. As in, well, a dessert follows every single lunch, every single dinner, without fail. I have my favorite types of desserts (warm pies a la mode I'm looking at you!) and my least favorites (bars, cookies, brownies ... just not exciting!), and then there are the ones that I just need to be in the right mood for. Like cheesecake.
There are times where I adore cheesecake. And plenty of times where I'm fairly "meh" on it. One thing I do know is rarely like chocolate cheesecake. And I rarely like traditional graham cracker crunch. I like more interesting crusts, I am fine with a simple, creamy, perfect texture cheesecake, or I enjoy it loaded up with toppings galore. And yes, I've tried a lot of
over the years too. In the mass produced front, I'm pretty meh on
- as they tend to be fairly reliable, rarely amazing, but rarely bad). The worst I've had in recent memory is
... just don't. Of course, that is all classic NY style cheesecake, I've also had my share of fluffy Japanese cheesecake, which is another thing entirely, like
Anyway. This brings us to Eli's Cheesecake, which, as you can guess, is a cheesecake manufacturer. They are based in Chicago, and spun off from a successful restaurant: Eli’s the Place for Steak. Yup, a steakhouse, that became very well known for their signature dessert: cheesecake. They branched out into making tons of desserts, cheesecakes and others, and while they still operate in Chicago, they are also available
and mail order, direct to your home. While mass produced, they still maintain high quality.
I've had the pleasure of trying *many* of their products, ranging from wholesale cheesecake and catering minis, to direct-shipped extremely fun items like their cheesecake pizza. Their cheesecakes have been hits at all the events where I have served them, and I continue to order regularly. In particular, they use very creative crusts, often made from things like crushed roasted almonds and caramelized sugar, no boring, dry, soggy, cardboard crusts here!, and incorporate a slew of different toppings, all while still having extremely high quality cheesecake underlying it all. All components are fantastic, and combine together wonderfully. Again, highly recommend.
If you don't have the ability order wholesale as I often do, you can have them shipped to you. I tried this out with a batch of 4 cheesecakes, and it was quite impressive. Recommended for sure.
If you order directly from Eli's, they come frozen, packaged in an outer cardboard box, inside of which is a styrofoam box with dry ice originally in it (mine was gone when I opened it up), with a final box protecting the cheesecake itself, which is tightly wrapped. They are clearly professionals at shipping these cheesecakes unharmed, although it really does generate a lot of packaging, and takes up considerable space.
First up, the regular "everyday" cheesecakes, where here of course everyday does *not* mean boring.
I LOVED the crust, made from crushed roasted almonds and caramelized sugar and salt, basically, almond praline crunch. Normal cheesecake graham cracker crusts are always boring and dry, and this not only replaced it with something better, but added an element I really *wanted* to eat, not just tolerated. It added an awesome crunch for texture, and sweet and salty aspect. Awesome. Also,
And then, the topping. A decently thick layer of sweet and buttery caramel. Oh yes. And more bits of roasted almond for a bit more crunch.
This really was excellent, although quite sweet from the topping and base, and obviously a rich item. I loved the non-traditional aspects, and it delivered in flavor and texture.
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| Salted Caramel Cheesecake. |
So I ordered the salted caramel cheesecake again!
The texture was different this time, still very creamy and smooth, but a bit more firm. In retrospect, I think the previous time it likely had just been served after being out of the fridge longer. Both ways were fine, but this was much more "normal" cheesecake consistency.
I again loved how creamy, yet not too "cream cheese-y" it was. And I again loved the sweetened crushed nut crust. And the salted caramel.
Just an all around great cheesecake.
Another update: I ordered it *again* for my group, and we again all loved it. So many rave reviews. And that crust ... really is the most unique, and memorable aspect. This one is solidly on our rotation, but, it can get a bit sweet, so I do like to pair it with a bit of whipped cream to cut the sweetness.
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| Blackberry Sour Cream. |
"Cream cheese combined with house-made Madasgascar vanilla French custard. Topped with crushed blackberry curd, blackberry chiffon mousse made with tangy sour cream and a bright shiny blackberry gelee." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor
"Our signature slow-cultured cream cheese combined with housemade Madagascar vanilla custard, topped with and intense crushed blackberry gelee, a tart blackberry mousse made with tangy sour cream and finished with a bright shiny blackberry mirror on our signature all-butter shortbread cookie crust." -- Eli's Cheesecake
I finally moved on to try another flavor, and selected the interesting sounding blackberry sour cream.
It was another very nice cheesecake. Not my favorite of their flavors because I don't really like blackberry, but, overall still a winner.
