Tired Of Overly-Sweet Cheesecake? Try Adding Bacon
Although cheesecake isn't quite pie or cake, its ambiguity is part of what makes it so appealing. A one-of-a-kind dessert that brings together some of the finest characteristics of many timeless sweet treats, a cheesecake is a love letter to pies, cakes, and cream-cheese stuffed pastries.
Cheesecake is marked with rich and tangy notes that dance under an on-the-nose sweetness. Although those sugary flavors are a quick fix for an emergency sweet tooth, sometimes those sweet forkfuls can go from comforting to cloying. If you're bored of cheesecake with an ultra-sweet flavor, consider adding bacon. Packed with a heavy-handed umami punch and some smoldering, salty, savory goodness, bacon provides a luxurious-tasting cheesecake with a new dimension of flavor that makes for a more complex-tasting dessert. The meaty machismo of bacon tempers the sweetness of the dessert, giving it a more balanced flavor profile that keeps those classic cheesecake flavors at the center of the dish. Plus, crunchy bacon is the perfect textural contrast to the moist, creamy texture of a cheesecake, upgrading not just its flavor, but its mouthfeel too.
To make a bacon cheesecake, whip up an easy batch of bacon and chop the lot into small, bite-sized pieces before sprinkling them over your favorite cheesecake recipe. That's all it takes to make a sweet and savory cheesecake worth coming back to time and time again.
Jazzing up bacon cheesecake
Bacon alone is enough to transform a sweet cheesecake from ordinary to extraordinary. But since you're already shaking things up, you might as well take it up a notch with additional ingredients that complement a bacon-kissed cheesecake.
Instead of regular bacon, try topping cheesecake with candied bacon coated in warming maple syrup and dusted with brown sugar, pulverized walnuts, and cayenne pepper for a subtle kick of heat. While you're at it, add a layer of creamy, sticky, peanut butter to keep the candied bacon from coming loose. Together, these ingredients culminate in a cozy, earthy, caramelized amalgam of flavor that gives sweet cheesecake a complete facelift. If the combination feels too overwhelming, opt for just one of the added ingredients.
Other options include drizzling bacon-topped cheesecake with golden caramel for a rich finish, or sprinkling dark chocolate for a pleasantly bitter bite. Don't hesitate to experiment with cinnamon, fresh figs, or a bourbon glaze. The world is your... cheesecake? Discover which flavors and ingredients work best alongside your bacon-crested dessert and enjoy a cheesecake that's cozy but never cloying.
