As you can see, I’ve chosen a very serious and important topic for my first real article on Patheos.
Cheesecake: is it cake or is it pie? Discuss.
This was something I needed to know today. I wanted to celebrate Pi Day, but I was too lazy busy to mix up a pie crust or go to the store.
I did have all the ingredients on hand for my favorite Instant Pot Cheesecake, though. (I’ve written before about how much I love my Instant Pot.)
So, I did what any self-respecting Xenniel would do — I polled Facebook, and I Googled.
The majority of my friends who responded — including one who is an mathematician — opined that cheesecake does count as a pie.
Google seems to concur. Per Brian Geiger at FineCooking.com:
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 addition of cream cheese is no more a disqualifier than the addition of bourbon would be.
So, in short, a cheesecake is a pie. It can also be a cake, but it can’t not be a pie.
So I made my cheesecake, and it was delicious.
Happy Pi Day!