The cookie crust surprised me, much like the praline crust from the salted caramel cheesecake. I rarely like crusts on cheesecakes, but these are both so unique and do enhance the final product. It was kinda sugar cookie like, and I really liked it. Sweet, crumbly, went great with the cheesecake.
The cheesecake itself was smooth and creamy, great texture, not too sweet. I didn't really get much sour cream tang though. Maybe the sour cream was only in the chiffon mousse layer as described?
On top of that was crushed blackberry curd, which I didn't really care for, since, well, blackberries. But it was fruity and a nice compliment to the cheesecake, particularly if you like blackberries, I'm sure.
The next layer was the aforementioned blackberry chiffon mousse that actually wasn't very good, poor texture, not fluffy, and not tangy as expected.
And finally, blackberry gelee on top which was better than the curd, because it was just sweet and fruity rather than seedy (my actual issue with blackberries).
So, as expected, I didn't really care for the blackberry elements, but, everything else about it was good.
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| Blackberry Sour Cream (September 2018). |
I was quasi happy to see this one make a re-showing a few months later. I wanted to give the blackberry components another chance, but I wasn't optimistic. Still, I could easily remove them, and enjoy the rest of the cheesecake and crust, and, I had some
fantastic blueberry compote from IHOP on hand to jazz it up ...
I ended up not needing my compote. I ... didn't mind the blackberry elements this time. They all were fine. Sweet, fruity, enjoyable enough. Uh, ok?!
The cheesecake was very good, very rich, and I did detect sour cream richness this time. I again did like the buttery shortbread crust.
A winning cheesecake, no question.
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| Honey Almond. |
"Wildflower honey cheesecake, enhanced with the subtle addition of ricotta, is topped with a dreamy, crunchy layer of salted honey, toasted pistachios and almonds, a cloud of vanilla mousse and a mosaic of more toasted pistachios and almonds."
I got pretty excited to order the honey almond.
Seriously, how insanely good does this sound? I picked this one for a reason. It promised creaminess. Crunch. Sweetness. Clouds. Mosaics. Yes.
From the top, you could see the vanilla mousse topping (which, was indeed very fluffy and, uh, cloud like, delightfully sweet too). The "mosaic" was the garnish of toasted nuts, which gave more crunch to the whole thing.
Things were looking good.
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| Honey Almond: Side View. |
From the side, you can see the full detail. The top layer of the vanilla mousse was a great thickness, very generous, which I appreciated, since it was so good. My favorite component, actually.
Under that, the salted honey and crunchy nut layer. Oh yes. The salted honey looked like caramel, but it was most certainly honey based, just, a big thicker. I sadly didn't love the honey element and wanted it to just be plain old caramel, since honey isn't my flavor of choice. The crunchy nuts weren't so much "crunchy" really since against moist items, but were still good texture.
Of course, this *is* a cheesecake, you want to know how that honey ricotta cheesecake was right? It was good. Great consistency, firm but not too firm, slight ricotta flavor, slight honey flavor, very balanced.
A finally, the crust. It wasn't just a throwaway crust. It was crispy and sweet.
Overall, a good cheesecake. I liked all the layers, I think they complimented each other well, and I appreciated the different textures and consistencies. Not being a huge honey lover though, it wasn't my favorite, but still one I'd be happy to have again.
Seasonal
Eli's makes a number of special, seasonal cheesecakes, available for different occasions throughout the year, including lots of winter items (Hot Chocolate, White Chocolate Peppermint, etc), classics like Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake for Thanksgiving, and even fun items for St. Patty's Day. I've tried several.
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| White Chocolate Raspberry. |
"Tart red raspberries are the perfect foil for the sweet, smooth taste of white chocolate cheesecake, baked in a chocolate crumb crust."
For the winter holidays, Eli's makes a White Chocolate Raspberry cheesecake, with a chocolate cookie crust. This is the big 10" version, super tall, and beautiful. They also make a smaller version that is not as tall, has no back crust, and no whipped cream, if you are looking for something a bit less decadent. And a heart shaped one. But we had the mega one.
Much like the salted caramel, the texture wasn't that of traditional cheesecake, but was remarkably smooth and creamy, this one made from a mix of cream cheese and sour cream. And white chocolate of course. The white chocolate made it smoother, creamier, sweeter.
I really liked the flavor and texture of the cheesecake itself.
The crust was a dark brown, nearly black, chocolate cookie crumble, not my first choice of crust normally, but it actually worked really well. The chocolate and sweet white chocolate flavors reminded me of an Oreo, e.g. the cookie and filling. I really like how Eli's innovates on the cheesecake crust front.
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| White Chocolate Raspberry: Inside. |
The topping was a thin layer of raspberry puree. It was sweet, super fruity, and a good flavor match with the white chocolate too. There was some raspberry puree inside as well.
