Red Door Bakery

One great thing about traveling is getting to try out local bakeries.  Or at least, that's one great thing for me, as I love all baked goods.  Sure, there are other benefits (weather, culture, etc), but come on, I write a food blog, I'm often drawn to the food.  

My family lives in New Hampshire, so when I visit them, I'm always happy to try offerings from the local merchants, including a new one for me: Red Door Bakery.

Red Door Bakery began life in Vermont in 1993 as the Marshfield Cafe, which then expanded into the Marshfield Bakery and Cafe (to reflect the focus and addition of more baked goods), and eventually dropped the cafe altogether and became a wholesale bakery.  They supply grocery stores and markets around Vermont and New Hampshire.

"We are a family owned and operated bakery in Marshfield, Vermont! Our mission is to bake great, old-fashioned goods the way Grandma used to make them. We use wholesome, basic ingredients and make everything from scratch. Enjoy!"

The bakery makes a big lineup of cookies and bars, granola and breads, along with pies, which is where I focused. 

Pies

"We pride ourselves on our handmade, from scratch pies here at the Red Door Bakery. We use NO canned fillings, NO artificial flavors, and NO artificial preservatives. Our pies are GMO free. When you get a Red Door Bakery fruit pie, that's what you get: a real fruit pie! 

Our pies start with a light, flaky crust made with only three ingredients: King Arthur Flour, Cabot Butter, and water. Into this crust we put a filling in which the main ingredient is always real fruit followed by other basic ingredients such as sugar, flour, and spices which complement the fruit. Finally, each pie is finished with Gram's traditional, hand-crafted rope edge."

The pie lineup has all the expected fruit pies: apple, blueberry, strawberry rhubarb, plus some more interesting combos like tripleberry, blueberry peach, or even just raspberry, not a variety I see by itself often.  The fruit pies are all double crust.  They also make a seasonal pumpkin and pecan, and a few years ago I saw some of their cream pies in markets around town (peanut butter, chocolate, mint chip, berries'n cream), although their website doesn't list them now.   They make mini 6" pies and regular 9" pies.

Triple Berry Pie. 6".

"Our Tripleberry Pie includes three fruits: Strawberries, Blueberries, and Raspberries for three times the pleasure!"

I honestly would have been happy with any of the fruit pies, so I let my indecision be guided by the "why not all 3?" thoughts of the tripleberry.  It looked like a charming, indeed homemade, pie.

It was a good pie.  Not mind blowing, but a good pie.  The filling had a few distinct tiny blueberries, but was mostly a thick berry paste, not as goo-like as generic canned pie filling.  I did not really detect any raspberry seeds.  Nice flavor that was just vaguely berry, no clear berries stood out.  Sweet but not cloying (still a bit sweeter than I'd really prefer, but just barely).  3/5, maybe 3.5/5 for the filling.

The crust was well formed and sealed.  It was lightly golden on top.  Excellent buttery flavor, fairly flaky, not tough.  Even better warmed up.  I was pleased to have the double crust for even more of it, although there was substantially more crust than filling, so the ratios felt off.  It was a crust I was more than happy to eat, but didn't necessarily steal all the extra crust as I'm sometimes known to do.  3.5/5, maybe 4/5 crust.  

One slight negative mark is that the pie was actually pretty hollow under the top crust, so there wasn't much filling to enjoy with the crust.

Overall, as I said, a good pie.  Best warm, a la mode.  I was happy to eat it, I'd be happy to try more of their pies, but I won't go out of my way for it.  3.5/5.

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The French Spot

The French Spot is a small bakery in San Francisco that opened in 2022 (after some successful popups before that).  Run by a husband and wife team (he's the pastry chef, she's an artist with some pastry background too). 

"French-American-Asian inspired breakfast pastries (traditional and creative croissants), pastries, desserts, custom artistic cakes."

As you'd guess from the business name, they use classic French techniques, although the menu definitely isn't just the classics, as they incorporate many Asian flavors throughout (ube, guava, black sesame, matcha, etc).  I haven't had the opportunity to try their custom cakes, nor to visit their retail store, but I have tried several pastries that they distribute wholesale to my office, as I can't resist trying new baked goods.  For a wholesale bakery, the quality was a notch above many others, and I suspect their products are better at their own storefront.  I'd love to get to try some of their pies too, such as sweet potato or salted caramel apple.  If it matters to you, they have several well marked vegan and/or gluten-free items.

Guava Cream Cheese Danish. $6.

"Cream cheese Danish with guava jam."

This was the first pastry from The French Spot that I tried.  It looked relatively average, but I was still excited.

I’ll start with the positive.  The dollop of guava was delightful (and yes, I had an extra dollop on mine, abandoned by someone else, that I gleefully claimed).  It was fruity, sweet, and had a nice consistency.  ***+.  The cream cheese under it was fine, although easily lost, as there just wasn’t enough of it.  ***.

But then there was the pastry itself.  It was nicely crispy.  But it wasn’t particularly well baked, I suspect not properly proofed, as it had decent lamination, but fairly big air pockets within. The flavor was average, relatively buttery, but not anything notable.  If I had this item in a random hotel breakfast buffet, I’d say it was fine, but for an actual French bakery this was really subpar, particularly at the $6 price point.

2.5/5 overall, sadly.

Guava Cream Cheese Danish (April 2015).

A few months later I gave this another try.

It again was super flaky pastry that somehow just failed to be as tasty as it seemed like it should be.  Again, not bad, but, just not special (besides how crispy it was).  This one did have more cream cheese filling, and that was an improvement, it was nicely creamy, and had a hint of lemon to it.  I again LOVED the guava - so fruity, such great flavor.  4/5 toppings, low 3/5 pastry.

And then I heated the rest of the danish pastry part up at home later that night.  It was so much better!  The buttery nature really came out then.  3.5/5 warmed up.

Morning Bun. $5.25.

"Bun made with our croissant dough, filled with candied lemon and sprinkled with sugar."

Next up, a morning bun.  I was drawn in by the (generous) sugar coating.

