Cheesecake: Cake, pie or tart? (Editorial)
This well-loved dessert is causing controversy. Is it a cake, pie or tart?
One of the most profound debates throughout history lies in the world of desserts. Specifically, a cream cheese and graham cracker crusted delicacy. For centuries, people have argued about the terminology and classification of this food: Is cheesecake a pie, cake, or a tart?
According to FineCooking.com, the beloved dessert is classified as a pie.
“[…] Let’s talk about cheesecakes,” said food writer Brian Geiger. “Generally cheesecakes are cylindrical, 4-6″ tall or more, have a baked custard center, and a crumb crust. With a minor change in appearance, any pastry that is a crumb crust filled with custard and baked, in my mind, is a pie.”
The opinion on the matter tends to vary among chefs. On Twitter, celebrity cook Rachel Khoo said the dessert is “probably more of a cake.”
Eater magazine copy editor Emma Alpern (eater.com) said “In these unsure times, even as anti-intellectualism takes hold in the Western world, we should look toward our institutions for clarity and guidance. Cheesecake is a tart.”
With these three very different opinions, what are we supposed to believe? When considering the factual aspects of the argument, answers are simple.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, pie is defined as a dessert consisting of a filling (as of fruit or custard) in a pastry shell or topped with pastry or both, whereas the definition of cake is a bread-like food made from a dough or batter that is usually fried or baked in small flat shapes and is often unleavened. A tart is defined as a small pie or pastry shell without a top containing jelly, custard, or fruit.
After careful examination of many different views from world-renowned chefs, numerous articles from opinionated writers, and three thorough dictionary definitions, I have come to the conclusion that cheesecake is a tart. The structure of cheesecake is composed of a somewhat pastry shell with a custard-like filling and sometimes contains fruit.
Despite the confusing terminology, cheesecake is by no means a cake. Also, since cheesecake isn’t topped with pastry, it cannot be a pie. Cheesecake is, and forever will be, a tart.
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Reese Daugherty is currently a freshman at Carlisle High School and this is her first time on Periscope staff. Reese enjoys playing the guitar and ukulele...
Ashley Ivanoff is a senior at Carlisle High School and senior editor of the Perspective’s section. She has been to eight different schools in the past...
AJ • Sep 19, 2024 at 11:50 pm
Not all pies have pastry on top. Graham cracker pie, pumpkin pie, lemon meringue pie, key lime pie. A tart is an open pastry case containing a filling. That does not describe cheesecake. Cheesecake is a pie, just lack other Graham cracker crust pies.
Pie-a baked dish, typically with a top and base of pastry. The word “typically” is important.
Kanna-Chan • Nov 29, 2022 at 7:27 pm
Okay, so if it’s not a pie because it’s not covered in pastry, that means banana/coconut cream pies are not pies, nor are pumpkin pies.
Nat • Aug 20, 2022 at 2:23 am
Shepherds Pie and Fish Pie both have no pastry whatsoever. I don’t think pastry defines a pie. Similarly there’s examples of sandwiches and burgers that get fairly blurry in between. I don’t see why it’s vessel should be the dominant controlling factor in what it is.
Helen • Dec 9, 2021 at 5:01 pm
But it is a batter and can be served without a shell where as tart cannot. In its most basic form it is a batter baked in a pan and without those elements it would not be what it is. It can be a tart it can be a pie but neither of those can be a cake like it can. Therefore cheeseCAKE it is.
Memenso Cash • May 22, 2021 at 4:22 am
It is a cookie with cheese dip already on top.
mb • Oct 6, 2020 at 5:48 pm
Professor Pie here…..
I am an educator who asked the question of his classes – Cake or Pie? Why?. Cheesecake received citations, almost ubiquitously, from the delusional dennisons of cake communism. To bolster my point, I did research. I pulled up the internet and typed in “Is cheesecake a pie or cake?” What happens? Better than Wikipedia…it’s Periscope. Bravo!!!!