The final element was a bit of whipped cream garnish, which just made it look so pretty.
I really liked this cheesecake.
Update Review: This quickly became a favorite of mine, and I order it every holiday season (and stock up!). The cheesecake really is just perfect with the chocolate crust.
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| White Chocolate Peppermint Bark. |
"The perfect holiday dessert! Refreshing peppermint cheesecake topped with a layer of housemade peppermint bark made with white chocolate and bittersweet chocolate, topped with a sprinkle of peppermint candies and baked on a bittersweet chocolate crust." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor
"Refreshing peppermint cheesecake topped with a layer of housemade peppermint bark made with white chocolate and bittersweet chocolate, topped with a sprinkle of peppermint candies and baked on a bittersweet chocolate crust." -- Eli's Cheesecake
Another winter holiday special, white chocolate peppermint bark, one I was quite eager to order.
The base cheesecake was incredibly smooth and creamy, as Eli's usually is. I didn't taste that much peppermint in the cheesecake itself, but it was a wonderful base. Quality cheesecake.
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| White Chocolate Peppermint Bark: Side View. |
But there was plenty of minty flavor to be found.
The base was a chocolate crust, but not nearly as dark or Oreo-like as the White Chocolate Raspberry crust. It was also just the base, the crust did not extend up the sides. It was fine, a mild chocolate cookie crumble.
On top was a lovely thick chocolate ganache, and crumbled bits of peppermint, and a decent amount of creamy sweet white chocolate too. I wouldn't really say they were a peppermint bark as described though, mostly just chocolate ganache and peppermint candies. Which wasn't a bad thing. I loved the toppings, and they went really well with the cheesecake.
Overall, a complete winner, every element was good, and they combined together very nicely. I'd gladly get this again.
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| Irish Cream. |
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"Irish Cream cheesecake is layered with chocolate ganache and finished with Irish Cream mousse, a splash of chocolate and a dusting of cocoa, baked on a chocolate crumb crust."
For St. Paddy's Day, Eli's makes two seasonal cheesecakes, an Irish Mint Cheesecake and an Irish Cream Cheesecake. The Irish mint is a minty green chocolate chip cheesecake, with chocolate ganache and mint on top, in a chocolate crust, but we got the Irish Cream, also in a chocolate crumb crust, but with a boozy irish cream mousse and white chocolate ganache, which sounded much like Sweet Street's Irish Cream Bash that I've ordered many times (review coming soon!).
It was a very large, very heavy cheesecake, pre-sliced into 14 generous, 690 calorie each, slices.
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| Irish Cream: Side Profile. |
I loved the very top layer, super fluffy Irish Cream mousse, like a sweet flavored whipped cream. The main component of course is the Irish Cream Cheesecake itself, soooo very smooth, Irish Cream flavor that was not overpowering, but certainly detectable, and stronger than the cream cheese flavor.
The chocolate crumb crust was fine, just, dense chocolate crumbs, better than a graham cracker crust, but not particularly novel. The backside had a very thick chocolate crust. We all felt a bit underwhelmed by the crust.
Above the crust was a chocolate pudding though, a thick chocolate layer, not something I expected to find given the description, and given the other chocolate crust cheesecakes we had tried before that had no such layer. We like the thick chocolate pudding, but it did take over a tiny bit with the more subtle Irish Cream flavor, easily dominating some bites.
Overall, this was a very good cheesecake, solid execution of the cheesecake and crust, with my favorite thing being the mousse. Likely not the flavor I'd pick again, but, it was well done.
Specialty
Eli's also makes a slew of sampler cheesecakes, broken into segments of different varieties, for when you want to try multiple cheesecakes but only order one, and some other speciality items.
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| Candy Cookie Crunch Sampler. |
"We've combined our Caramel Cheesecake made with Snickers Bars, Peanut Butter Cheesecake made with Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (the top two candies in America), and Cookie Cheesecake made with Oreo Cookies (Americas #1 cookie brand) for the ultimate Cheesecake sampler...enjoy four to five slices of each irresistible flavor."
I thought all the candy bar cheesecakes sounded good, and couldn't really pick a single one, so I was thrilled to see this sampler pack, with their top three candy cheesecakes. No decisions required (at least, not at the ordering stage). Yes I had all of them (some just a small slice, others ... #seconds).
All were differently successful, but certainly represented their theme ingredient well. Candy bar lovers will be very happy with these.
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| Cookie Crazy Cheesecake. |
"America's #1 cookie and Chicago's favorite cheesecake! Eli's Original Plain Cheesecake with chunks of real Oreos®, topped with whipped cream, a rich chocolate drizzle and more Oreos®, baked on an Oreo® crust."