The morning bun was better than the danish.  Like the danish, it was nicely crispy, and had decent lamination.  And like the morning bun, the flavor of the dough was fairly average, not really all that buttery or rich.  But it had no big air pockets, and seemed better baked, and I really liked the slight caramelization from the sugar on the outside.  Lots of sugar.  Very good dunked into my coffee.  3/5.

Black Sesame Mochi. $6.25.

"Black sesame mochi covered with black sesame seeds."

This was an interesting item.  The French Spot lists it as a dessert on their menu, but my cafe listed it as a "mochi muffin" and offered it at breakfast.  I'd call it a mochi cake, not a muffin, and I'm still not sure what time of day I think it is best suited for.  Perhaps afternoon tea time?

The texture was definitely bouncy and mochi-like.  Fun to eat, really.  Black sesame flavor was strong.  It was only mildly sweet, fairly savory almost due to the nuttiness.  And thus, it didn't quite satisfy my dessert cravings.  But I did like it.

I'd like to try one warmed up and served with some ice cream perhaps to make it a bit more dessert-like ...

3.5/5 for being interesting and enjoyable.

Ube Coconut Mochi. $6.25.

"Chewy ube coconut mochi cake. Vegan and gluten free!"

Next up, the ube coconut mochi muffin.  This one also happens to be vegan and gluten-free, which I don't think the black sesame one is.  

The texture was much the same, really quite a delightful squishy, bouncy joy.  I loved it both room temperature and heated up.  A+ texture.

The flavor of this one was more muted.  It had a nice sweetness, and very subtle vanilla-esque flavor, but if I hadn't seen the brilliant purple color, I don't think I would have guessed it was ube.  I didn't taste any coconut.  The drizzle on top did have more ube flavor than the mochi muffin itself.  

I really enjoyed this, as the texture was just fantastic and the sweetness was pretty perfect, but, it wasn't as ube nor coconut flavored as I would have hoped.  Still, 4/5 and I'd gladly get it again.

Vegan Blueberry Muffin. $5.25.

"Citrusy (orange & lemon flavors), soft blueberry muffin. Vegan!"

Next up, another vegan item (but not GF), the blueberry muffin.  It looked a little odd, and I originally assumed it might be GF as well, but it wasn't.

And, yes, it was an odd muffin.  I did actually like it, but, I liked it in its strangeness, this is not really what I'd expect from a muffin, vegan or not.

The top was dusted with a bit of powdered sugar, and it had no overhang, no real "muffin top".  The lack of overhang meant no crispy edges that I like, instead, it was all basically the same texture and doneness.  That said, it was very evenly baked.  But the texture was not what I'd expect from a muffin.

Vegan Blueberry Muffin: Inside.

Here you can see the cross-section of the muffin.  There are a few pretty obvious things immediately:

1. As I had said, no muffin top.
2. Very tight crumb structure, quite dense.
3. Uh .... where are the blueberries?

So let's talk about that texture.  It reminded me of a pound cake, or even the inside of a cake pop.  Super dense, super tight crumb.  It wasn't bad, but again, it just isn't what I'd expect from a breakfast muffin.  It was slightly greasy, but tasted fresh, not greasy like packaged muffins.

And finally, it turned out, the only blueberries within were the two I saw on top.  Each half of the muffin had exactly one on top, and zero, literally zero, throughout.  This was more of a plain sweet muffin than a blueberry one after the initial bite.  If you want some fruity flavor, you'll want to add jam or fresh berries (which, I did).  The overall flavor was good but hard to pinpoint - it wasn't plain exactly, but it didn't have a buttermilk tang, nor anything I could quite identify.  It was sweet but not entirely cake sweet.  It was a pleasant, neutral sweet taste basically.

So, lack of blueberries and muffin top, cake-like base, and yet I didn't mind it.  I do think it probably would be better as an afternoon tea cake than a breakfast muffin.  3/5.

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Traiteur de Paris

Update Review, June 2025

I wasn't particularly pleased with anything from Traiteur de Paris when I reviewed several of their products a few years ago, but they provide mini desserts for the catering company that my office uses sometime, so I'm a captive audience and tried more items.  I found a few bites that were actually decent enough, or at least, better than the others.

Mini Dessert Cups.

"Our Mini desserts cups with their intense color enable a meal or a cocktail party to be finished with a dash of freshness. In fact, these little glasses are always much appreciated and offer time savings for the caterers and event organizers. You can also use them as an accompaniment for coffee with dessert."

"The classic flavors (chocolate, lemon meringue, Tiramisu-style and raspberry vanilla) have been carefully chosen by the Traiteur de Paris chefs to achieve varied tastes which will please the greatest number of your guests."

This assortment of dessert cups come in 4 flavors: chocolate, tiramisu-style, vanilla & raspberry, and lemon meringue. I tried all but the later, as I don't generally care for lemon desserts or that style of meringue.

They also make an assortment with 4 other flavors: chocolate & whipped cream, "exotic" shortbread (mango/coconut/passionfruit), red fruit panna cotta, and vanilla caramel.

Tiramisu-Style Amuse-Bouche Glass.

"Biscuit soaked in coffee, mascarpone mousse, Chantilly cream, cocoa powder."

I appreciate that they call these "tiramisu-style" rather than just tiramisu, as they aren't exactly tiramisu.  That said, they were pretty tiramisu adjacent.  The little bit of biscuit/cake in the base was soaked in plenty of coffee, and was very moist and flavorful, although there wasn't much of it.  The majority of the glass was filled with a thick, rich mascarpone mousse.  It didn't quite taste like mascarpone to me, but it was really thick and rich, and had a nice consistency.  Chantilly cream on top was good too.  

Overall, a decent little dessert.  ***+.

Update review: I was so excited to see these a month later, but this time, I was much less impressed.  It just tasted so muted, so subtle, and the consistency of the main mousse was a bit grainy and not very pleasant. **+.

Chocolate Amuse-Bouche Glass.

"Chocolate ganache, chocolate mousse and cocoa sauce, white chocolate shavings."

