The tasting panel at The Wall Street Journal tests five plain cheesecakes that can be bought by mail order.

Ask MetaFilter: "Mail Order Cheesecake?" asks a reader at Ask MetaFilter, and 13 readers chime in with suggestions for cheesecakes that can be bought by mail.

Buy from Eli's