I'm actually not a big Oreo fan, so I only took a portion of a slice of this one. It ... really did look ridiculously decadent with whole Oreos perched on top of cheesecake, and yes, whole Oreos inside too. The crust was also made from Oreos, so, you really must like Oreo to like this one.
I, predictably, wasn't really into it. The cheesecake was a fine texture, smooth and creamy, just classic plain cheesecake, and, well, it was loaded with Oreos, that pretty much took over. The little bit of whipped cream layer perhaps lightened it a touch, but mostly, this was just heavy on the cheesecake and heavy on the Oreos. The chocolate "drizzle" was very generous but really wasn't detectable, given the dominant Oreos.
My least favorite but someone else in the group considered it the best. I happen to
actually like the Oreo version from Cheesecake Factory.
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| Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake made with Snickers® Bar. |
"Caramel cheesecake loaded with Snickers® Bars and creamy caramel, topped with vanilla cream, a layer of rich chocolate, and crunchy peanuts. Baked in a fluted vanilla crumb crust."
This Snickers one definitely sounded more my style, particularly given how much I loved the salted caramel cheesecake and this also had a caramel cheesecake base.
The color of the cheesecake was considerably darker than the salted caramel cheesecake, and I think perhaps the flavor was stronger (hard to say given that I didn't have a side-by-side comparison). It was smooth, sweet, and rich, and I really liked it, the caramel was obviously sweet, but it seemed fairly complex. I liked the bits of Snickers studded throughout, just tiny chunks, as they added a bit of crunch. I didn't find really any "creamy caramel" inside the cheesecake, but, the flavor of the base itself was plenty caramel-forward so this wasn't necessary.
On top of the cheesecake was a fairly thick layer of "vanilla cream", which seemed sorta like a vanilla mousse, it was heavier than the whipped cream topping found on their other cheesecakes. I think it might have had sour cream in it? I liked it too. Same with the thick layer of chocolate, quite rich, smooth, good milk chocolate. Both were delicious on their own, and great with the caramel cheesecake base.
The extra milk chocolate drizzle on top and pile of peanuts just completed the deal for me. Great textures and flavors, and it all came together wonderfully. The vanilla crust was not exciting, but better than an average graham crust. It didn't need something more interesting anyway.
It is cheesecake, and it is loaded up, so this is a rich slice of course, but I couldn't stop eating it. Hands down favorite, and I quickly went back for another ... for the next day.
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| Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake made with Reese's® Peanut Butter Cups®. |
"A childhood favorite goes glam! Creamy peanut butter cheesecake bursting with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups®, topped with chocolate ganache, vanilla cream, a chocolate and peanut butter drizzle, and more Reese's Peanut Butter Cups®. Baked in a fluted vanilla crumb crust."
I saved the one I was most excited for for last. Peanut butter cups have always been my favorite type of candy bars in general, and were always my top choice growing up - the type of Halloween candy I grabbed first, the Friendly's ice cream sundae I got, the Blizzard/McFlurry/TCBY Shiver/etc blended creation I opted for, etc. Chocolate and peanut butter just are a classic combo for me.
That all said, I wasn't quite sure about the peanut butter and cheesecake combo ... it sounded heavy. And wow, it was.
It uses the same simple vanilla crust as the Snicker's one, which was a good thing, as it needed simple and plain.
The cheesecake is ... well, rich. So very, very rich. Take cheesecake (already rich) and take peanut butter (also rich), and blend them together. And you get this. It was creamy, smooth, and extremely strong peanut butter flavor (they use Reese's peanut butter too), it was kinda stuffed with big chunks of peanut butter cups inside (more peanut butter richness). It was good, but definitely needed the other elements to balance.
The vanilla cream layer was the slight saving grace, offering a touch of lightness, but it was fairly rich itself, and a fluffier whipped cream I think would have helped more. The thick chocolate ganache added to the chocolate + pb theme, obviously, but it certainly was decadent too. And yes, it was drizzled with more chocolate and peanut butter, and had a big pile of peanut butter cup chunks on top.
Much like the Oreo cheesecake, this really requires that you love the theme ingredient. You can't get away from the chocolate and peanut butter in here. It ended up being just too much for me to have more than a few bites of at a time, but, wow, it delivered in the peanut butter department, big time.
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| Deep Dish Pizza Cheesecake. |
"NEW! Eli's dessert pizza: looks like your favorite Chicago-style deep dish, but it's Original Plain Cheesecake topped with housemade strawberry "pizza sauce" and white chocolate "shredded cheese."
This is a fun one, no question. A brand new offering from Eli's. I was fairly shocked to see how much it truly looked like a pizza.