This one was even better.  The base was I think the chocolate mousse, the lightest of the three layers.  It was basically just exceptionally good milk chocolate pudding.  Above that, I think the "cocoa sauce" that was thicker than most sauce but thinner than fudge, super rich, super chocolately, very good as well, and really amped up the over the top chocolate flavor.  And then, the top layer, the ganache, that was a bit thicker, far richer, and just pushed this into highly decadent levels.

Every single layer of this was a high **** on its own, and combined this neared ****+ territory.  The only slight negative is that I wanted something crunchy in here for texture - some cocoa nibs would go really far (and of course, I just added them myself).  But wow, shockingly good.

Update review: Yup, I had another of these a month later too.  It was definitely considerably better than the tiramisu, and each layer was good, but it actually was just a bit too rich for me this time around, and I found myself really wishing it had just some plain whipped cream to balance it out. ***.

Vanilla & Raspberry.

"Biscuit soaked in raspberry syrup, vanilla-flavored sabayon, raspberry jelly, raspberry and chopped pistachios."

This was the least good of the trio.  

The base was a fine crumble, akin to what some cheesecakes have, not what I'd consider "biscuit soaked in raspberry syrup".  Just, compressed, lightly sweet, crumble.  The "vanilla-flavored sabayon" wasn't really frothy like a sabayon usually is, and was more like a panna cotta.  It was fine, but, just a different consistency than expected given the description.  I really did not care for the raspberry jelly on top, just a mass of gelatin, not a good consistency at all.

So, the base was fine but not as expected, the panna cotta-like layer was fine but not as expected, and I quickly discarded the top.  Low ***.

Original Review, October 2021

I've reviewed many wholesale bakeries before, but most have been US based.  Traiteur de Paris, as you may guess from the name, is actually a French foodservice distributor, based in, yup, Paris.  They do however have a US based distribution channel, so I was able to order some of their goods.

"Your Personal French Chef Is Ready to Serve You! Traiteur de Paris - celebrated for their frozen hors d’oeuvres, accompaniments and desserts - offers true haute cuisine, heated and served by great restaurants, hotels and caterers around the globe. Once sworn to secrecy, this ultimate Chef’s helper is now available for gourmets and aspiring Chefs at home."

From their own accolades, their offerings sound great.  The "ultimate Chef's helper!"  Great to show off to your friends and relatives and make them think you are a great home cook!  Served at fine establishments!  Oh my.

Traiteur de Paris makes a large variety of items, but it is only the dessert line that I focused on.

Lemon Meringue Pie.

"Tart, fresh, and light, this lemon meringue pie offers a mix of wonderful textures and a presentation that is at once modern and elegant.

This incomparable dessert is made up of a bed of crispy butter shortbread topped with a creamy and lightly tart lemon custard and a dollop of Italian meringue.

As the final touch, the lemon meringue pie is sprinkled with flaked almonds, as well as orange and lemon zest for a refined finish."

Like most foodservice products, this arrives frozen, which seemed ambitious to me for meringue.  And you could tell, it was very deflated.

The crust was described as "crispy butter shortbread", but, that really isn't what it seemed like to me.  It was gritty and crispy, not buttery, and not anything like shortbread.  It crumbled like rubble.  And it had no flour, doesn't shortbread have flour?  It wasn't bad necessarily, but really strange texture and not shortbread.

The lemon layer I hated, as I generally don't like lemon desserts.  It was so tart and eggy.  And the deflated meringue?  About as good as it looked.

I did like the candied nuts.

I extracted the crust and nuts, and added my own whipped cream, and just made my own little crumble dessert, and was happy enough, but, uh, I don't think that counts as endorsing this product.

**+.

Gianduja Shortbread Cake.

"The Chefs of Traiteur de Paris have joined chocolate fondant cream and Gianduja nuts with crumble crunch to create a mix of textures and flavors that will dance in your mouth.

Ready to serve, the Gianduja shortbread cake is enhanced with a gourmet design composed of almond matchsticks, crushed hazelnuts, bits of candied orange, and crumble crunch."

This was ... pretty.  And it sure sounded fancy.  But I hated it.

The crust was gritty, which wasn't a problem itself, but the flavor was awful, I think I just didn't like the almond powder in it.

The "chocolate fondant cream" was indeed chocolatey and creamy, but, it wasn't particularly good.

The toppings were a mix of crushed nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios) and bits of candied orange, all of which kinda contrasted.  Not a fan.  But it was pretty?

* ... for looks.

Panna Cotta Mango Shortbread.

"A light and refreshing dessert, with a sweet note of coconut." -- GourmetXpress, distributor

"Refreshing and modern, the Panna cotta and mango shortbread is the ideal dessert for the summer.

Enhanced by a touch of coconut, the panna cotta is delicately placed on a elegant coconut crumble base. All is covered with a layer of gelled mango and several pieces of candied mango." -- Traiter de Paris

Since I adore panna cotta, I was pretty interested in this one, although, um, clearly it wasn't quite what I was thinking of when I think of panna cotta ...

This was ... ok.

The crust was my favorite part, a coconut crumble, kinda sweet.  I wanted it with whipped cream.

The panna cotta layer, in the middle, was highly mediocre.  Smooth, decent texture, but, rather flavorless and uninteresting.

The top was the worst part, just, mango flavored goo.

Overall, nothing wrong with it exactly, besides the goo factor, but, just not very good.

**+.

CARAMEL DELIGHT WITH SALTED BUTTER WITH GUÉRANDE SALT.

"Our Caramel delight with salted butter with Guérande salt is a dessert made of 100% caramel which have your caramel-loving gourmands swoon.

Offering a wonderful mix of textures, it is composed of a crumble base, topped with creamy caramel and an airy cream perfumed with caramel, all punctuated with crisp crumble bits. The surprise of this dessert lies in its tender salted butter caramel center (with Guérande salt)." -- Traiteur de Paris

"A crumble base is topped with a light toffee cream with a delicious filling of soft caramel Toffee and Guerande salt." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

How amazing did this sound?  Salted caramel.  Crumble.  "Airy cream".  It sounded amazing!