Pie rules. Cake drools. Cheesecake is a pie.
So says,
The Professor
Luv • May 7, 2020 at 12:16 pm
Tarts are always ‘MINIATURE’ in size, especially in relation to the average pie. Cheesecake is not mini, it is a typical pie size. Also pie sizes vary from bite-size mini to extremely large, such as 6 ft pies at a fair. Also, There are different crusts which define what type of pie it is. I hope this helps sort out all the cheese-cake/cheese-tart/cheese-pie confusion.
The following is from:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pie
Pies are defined by their crusts. A filled pie (also single-crust or bottom-crust), has pastry lining the baking dish, and the filling is placed on top of the pastry but left open. A top-crust pie has the filling in the bottom of the dish and is covered with a pastry or other covering before baking. A two-crust pie has the filling completely enclosed in the pastry shell. Shortcrust pastry is a typical kind of pastry used for pie crusts, but many things can be used, including baking powder biscuits, mashed potatoes, and crumbs.
Jenni • May 7, 2020 at 11:56 am
Pies are defined by their crusts. A filled pie (also single-crust or bottom-crust), has pastry lining the baking dish, and the filling is placed on top of the pastry but left open. A top-crust pie has the filling in the bottom of the dish and is covered with a pastry or other covering before baking. A two-crust pie has the filling completely enclosed in the pastry shell.
(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pie)
Joli • Apr 3, 2020 at 5:51 am
You saying it cannot be a pie cuz it doesnt have a pastry top doesn’t work here. Plenty of pies don’t. Pumpkin Pie, Key Lime Pie, Lemon Meringue Pie, Bananas Fosters Cream Pie, Chocolate Pudding Pie. Your definition even says it /can/ have a pastry top, not that it /must/. So I think it could either be a tart or a pie. Maybe more of a tart, except that not all cheesecake has fruit or jelly on top. So I personally would say it’s a pie cuz of the Graham cracker crust, but could easily go into tart category too if you put fruit on top.
Gary McAuley • Nov 24, 2019 at 12:55 pm
The history of pie is clear. The FIRST PIES were not made with fruits, but were made with meats, fish, and savory herbs and spices. Likewise, the FIRST PIES were not made with a pastry top, but were “open faced”. Thus, a pie is NOT defined by it’s pastry top, or ingredients, but simply it’s pastry bottom. And so, Cheese**** is far closer to a pie than a cake, since it contains zero cake ingredients, but the cream cheese filling could easily grace a pie crust.
Sophia Natale Peck • Aug 19, 2019 at 2:26 am
Well cream pies are also not topped with pastry does that then make those not pies by extension?
Roman • Jul 11, 2019 at 10:09 pm
Referring to the Webster definition of pie, you reached your “tart” conclusion by stating, “since cheesecake isn’t topped with pastry, it cannot be a pie.”
But you’re reading the definition incorrectly. Look again:
“pie is defined as a dessert consisting of a filling (as of fruit or custard) in a pastry shell or topped with pastry or both”
So let;s break that down: A filling… in a pastry shell… OR topped with pastry… OR both – meaning it can have pastry beneath OR above the filling, OR pastry above and beneath.
Contrary to your statement, a pie doesn’t have to be “topped with pastry” to be a pie. Otherwise, what are all those poor pies topped with meringue or whipped cream going to call themselves?
Kailee sicocan • Apr 24, 2019 at 9:41 pm
I believe a cheesecake is classified as a pie because any desert with a crust should be classified as a pie. A cheesecake has a graham cracker crust & a filling which is what all pies have so I think that cheesecake is a pie. What really is the difference from a pie & a cheesecake? Nothing! Because both of them have a crust & a filling which are all uniqualitys of a pie. I love cheesecake, don’t get me wrong, but I will fight for a name change of cheesecake to be turned into a pie because that’s what it is. Lots of people in America who eat cheesecake would say the same thing that a cheesecake is a pie. What is the difference to you?