When I opened it up, I even had people ask, "Wait, what, is that pizza? I thought we were having cheesecake." For looks, Eli's definitely wins on this one.
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| Deep Dish Pizza Cheesecake: Side View. |
The actual product was ok.
The cheesecake was fine, good creamy quality Eli's cheesecake, but the plain flavor wasn't as exciting as others I've tried.
The strawberry "pizza sauce" was the real downside of the cheesecake - although it looked good, it was just a thick layer of goo, and many people ended up scraping it off. It would be much nicer with bits of berries in it, but I know that would ruin the whole sauce look.
The white chocolate on top looked fairly convincing as melted cheese, even with shreds, but, there wasn't enough to really taste it, particularly with the generous "sauce" layer it was up against. I wanted to taste this element more.
And finally, the crust, which was also disappointing, particularly compared with other Eli's crusts that I have enjoyed. It was a fairly standard "cardboard" style crust, not much redeeming about it, no interesting texture, flavor, nor sweetness.
So overall, fine cheesecake, but plain, and the other elements were better for looks than for tastes. My least favorite Eli's product I tried, although again, it did look great, and I think would be a big success at a children's party.
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| Vegan Belgian Chocolate Cheesecake. |
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"Rich chocolate cheesecake made with semi-sweet Belgian chocolate and silken tofu, tops a layer of old fashioned cocoa cake finished with a dusting of cocoa."
Eli's makes great cheesecake, but, *vegan* cheesecake? Skeptical.
I was right to be skeptical. A cheesecake this was not.
The chocolate cake was fine, moist, and not "vegan" tasting. The layer on top though ... not cheesecake. It didn't taste anything like cream cheese. It tasted like ... a melted fudgicle that somehow got turned into a firmer custard ... with a tofu/soy aftertaste. The consistency was actually pretty nice.
Not for me really, but, if you were vegan, and you like cake, not cheesecake, and, uh, tofu taste, maybe fine?
Cheesecake-Cake Hybrids
I can't really call this next kind cheesecake, nor is it cake, rather, it is both. All at once.
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| Birthday Cake. |
"Scratch-recipe double birthday cake: a layer of moist yellow birthday cake topped with birthday cake cheesecake, hand-piped vanilla mousse and sprinkles."
I'll admit that I wasn't expecting to really like this. Cake is pretty low on my favorite dessert list (I eat it as a vessel for frosting and ice cream). Cheesecake, kinda the same. I'm just not one to get excited about cheesecake. I was most drawn in by the vanilla mousse and sprinkles, but it looked like a fairly generic cake.
But, spoiler alert, I LOVED this. Legit loved it. Not just "it was good for cheesecake" or "it was good for cake" or "hey, the whole is greater than sum of its parts". It was actually just insanely good
I devoured a slice of this faster than I thought possible, and *immediately* went back for more. I usually like to tell people how good something is, or encourage them to take a slice, but the moment I tasted this, I quickly shut my mouth. I didn't want anyone else to want it, because then there would be less for me. My co-worker agreed, sending me a chat moments later, "I wanted to tell the group it tastes better than it looks. Not that it doesn't look good but it tastes great. Then I decided to shut my mouth".
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| Birthday Cake: Side View. |
From the side view, it also didn't look particularly good. Again, it looked like kinda standard funfetti yellow cake, a cheesecake with sprinkles in it, and a fluffier top layer, all with more sprinkles all of it. It looked like it came from a generic grocery store bakery.
But it was delicious.
The cake layer was surprising. It had a nice vanilla flavor, and it was sweet, but in a good way. The sprinkles in it weren't a throwaway, they actually added a lot to it, in sweetness and a bit of texture. I wouldn't say the cake was particularly moist, but it wasn't dry, and it was fairly good just to eat, even as just cake with a little of the top frosting-like mousse.
Then the cheesecake, similar thickness layer as the cake. A very good cheesecake. Nice texture, good mouthfeel, thick and rich. Strong cream cheese flavor, lovely sweetness from the sprinkles. Again, I was shocked that the sprinkles seemed to add so much to it. It was good, just as a standalone cheesecake, but even better with the top layer.
The topping layer was about half a thick as the other two layers, but far more generous than a regular frosting. It was a fluffy, you guessed it, sweet, mousse layer. I really loved it too, and it complimented both the cake (as a great frosting would, but it was far tastier than standard buttercream), and the cheesecake (adding a light texture like a whipped cream would, but, tastier than whipped cream). I think this was my favorite component, but it is hard to play favorites with this one.
Also on top was white chocolate decoration, again, sweet, but somehow still in harmony with everything else. I liked it too.