How amazing did it taste?  0 amazing.  Actually, no, 11000 amazing.  It was awful.

The crust was way too crumbly, and fell apart immediately.  It tasted like sawdust.

The layer above that was sweet, clearly caramely, so I guess it had that going for it if you want way overpowering sweetness.

The layer on the very top was also too sweet, but at least it was fluffy.  The crumble on top?  More sawdust.

The description was right about one part though - the only surprise was the gooey caramel in the center.  It was a surprise in that it was decent, unlike the rest of it.

Clearly, this dessert was not a winner, and, it seemed so promising!

*.

Fondant with Taïnori® chocolate from Valrhona.

"The pastry chefs of Traiteur de Paris have selected the internationally renowned Grand Cru Taïnori® chocolate to create an exceptional dessert. Containing 64% cacao from the Dominican Republic, this chocolate has an intense and fruity flavor profile.

The Fondant with Taïnori® chocolate from Valrhona® is meltingly soft with a smooth and gooey chocolate center that yields a rich gustatory experience." -- Traiteur de Paris

"Made in France, our fondant is made with 22% of VALRHONA® TAÏNORI® Chocolate from Dominican Republic (64% cocoa) and premium ingredients, such as whole eggs and natural vanilla flavor. Its fruity and intense flavor gives its genuinely unique signature." -- White Toque

Valrhona makes good chocolate.  I know this, I've reviewed their products before.  So, I was excited to try this.

But it wasn't served hot (!), nor with whipped cream or ice cream (!!), both of which were mind boggling to me.  Molten chocolate cake needs to be warm, and it needs something to cut the richness!  Clearly, not the fault of Traiteur de Paris, but rather of our catering team, but still.  Criminal!

So I tried a bite at room temperature, to evaluate, and then took it home to warm up, and serve properly.

At room temperature, it was fine, but boring.  Fairly loose chocolate pudding-like center.  Cake around the outside.  Fine, good quality chocolate, but not particularly interesting.

Fondant with Taïnori® chocolate from Valrhona: Warm!

Once warmed up, it was better.

The center really did turn molten.

But the chocolate flavor wasn't nearly as deep as I expected for something made with such high end chocolate.  I was surprised.

Still, fine, but a molten chocolate cake should be more than fine.

***.

Fondant with Taïnori® chocolate from Valrhona.

The catering team brought these back a few months later.  This time, also stone cold, and it didn't look like they had even *tried* to warm them up, whereas before I think they had warmed them, just, way in advance of service?  These looks like solid cakes.

At room temp, yup, just a soft chocolate cake.  Microwaving it made it properly molten, and adding mexican chocolate ice cream topped it off nicely.

Not my top choice of dessert, but, decent enough.

***.

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Desserts from The Cheesecake Factory

I probably don't need to write an intro the The Cheesecake Factory.

The quick background though, it is not, in fact, just a cheesecake producer.  It is a restaurant chain, started in 1978, with several hundred locations.  And they do everything ... big.

No matter what your thoughts are on The Cheesecake Factory, there are some things about it that do impress me.   In some ways, I feel like it is the perfect place to send visitors to the US to, as it matches just about every stereotype imaginable.  It's also a good place to go with a group that has just way too many preferences, as they serve any type of cuisine you could possibly want.

The menu has 250 items on it.  That is ... insane.   There are small plates, appetizers, flatbreads, pizza, burgers, sandwiches, chicken entrees, meatloaf, tacos, burritos, pasta, seafood entrees, steaks, chops, sides, and of course, desserts.  Seriously, everything.  And they run the gamut of every cuisine imaginable, from Italian, to Thai, to Chinese, to Mexican.  They serve brunch, lunch, dinner, and dessert.  There are some healthy options (kale salad!) and many ridiculously unhealthy, and, um, I'm not just talking about the cheesecake.  The Cheesecake Factory regularly "wins" for most extreme calorific content in dishes.  More than 100 menu items are over 1500 calories.  Some go over 2000.  Yes, in a single portion.   Even the chicken caesar salad has 1,450 calories!  (yes, you read that correctly).

And, well, the place is really popular.  On the rare occasions when I peek into a Cheesecake Factory, there is always a wait.  And the restaurants tend to be huge themselves.  Something about the place appeals to people.

And I kinda understand it.  I remember the first time I went to a Cheesecake Factory very vividly.  I was a teenager.  It was in Boston, the first city I ever visited.  My cousin from California was visiting us, and she wanted to go there.  It was a big deal to be in Boston in the first place, and, no one else in my family had heard of the Cheesecake Factory.  We were also entirely unfamiliar with so many of the cuisines served.  We didn't know what many items were.  But my cousin educated us, and helped us order.

We got the Thai lettuce wraps on that visit, an appetizer (that could easily be a meal, for multiple people).  I remember it because it was so different from anything I had ever had before.  A DIY-style dish, where you were provided with leaves of lettuce, bean sprouts, carrots, cucumbers, strips of chicken, curry noodles, and 3 dipping sauces.  The sauces were Thai-style, one peanut, one sweet red chili, and one other.  She showed us how to make our wraps, and eat with our hands.  I thought it was fun, but, the most vivid part of the memory is the sauces.  There was so much flavor!  Peanut sauce!  Sweet chili sauce!  Where had these been my entire life!

Since then, I've returned a few times over the years, usually for big group birthday parties, or, while at a mall.  I've gotten the wraps, and enjoyed them.  I remember trying a few other dishes, chicken, pasta, and more, and thinking it really was fine.  But, the last time I had food at the Cheesecake Factory was at least 10 years ago.

Until this past year, when I started exploring just the desserts, and then more recently in 2022, when I finally returned to get those wraps again.

Restaurant Delivery

Every Cheesecake Factory also has a very large area devoted to takeout desserts, with all 30 or so cheesecakes on display, plus the other cakes and whatnot.  I think most people can't ever actually order dessert after such ridiculous portion sizes for meals, but feel they "need" to get the cheesecake since they are there, and thus, you get it to go.

