Junior's Cheesecake

Junior's Cheesecake is one of the more well known brands of cheesecake in the US.  It comes from a restaurant, Junior's, which opened in Brooklyn in 1950.  It has its roots as a diner and Jewish deli, but cheesecake is their claim to fame.  They have since expanded to several other locations, including a ridiculously busy one right near Times Square that I've walked by before.  They also run a wholesale bakery and offer the cheesecake for nationwide delivery (including through QVC, which I honestly didn't realize was still a thing!), and have some retail grocery partners (including Costco, which we'll get to soon).

So why is the cheesecake so "famous"?  First, it is a unique style, using a recipe with a sponge cake base instead of graham cracker crust.  And then there are the actual awards, like how NY Magazine conducted a blind taste test and rated Junior’s as the best.  And the celeb fans of course.  

At this point, Junior's makes a slew of different cheesecakes, in more flavors than the Cheesecake Factory even. You can get fruity flavors like strawberry, pineapple, or key lime, or crumb topped like cherry or apple.  A slew of chocolate options including a multi layer cheesecake and chocolate mousse, epic looking devil's food one with cake layers too, Oreo studded, etc, etc.  Of course they have seasonal offerings too, and low carb ones, and no sugar added ones, and mega 6 pound ones.  And plenty that I'm not sure really qualify as cheesecake ... if the dessert is 60% funfetti cake and 20% frosting and 20% cheesecake ... isn't that more of just a cake?  What about the one that is more brownie than cheesecake?  The restaurants also carry other baked goods like cookies and cupcakes.

I'd heard of Junior's long ago, and have walked by their crazy busy Times Square location many times, but even though I'm a huge dessert girl, I never had a chance to try it until recently, when a co-worker brought in a selection of the Junior's offerings sold at Costco.  Spoiler: I've been missing out!

Mini Variety Pack.

The offering from Costco is minis, truly minis, only 1.5 ounces each. The Costco variety pack comes with 3 flavors: Original, Strawberry Swirl, Chocolate Swirl.  This particular assortment and style is only sold at Costco, although they do sell bigger 4 ounce "Little Fellas" for $5.95 each at their restaurants.

Of particular note is that the minis are all crustless, which I know some people complain about, but frankly, given how much I tend to not like standard graham cracker based crusts, I see as only a good thing.  No soggy sawdust layer to scrape off!  That said, my understanding is that Junior's actually uses a sponge cake base, not a graham cracker one, on their full size pies, which does sound fascinating.  I'm not sure I'd want that texture though with creamy cheesecake?

Original New York

"These mini versions of our Original New York Cheesecake are perfect for parties and can be served with a variety of toppings.  Smooth and light, soft and creamy, heavenly and delicious. The Junior’s cake that started it all."

I started with the most basic: the original.  

I was instantly blown away by just how smooth and creamy it was.  Wow.  Exceptionally smooth cheesecake.  Almost too smooth even, as the consistency, particularly when room temp (which is how they recommend serving it, not fresh from fridge), veered into pudding territory (although it held its shape fine).  More chilled though, the texture is just fantastic.

The cheesecake flavor was pretty standard, not overly sweet, not particularly heavy handed in the cream cheese, just classic NY style (not ricotta based).  It didn't seem to have notes of lemon or anything else, just, pure classic NY cheesecake.  Sweetness level was just right for me. 

This was touch boring since just plain cheesecake, and no crust, but it really was a blank canvas, and easy to add fresh fruit, a drizzle of sauce, etc.  I'd gladly get this again. ****.

Strawberry Swirl

"Set your taste buds awhirl with a strawberry swirl! Enjoy the smooth richness of Junior’s Original Cheesecake blended with a delicious swirl of fresh strawberry puree."

Next up, the raspberry swirl.  I assumed it would be like many cheesecake brands, where the mini has a tiny swirl on top and no real marbling throughout, but this did indeed have strawberry puree in the middle as well.  The berry flavor wasn't super pronounced, but it was fruity and added a bit of interest to the base cheesecake.

The cheesecake body was the same as the original, just so exceptionally smooth and creamy.  No complaints at all.  I again chose to add some fresh berries to jazz this up a bit.  ****.

Chocolate Swirl

"The Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake is pure indulgence. Chocolate is added directly to the famous cheesecake recipe and swirled with the Original New York for a seductive marble effect."

And lastly, chocolate swirl.  I don't tend to go for chocolate cheesecakes, and although the chocolate here was minimal, it still was my last pick to try.  I assumed it would have chocolate inside like the strawberry swirl, but it did not.  So the chocolate component really was just that little swirl on top, and I barely tasted it. And otherwise, this was just yet another fabulous, insanely smooth, excellent cheesecake. **** for this one too, went great with fresh strawberries.