Overall, this really just was fantastic. I enjoyed the layers on their own, I enjoyed them combined in different ways, I enjoyed them all together. It was just, well, fabulous. And although I describe it was sweet, it wasn't cloying sweet, just, certainly sweet.
Highly recommended.
Layer Cakes
Eli's doesn't stop at cheesecakes though. The cake line isn't all that extensive, and I've only tried a few, but they all feature very tasty mousse layers.
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| Moscato Berry Tiramisu. |
"This Italian classic pairs regional sweet red raspberries and blueberries with cream mascarpone mousse. Layered with tender genoise soaked in Moscato wine essence." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor
"Sweet red raspberries and blueberries layered with creamy mascarpone mousse and tender genoise soaked in Italian moscato wine essence add an irresistible fruity aroma to this spectacular dessert." -- Eli's Cheesecake
This was a serious cake. 6 layers, very tall slices, very thick slices (610 calories!). Our cafe cut them down in half, but they were still comically large.
But the size turned out to be totally practical. It was good. Very good.
The mascarpone cream mousse was my favorite part, creamy, thick, sweet, good mascarpone flavor. Tons of it. The berries went great with it.
I didn't really detect the moscato though, but the cake was sorta a "tender genoise", more moist than normal, so, I guess that was the soaking? I loved the soft pops of berries in it.
Overall, quite good, and I really enjoyed it.
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| Moscato Berry Tiramisu. |
The berry tiramisu has made a number of appearances on our lineup, so I've had the chance to try it a few more times.
The cake I've decided I just don't like. It is moist, but in a soggy way, not in a good way.
The mascarpone cream mousse though continues to delight me every time. It is great with fresh berries.
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| Tres Leches Cake. |
"Tender genoise soaked in the traditional three milks, layered with rich creamy mousse and topped with a dusting of cocoa create the perfect sweetness and density for our take on this classic Latin American favorite."
Another good cake. And it certainly wasn't a classic tres leches cake. But I'm not a cake person, so fact that this was half mousse, and half cake, worked for me.
It was a layer cake, alternating layers of the more standard milk soaked genoise with a creamy mousse. This one was only 4 layers, but just as tall as the previous one, each layer was thicker.
The cocoa powder on top was a bit odd, I'm not sure why they added that element.
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| Tres Leches Profile. |
The cake layer was much better than it looked, the sponge was indeed moist from the three milks it was soaked in (regular milk, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk). Still cake, but, light and moist, particularly where it touched the mousse.
The mousse ... it was very tasty. Light, fluffy, sorta like a cheesecake whipped cream. I liked it quite a bit.
Overall, a good cake. I might have preferred that it just be a mousse cup without the cake, but still, I was satisfying.
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| Another Tres Leches. |
Update Review: I've had this several times since, and liked it ... less. It isn't bad exactly, but it isn't what I ever really want. Cake. Eh.
My office mate, who does like cake, also found it dry, but we quickly remedied that by melting some coconut gelato and pouring it over it, to soak in, more like a traditional soaked tres leches cake.
Mini Pies
The majority of Eli's products are cheesecakes, but they also make pies. Individual little double crust mini pies that is. They come in only four flavors: apple, pecan, pumpkin, and cherry.
The mini pies all look exactly the same, with a dot in the center and slots on top, covered in large pearl sugar, double crusted. Only what is inside changes.
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| Mini Apple Pie. |
"Fresh Michigan apples and a hint of cinnamon, baked in an all butter shortbread crust, sprinkled with coarse sugar."
This tasted like ... McDonald's apple pie, or, at least, my memory of it. Or like the apple pies from
Drakes or
Little Debbie that sit near the registers at Walgreens and the gas station. Again, or, of my memory of those things. I don't really know when I last had one.
Anyway, the point? It tasted like a highly commercial, generic product. Which ... there were aspects of that I liked.
The apple filling was little tiny cubes of apple, in sweet goo. They were nicely cooked, not too mushy. There wasn't really much spicing, just a little cinnamon, not standard complex apple pie spices. It was sweet, it was generic, and it could easily have come from a can. And of course, that is the part I quasi-liked.
The crust was horrible the first time I tried one though. Not pastry crust, not cookie style as I thought it might be ("shortbread crust"?), just, kinda hard, stale cardboard. I liked the course sugar on top, but otherwise hated the crust. Since it was double crusted, the ratio of crust to filling was also horrible, way too much awful crust.
Overall, not something I wanted another of, but I quasi-enjoyed a bit of the filling.
But of course, I had another. This time, the crust was much better. It was still not pastry crust, and still not a cookie, but it was soft, sweet, and a bit crumbly. Not hard, not stale. I think the previous batch certainly had suffered somewhere along the way. I again adored the crispy large pearl sugar on top. Still not amazing fresh pie or anything, but, I liked it enough.