Or, you just go to pick up cheesecake, which I've had friends do several times.  I never took any photos or notes during these times though, when they showed up at parties with Cheesecake Factory cheesecake.  I do remember always being excited, the slices look incredible (also, huge), the flavors are ridiculous, but, I don't think I was ever impressed.

Encounter #1 2017

So, why would I get cheesecake from there?  Well, they were doing a free delivery promotion, and you know how much I like to use freebies as a good excuse to try something I wouldn't normally do.

Red Velvet.

"Moist layers of Red Velvet Cake and our Original Cheesecake covered with our special Cheesecake Factory cream cheese frosting."

I ordered the amazing sounding carrot cake.  I got red velvet instead.  It was warm.  Warm cheesecake is not appealing.  It clearly suffered getting to me via the delivery service.

But I still tried it.

It was ... well, kinda rich cheesecake and fairly generic red velvet cake, thick layers of each, topped with mushy cream cheese frosting.  Generic whipped cream on the side.

Any single layer of this was a full dessert on its own, combined sky high like this, it was just a massive undertaking.

It is hard to evaluate though as the warmth and resulting texture were just too off putting.

So I put it in the fridge overnight and tried it the next day.  Now, it was at least the proper serving temperature.

But it still was just nothing special.  The cheesecake was mediocre.  Creamy, smooth, but not particularly flavorful.  The cake wasn't too dry, but it also didn't have much going on.  The best parts were the cream cheese icing (a delightfully thick layer) and the white chocolate shavings on the back.

Maybe other flavors are better, but, this about matches my memories.  **+.

Encounter #2: December 2018

Another year, another free cheesecake day.  Another incorrect order.

Ultimate Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake. $8.95.

"Moist layers of Red Velvet Cake and our Original Cheesecake covered with our special Cheesecake Factory cream cheese frosting."

I've reviewed this item before, and I didn't like.  I did not actually order it then, it was a mistake sent to me when I ordered the crazy carrot cake cheesecake.  I did not like it then.  I would not order it again.  I did not order it again.  I ordered an amazing sounding White Chocolate Chunk Caramel Macadamia Nut Cheesecake.  And yet, I got this one again.

Sigh, seriously.  Mess up my order, but send me *any* other one to try!!!

I cut off a tiny slice to try it.  It was slightly better than last time in that it wasn't strangely warm.  The cake, moist I guess, but not in a good way, no real flavor to it.  The layers of original cheesecake were fine, creamy cheesecake, but, eh, I'm just not into plain cheesecake these days.  

And the cream cheese frosting?  Eh!  I really don't like their cream cheese frosting, which I just don't understand, because, in general, I do like cream cheese frosting.

Even the white chocolate shavings on the top and side weren't good, they were quite stale.  Sigh. **.

Encounter #3: October 2022

Cheesecake Factory obviously carries a large number of kinds of cheesecake, about 30 in fact.  You can get cheesecake layered with just about anything, with different kinds of cake, cookies, brownies, even tiramisu involved, mousses, frostings, and yes, even meringue, and then of course candy like Reese's peanut butter cups, Oreos, Snickers, and more.  You can get "Low-Licious" versions that are lower carb and no added sugar.  They don't introduce new flavors all that often, but this past year, for "National Cheesecake Day", they introduced an entire new style of cheesecake.  Not just new things mixed in to their classic cheesecake.  They jumped on the basque cheesecake trend, and launched a basque cheesecake, liking bringing this concept to many for the first time ever.

I obviously had to try it.

Classic Basque Cheesecake (toppings on the side). $11.50.

"Super Creamy Cheesecake with a Delicious and Uniquely “Burnt” Top, Covered with Fresh Berries."

First, I'll back up for the unfamiliar.  What is basque cheesecake?  Rather than a classic New York or Italian cheesecake, it is baked at high temperature (rather than low, and in a water bath, like traditional cheesecake), and always has a signature scorched top, almost like a creme brulee.  It is considerably more creamy, almost gooey, compared to a denser New York style cheesecake or grainer ricotta based Italian style.  In most cases, it does not have a crust, compared to standard graham cracker or cookie crusts.  And yes, it originates from the basque region of Spain.

The Cheesecake Factory chooses to serve this with a berry topping, rather than plain, which, honestly, seems like a bit of a shame because you cover up the lovely caramelized flavor and top.  I asked for my topping on the side however, which was easily accommodated.  It also came with whipped cream on top and on the side.

So, starting with the cheesecake.  I took one spoonful, and was impressed.  It really was remarkably creamy and smooth, so luxurious, almost like a thick mousse.  The texture was incredible.  The flavor, a touch sweet, a touch cream cheesy.  It had no crust, which I know is traditional for basque style, but, I did wish for some kind of texture, and added my own cookie crumble.  The top, a key element, was nicely done, with slight caramelization and additional sweetness.  This was the kind of dessert you take one spoonful of, and just can't stop, because the texture is just that compelling.  ****+.

The whipped cream was just standard housemade whipped cream, sweetened.  It was nice to have that more airy component alongside the thicker, richer cheesecake, but it wasn't necessary.  

The only negative marks I give this are the "fresh berries".  They were, well, not fresh berries.  The topping came on the side, in a cup, as requested, and were certainly sweetened and stewed, more like the kind of fruity topping you get on decadent pancakes or french toast or waffles.  Soft and very, very sweet.  The mix was chunks of strawberries and whole blueberries.  It was actually quite tasty, and the portion large.   It think was fabulous warm and served over ice cream, or mixed in to yogurt, but, "fresh berries" it was not, and it was really quite sweet, and dominated the subtle flavor of the cheesecake.  ** for "fresh berries" and a topping with this cheesecake, but actually **** if I used it in other ways.

So overall, this was really a joy, and I liked it more than any other Cheesecake Factory dessert.  I'd certainly get it again. ****.

And if you are wondering, like everything at the Cheesecake Factory, it is a hefty 1,150 calories per slice, and I'm not sure if that includes the topping.  This is higher than their regular (plain) cheesecake.

Most of the cheesecakes are $10.50, but this one was $1 more, I think due to the fruit topping.

Vanilla Ice Cream.  $1.95.

To any dessert, you can add a scoop of ice cream.  It is made by Dryer's, a special receipt just for them.  I added one to my cheesecake, even though I planned to eat it separately.  It was a generous scoop, served in its own container.

It was absolutely fine ice cream.  Not super premium, not go out of your way for it, but totally acceptable ice cream.  Decent vanilla flavor.  Slightly crystalized, but that may have been due to delivery.

For $1.95, this is likely one of the cheapest scoops of ice cream you can get anywhere!  It isn't available a la carte though, even just a kid's scoop of ice cream is $4.95, so the add-on is really where the value is (the adult version is $7.95).  ***+.

Encounter #4: July 2023

In the summer of 2023, Cheesecake Factory introduced a new rewards program.  As part of it, you get a free slice within 14 days of your birthday.  If you know me, you know how much I love a freebie, so, obviously, I was interested in checking this out, particularly after discovering the shockingly good basque style cheesecake a few months prior.

For my birthday reward, I could select any slice of cheesecake, or the layer cakes (chocolate, carrot, etc).  The timing was such that I wasn't really in the mood for cheesecake though, as I had just ordered it from Empire Pizza a few days prior, and doubled up on the traditional NY and snicker's versions then (which, by the way, the traditional one, from J.M. Rosen, was incredible!).  But I also wasn't in the mood for classic layer cakes.  Luckily for me, Cheesecake Factory has a plethora of cheesecake-adjacent items to pick from, all of which have cheesecake in them somewhere, but include mouses, sponge cakes, tons of candy, etc, and would have plenty to offer in addition to the cheesecake elements.

Even with my preferences and current mood restricting my choices down slightly, it was exceptionally hard to make a decision, particularly because a brand new cheesecake, the cookie dough lovers one, launched the day I swung in to pick up my treat.

Tiramisu Cheesecake. $10.50.

"Our Wonderful Cheesecake and Tiramisu Combined into one Amazing Dessert!"

I settled on the tiramisu cheesecake, thinking I'd mostly eat the tiramisu layers at the time, and have the cheesecake in a day or two, when I wanted cheesecake again.  Essentially, both hedging my bets against not loving one or the other, AND getting dessert for two different days, and two different moods (like all Cheesecake Factory menu items, nothing is really designed to be a single serving for one person).

The cheesecake really does look like the two desserts in one: tiramisu base, cheesecake middle, tiramisu top, plus lots of extra creams.  I was pretty excited to dig in.

So, what did we have?  First the base, not a traditional crust of any kind, but rather, a cake layer, that had a few darker spots like it had been soaked with coffee/marsala.  But this didn't seem to be the traditional ladyfinger element you'd expect from a tiramisu (that was up a few layers).  It layer was actually pretty awful.  The cake was really mushy, in a very strange way, like bad gluten-free desserts.  But this is not gluten-free.  It was mush, it felt apart strangely, and tasted like mushy sawdust.  I was surprised by how bad this layer was. *.

Above that was a very thin layer of extremely rich cheesecake, or perhaps it was just a layer of sweetened mascarpone cream?  It had a thick consistency, was quite heavy, and seemed out of place between the awful mushy cake base, and classic tiramisu layer above it.  It might have been fine in another setting, but here, it weighed everything down, and even though so thin, dominated the flavor of the bottom half of the dessert.  **.

Then, above that, essentially in the middle, is what you'd expect from tiramisu, coffee liqueur and marsala soaked lady fingers.  This layer was also pretty thin, but, decent.  Very moist, great soak.  It didn't taste quite as strongly of coffee as it looked like it should, given the generous soak, but, this was a decent enough layer, and very classic tiramisu.  ***.

Then, we get to the main component, cheesecake.  This layer dominated, the thickest of the layers.  I think it was supposed to be a light coffee flavored cheesecake, but it tasted sorta caramel flavored to me.  It was smooth, creamy, fairly classic cheesecake, sweeter than I expected (hence the caramel notes, not coffee).  As expected, I didn't really want it at the time, but, it was a nice enough standalone cheesecake to have later.  ***.

Then, the top layer, back to traditional tiramisu, this was a sweetened mascarpone layer, about the same thickness as the ladyfinger layer.  Again, classic tiramisu.  Thick, rich, sweet but not too sweet.  It was topped with cocoa powder which brought in a needed chocolate element.  ***.

But this is the Cheesecake Factory, and the decadence doesn't stop there.  The garnish on top was a big puff of chocolate (tiramisu?) flavored cream.  It was clearly not fresh whipped cream, more stable and firm.  I liked having the light chocolate flavor, and enjoyed it with strawberries at home that afternoon as a snack.  ***.

And finally, like all Cheesecake Factory desserts, it came with whipped cream that they add to order.  The takeout container even has a slot for it. This is very rich whipped cream, if that makes any sense.  More stable than what comes out of a grocery store can, significantly thicker and richer.  And very sweet.  ***.

Overall, the cake base was a disaster, and I tried to like it/understand it, but, really didn't want it.  The ladyfinger layer and the top mascarpone layer with cocoa powder and some of the whipped cream made for a decent enough tiramisu, but not one I'd rave about.  Same with the main cheesecake layer and the chocolate cream topping.  Overall: very average, not special, and not something I'd get again.  **+.

If you do actually just want tiramisu, they do also make a classic tiramisu, that looks and sounds pretty classic: "Italian Custard Made with Mascarpone, Whipped Cream, Lady Fingers, Chocolate, Marsala and Coffee Liqueur".  Strangely, that item wasn't available as my birthday perk, even though all the other cakes were.

This is one of the few cheesecakes that clocks in under 1000 calories per slice, at 980, so, if you are looking for a lighter option, but not just plain cheesecake, this could be a nice pick too.