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| Mini Cherry Pie. |
"Tart and juicy Michigan cherries baked in an all butter shortbread crust, sprinkled with coarse sugar."
Next up, cherry. Which looked exactly the same, just, with some red poking through.
And it was exactly the same. Cookie-like crust studded with sugar, a little bit of filling-from-a-can, in this case, cherry.
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| Mini Cherry Pie: Inside. |
From the cross section, you can see the crust to filling ratio a bit better.
This one seemed less flavorful, which was surprising since cherries are usually pretty flavorful and juicy.
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| Mini Pumpkin Pie: 2017. |
Another one, this time a seasonal offering: pumpkin. Again, identical at first glance.
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| Mini Pumpkin Pie: Inside. |
This one was pumpkin filled. I honestly can't tell you much about the pumpkin filling, as it was negligible. This was much more like a cookie than a pie, basically, all crust, shortbread crust. The crust was fine, not particularly good if you wanted "pie crust", but not bad, and I liked the sugar on top.
Alas, this was not really a pie, and I did want to experience the creamy pumpkin filling, but for a pie-cookie, I liked it.
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| Mini Pumpkin Pie: 2018. |
I had one the next year, and this time, I was less enamored. The novelty of the cookie-pie had worn off, and now, just the disappointment of not having generous pumpkin pie filling was left in its place.
The crust was also softer this time. With whipped cream, it was still enjoyable, but, definitely not as good as my previous memories.
Tarts
And of course, tarts! The little tarts actually have pleased me quite a bit.
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| Apple Bavarian Torte. |
"Caramelized fresh Michigan apple slices with a layer of Bavarian custard, artfully arranged in a fluted graham crust."
From the top, this looked like an apple pie, sans top crust.
However, it was a "torte", with a dry, crumbly, thick graham crust on the back and bottom that I really didn't care for. Very ... sandy. Grity. Meh.
The apples though were good, huge chunks of apple, not mushy, not too "apple-saucey" if you know what I mean. They had a good bite to them and were well spiced.
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Apple Bavarian Torte: Inside.
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The "Bavarian" aspect of the torte comes from the Bavarian cream layer in the middle.
I was quite excited for this, because, uh, cream, but it wasn't very noticeable. Too thin compared to the generous amount of apple. I guess it added something, but, it really needed to be in completely different balance to be useful.
So the apples were good, the crust horrible, and the cream pretty useless. I enjoyed the apples with whipped cream though.
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| Apple Bavarian Torte. October 2019. |
Update Review: I had it again about a year later, and had very different experience.
The crust, which I hated the first time, was actually more like my favorite element. It was not sawdust, and it did not break apart easily. It was thick, sweet, and, with some whipped cream or caramel, a perfectly fine component, more like a cookie than anything else. I liked it.
The apples again were good, they were al dente in a way I liked, they had some bite. At least, the apples right on top. The rest, studded throughout, were soft, mealy, and ... were surrounded by applesauce like goo. Which really surprised me, as, my prior review said there was nothing ""apple-saucey" about it ...
Oh, and the cream layer? It was more obvious this time, a bit thicker, but I actually hated it. It wasn't creamy, it wasn't rich, it was like ... a custard that had separated. Grainy. I did not enjoy it at all.
I somewhat wonder if this item is just really sensitive to handling, and if our catering team didn't keep it deep frozen properly, or didn't defrost properly? I'm not sure how to explain the fact that both times had really odd experiences of texture and consistency, and in totally different ways.
I mostly discarded the entire middle layer, and only went for the firm apples on top, the crust, and then I added caramel and whipped cream. Which was perfectly good, but, it was sad to throw away half the item.
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| Butter Tart. |
"A sweet and gooey butter filling, baked in an all-butter pate sucree crust. Taste delicious served warm."
The shell for this was a standard pâte sucrée, not my favorite, but crumbly, buttery, sweet. Good when dunked in whipped cream, and served its purpose as a conduit for the filling.
The filling ... gooey, sweet, butter filling. Sorta like crack pie just not as sweet, sorta like pecan pie minus pecans. A rich gooey custard-ish. Butter, sugar, eggs. It was exactly what you'd expect from that ingredient list. Very sticky, almost like honey at room temperature.
It was fine at room temperature, but it needed whipped cream at least. The manufacturer recommends serving it warm, and I agree - it was much, much, much better warm, and even better with ice cream!