Encounter #4: August 2024

Another year rolled by, and it was time to redeem my annual free birthday cheesecake slice reward.  As always, I was tempted again to go for some of the crazy looking ones (the cookie dough one with chocolate chip cookie crust, gobs of cookie dough and chocolate chips and nuts throughout, and, zomg, cookie dough frosting on top really called out), or to lean into the birthday idea and get the celebration slice (which has funfetti cake, and strawberry mousse, chocolate mousse, vanilla mousse, and of course, cheesecake, which seems like a hedging your bets kind of slice ... surely at least 1-2 of those components must be good right?), or to play it safe and get the basque cheesecake that has been my favorite so far.  But after reading a number of reviews that all rave about the simple vanilla bean, I decided to go for it.  Sometimes, simple really can be effective right?

Vanilla Bean. $11.50.

"Creamy Vanilla Bean Cheesecake, Topped with Vanilla Mousse and Whipped Cream."

Like all slices, it came garnished with a very generous amount of whipped cream on top, and on the side, which comes from a big dispenser in their dessert station.  The whipped cream was fine - sweetened but not cloying, fairly stable.  Actual whipped cream, not entirely full of chemicals like some grocery store bakery whipped toppings can be.

As for the cheesecake, it was actually a very good cheese, and not nearly as plain as it sounded like it may be.  If you want a standard classic cheesecake flavor, go for the Original.  This was not plain at all, it was extremely vanilla (bean).  The crust was thicker than the simple graham crust the Original uses, and was more akin to a shortbread.  Very compressed, didn't crumble, sweet.  More interesting than graham crust for me, but not exceptional.  *** crust.

Then comes the primary layer, the vanilla bean cheesecake.  This makes up about half the total slice height.  A slightly lighter style than standard dense NY cheesecake.  More creamy, but definitely still quite thick and rich.  Very vanilla bean flavored.  I didn't really realize vanilla bean could be so powerful really.  If you love vanilla bean, even when it pushes the limits of a bit "too much", in a way that seems perhaps fake, then this is for you.  ***+.

Next, the vanilla mousse layer, which was about half the height of the cheesecake.  It wasn't really as light as what I'd consider a mousse, but it was lighter than the cheesecake, and even MORE intensely vanilla bean flavored, as it didn't have the cream cheese to balance it out a bit.  Sweet but not cloying, and again, teetering on the "this tastes fake" due to vanilla bean overload.  ***+.

On top of that, about half the height of the mousse, was vanilla bean whipped cream.  This was different from the regular plain whipped cream garnish.  It was more airy than the mousse, and yup, again, vanilla bean flavored (although not as intense as the previous two layers).  ***+.

All three non-crust layers were specked with very visible vanilla bean, as if you needed more reminders what flavor it was.

Overall, it was exactly what it set out to be, a vanilla bean forward creation, no more, no less.  I found it paired really well with fresh berries.  You definitely need to intentionally be in the mood for vanilla bean, not plain, cheesecake to appreciate it.  ***+.

Encounter #5: May, 2025

My office has a mailing list, that I may or may not have created, for people to post whenever they have extra food from a party or event or whatever.  I routinely get to try donuts, cakes, and other goodies from bakeries around town because of this list.  This one particular day, a random party had leftover full, untouched, slices of Cheesecake Factory cakes and cheesecakes, free to a good home.  I quickly made a beeline to the location they were laid out at, the best ones ready to be snagged by the first to arrive.  

I was quick, but I was several floors away, so I was definitely not in the first wave of people to arrive.  By the time I got there, they were down to 4 slices: classic cheesecake with strawberry topping, chocolate fudge cake, another crazy creation that looked to contain chocolate layers, and carrot cake.  All were totally untouched slices, so technically, I suppose I could have grabbed "just a slice" just for myself, and that would be quasi-socially acceptable, but we know that Cheesecake Factory portions in particular really aren't appropriate for a single person to eat in one sitting.  And thus, I cut off just hunks of two to try.  

Carrot Cake.
$12.50/slice or $72.95/cake.

"Deliciously Moist Layers of Carrot Cake and Our Famous Cream Cheese Icing."

After years (literally, see my post above from 2017!) of trying to get a slice of The Cheesecake Factory's carrot cake, I finally got it.  I'm a big fan of carrot cake, but I know there are a lot of styles of carrot cake, and I have some pretty strong opinions on the matter (yes, it should have nuts, raisins I don't care either way, pineapple is great for moisture and sweetness, yes I want to have shredded carrot bits, ratio of cream cheese frosting to cake should be close to 1:1, and multi-layer cake is preferred for better bite distribution).  I had no idea which way this one would go, or even if Cheesecake Factory is known for it, but I kinda assumed it would be pretty middle of the road, inoffensive, carrot cake.

It was not.

This was actually a very opinionated carrot cake.  It took some very strong stances.  

This isn't a carrot cake for those who really just want a mild spice cake.  No, this is a carrot cake for people who WANT to have the texture of the shredded carrots (and, unexpected, coconut!), the moistness and sweetness from noticeable pineapple, and the crunch from lots of nuts.  Well, and of course, a copious amount of thick cream cheese frosting.  But this carrot cake was pretty loaded with goodies, and they didn't hide nor mask each other out.

I quite enjoyed it.  The cake was moist.  I loved all the texture from the shredded carrots and coconut (and, now I know I have another opinion on carrot cake: coconut is a great addition!).  The nuts were not only present, they were dominant.  Lots of nuts.  Great crunch throughout.  Spiced, well spiced, not overly aggressively, but definitely the warming spices you'd expect.  Well done Cheesecake Factory, this cake really had nothing I'd complain about. Low **** cake (I reserve a higher rating for one with a bit of tang to it!). 

And then of course, the "famous" cream cheese frosting.  For a restaurant named after cheesecake, yes, you'd expect the cream cheese frosting to take center stage here.  It was thick.  Very rich.  Very cream cheese forward.  Sweet but not cloying.  Basically, very textbook cream cheese frosting.  Not quite 1:1 ratio with the cake, but it was sooo rich that I truly wouldn't have wanted more.  ***+.

Put it together, and yes, this is a very good carrot cake.  ****.