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| Pumpkin Tart. |
"A tender all butter pâté sucrée crust filled with a smooth custardy pumpkin pie." -- GourmetXpress, Disributor
"Custardy, light-spiced pumpkin pie filling in our all-butter housemade pate sucree crust." -- Eli's Cheesecake
These were great little tarts.
The tart shell was soft, sweet, buttery. All butter FTW. Far better than your average tart shell in that it wasn't hard.
The filling, creamy, rich, pumpkin custard, made with evaporated milk, powdered sugar, and "sugar yolk". A bit richer than your standard pumpkin pie filling, but that was not a bad thing. Nicely spiced with classic pumpkin spices (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves), none too dominant, but all noticeable.
Overall, a lovely tart, and of course, best with whipped cream.
Update: I've enjoyed several more of these, and found them quite fantastic each time. The richer ingredients definitely make it a less healthy pumpkin pie, but, I truly enjoyed them.
Cuties
For food service distribution, Eli's makes bars cut into squares, dubbed Cuties (for the 1" variety) and Super Cuties (2").
These come in a variety of flavors:
- Chocolatey: Fudge Brownie
- Cheesecake: Original Plain, Raspberry Swirl, Caramel Flan, Chocolate Swirl, Lemon Swirl, Cookie Butter Swirl.
- Fruity: Raspberry Macaroon Bar, Blueberry Oat Bar.
- Nuty: Pecan Bar, Florentine Honey Almond Bar, Seven Layer Bar.
These are their weakest products, by far. Also, just not items I generally get excited for anyway.
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| Pecan Bar Cutie. 1". |
"Crunchy toasted pecans and a traditional custardy sweet filling, baked on top of an all-butter shortbread cookie crust."
I first tried the pecan bar cutie, and was pleasantly surprised.
The base was a shortbread cookie crust, and on top was a sweet pecan layer. The crust was kinda boring and flavorless, but necessary to hold it together. This bar is really all about the pecan layer though. Eli's does describe it as "traditional custardy sweet filling", which is not really how I felt about it. The pecans were good, but not gooey like pecan pie. The coating was more soft and sweet like caramel. Tasty though.
Was it amazing? Nah. Would it be better if it was a pie? Of course. But for a frozen pre-made item, it was good. I just wanted some whipped cream with it.
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| Pecan Bar. |
Another event, another pile of these. I remembered liking them, so I was excited to have another.
Sadly, I didn't care for it this time. The soft caramel layer just doesn't work for me.
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| Pecan Bar - so inconsistent! |
Another day, another tray of these.
Here you can see that they even visibly look different. Such inconsistencies.
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| Florentine Honey Almond Bar. |
"Sliced almonds drenched in honey glaze, on a shortbread crust."
Next, another nutty variety, the florentine honey almond bar.
It was ok. The shortbread crust was thin and not interesting, but the sliced almonds and sweet caramel like glaze were tasty enough.
But certainly not particularly interesting.
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| Chocolate Swirl. |
"Rich chocolate cheesecake swirled with deep bittersweet chocolate, on a chocolate crust."
I moved into the cheesecakes, expecting better things, since Eli's full size cheesecakes are decent.
This was ... ok. Decent creamy texture, decent chocolate flavor, and I liked the chocolate crust. Good, but not amazing.
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| Caramel Flan Swirl. |
"Creamy, custardy caramel flan cheesecake topped with a buttery caramel swirl."
The caramel flan certainly sounded better, but, alas, it was really lackluster. Still a creamy texture, but, it had no flavor. Not caramel, not flan, and not even cream cheese. Did not like.
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| Cookie Butter Swirl Cheesecake. |
"Creamy Speculoos cookie butter, swirled into Eli’s Original Plain Cheesecake on a graham crust."
Things got worse with the cookie butter version.
The crust was soggy and mushy, gritty. The cookie butter swirl was also dry. The cheesecake itself, eh.
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| Lemon Swirl Cheesecake | . |
"Tangy house-made lemon curd swirled into our Original Cheesecake on a graham crust."
At this point I didn't bother try the lemon swirl, since it looked the same, and I don't like lemon desserts anyway.
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| Raspberry Macaroon. |
"An all-butter shortbread crust filled with rich coconut custard, topped with red raspberry puree and a white chocolate drizzle."
Meh to this.
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| Raspberry Macaroon Bar: Side View. |
The same dry shortbread base I don't like. The "rich coconut custard" was not really rich, not really custardy. But yes it tasted like coconut.
I kinda liked the fruity raspberry topping?
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| Blueberry Oat Bar. |
"Sweet blueberries baked with brown sugar oat streusel, on an oat streusel crust."
And ... another fairly awful bite.
Stale soft crust. "sweet blueberries" were just a bit of blueberry jam, generic as can be. The streusel was ... fine?
But overall? No.