Now for, uh, a slightly stunning fact.  While no one goes to The Cheesecake Factory and expects to eat light, the nutrition stats on this actually genuinely surprised me.  I know carrot cake is a high calorie item, but so is cheesecake.  And yet, a slice of this carrot cake is MORE THAN DOUBLE (!!) the calories of an equally sized slice of cheesecake.  Yes.  1720 calories. The simple regular cheesecake is only 830 calories, even the crazy decadent Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple is only 1250 calories (which, yes, is still a lot, but barely approaching this 1720 level).  Crazypants.  But delicious nonetheless.

Oreo® Dream Extreme Cheesecake. $12.50/slice.

"Creamy Cheesecake Layered with Oreo® Cookies, Topped with Oreo® Cookie Mousse and Chocolate Icing."

I didn't know what kind of cake I was taking when I took a hunk of what turned out to be a slice of the Oreo® Dream Extreme cheesecake.  As I don't care for Oreos actually, this was a poor choice, but it was this or one that looked like just chocolate cake with fudge frosting, and that seemed less fun.

Anyway, the Oreos really didn't dominate as this was indeed aptly named: "Extreme". There were a multitude of elements competing with the Oreo aspects, so the Oreo could sorta be ignored.  To start, chocolate cake at the base, then a layer of chocolate fudge frosting (you can't see it here, it was thin), then  cheesecake (studded with Oreos), then the Oreo mousse, and thick fudge frosting on top and the backside.  

Clearly, there was a lot going on here, and it was easy to deconstruct into many different desserts. 

The chocolate cake was rich, decadent, and fairly moist.  Good chocolate cake. The chocolate fudge frosting was very rich, also very decadent, very fudge forward.  I think these two elements may be the same as, or at least similar to, the chocolate cake and fudge frosting they use for the "Linda's Fudge Cake"?  I prefer buttercream to fudge frosting, so slightly not my style, but the fudge really delivered the chocolate intensity and overall decadence of this dish.  Satisfying chocolate cake and frosting, ***+, probably higher if you really like fudge style frosting.

On top, under more of that thick fudge frosting was the Oreo mousse.  It was very classic "cookies and cream" taste.  A pretty rich mousse, sweet style (like the inside of Oreos kinda), and little bits of ground Oreos.  Good, probably awesome if you love Oreos or cookies & cream ice cream.  I did think it clashed a bit with the fudge frosting though.  ***.

And finally, of course, the cheesecake element, stuffed in the center of the chocolate cake and the Oreo mousse.  It was thick, rich, classic Cheesecake Factory cheesecake.  Pretty textbook.  It had a HUGE hunk of Oreo in it, which softened with time, and integrated better.  But also easy to avoid.  Basically, what you'd expect from Cheesecake Factory cheesecake. ***+.

Put it all together, and for me at least, it was kinda muddled as one coherent dessert: very intense fudge frosting, cheesecake and chocolate cake don't really go together all that well for me, and a mousse hanging out there too ... it left me just wanting to break it down into different desserts to eat at different times, which I did (chocolate cake, warm, a la mode, so the fudge frosting turned into a sauce - excellent!  Mousse with fresh fruit and whipped cream?  Tasty and lighter!  Cheesecake with the rest of my carrot cake?  Double the cream cheese!  I enjoyed my sub-desserts, but I wouldn't pick this again.

(And if you are wondering, it is a much lighter option, somehow, than the carrot cake, at *only* 1510 calories per slice.  Everything is relative at the Cheesecake Factory!).

Wholesale - The Cheesecake Factory Bakery

A lesser known fact is that the Cheesecake Factory also operates a wholesale bakery, The Cheesecake Factory Bakery.  They sell cheesecakes, but, also other items.

Cupcakes

Cupcakes aren't available at the restaurants, but were the first item I tried from the wholesale bakery.  They are ...  shockingly good cupcakes.  This inspires me to try some of the non-cheesecake desserts at the restaurants.

Blackout Cupcake.

"The ultimate chocolate experience in a cupcake! Decadent chocolate pudding cake with a hint of chocolate liqueur, topped with sinful layers of chocolate frosting and dark chocolate curls."

This was a shockingly good cupcake.

The cake was crazy moist, crazy rich, some of the best chocolate cake I've ever had.  The frosting was light and fluffy, sweet, and totally delicious.  I loved the dark chocolate curls on top.

This was just a winner, all around.  Incredible for a frozen product. ****.

Blackout Cake Bite.

"Dark chocolate cake topped with chocolate cream cheese icing."

They also make cupcakes in mini size, known as "Cake Bites".

The look was slightly different from the full size Blackout, the frosting darker.  But it was equally delicious.

The chocolate cake was moist, great chocolate flavor.  The frosting, a thicker style, was rich and fudge-y, with the fascinating cream cheese undertone.  I loved the dark chocolate curls.

Again, another shockingly good cupcake. ****.

Blackout Cupcake.

"The ultimate chocolate experience in a cupcake! Decadent chocolate pudding cake with a hint of chocolate liqueur, topped with sinful layers of chocolate frosting and dark chocolate curls."

Hmm.   I loved these before in the mini form.  But this time?  Hmm.

The cake wasn't as moist, rich, or dense.  It wasn't dry exactly, but it was just boring chocolate cake.

The frosting was very very rich though, fudgey, deep chocolate, cream cheese notes.  ***.

Vanilla Bean Full Size Cupcake.

"Buttery and moist vanilla cake with cream cheese, decorated with layers of rich vanilla bean  and cream cheese icing and white chocolate chips." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Moist vanilla bean cupcake topped with Tahitian vanilla bean icing." -- Cheesecake Factory

I adored this cupcake.  I'm never one to be excited for cake or cupcakes, but I devoured this large cupcake in about ... 5 seconds?  It was much like the small format, except, well, full size (and, honestly, bigger than most cupcakes you get from a cupcake shop).

It was just a vanilla cupcake.  Very simple.  But the cake was perfectly moist, and that cream cheese frosting is just so good.  Creamy, rich from the cream cheese, flavorful.  Both the cake and the frosting did have good vanilla flavor.  And I really do like the white chocolate on top, just for extra sweetness.

I was quite satisfied with this cupcake, and would gladly have more. ****.

Vanilla Bean Cake Bite.

"Moist vanilla cake topped with vanilla bean cream cheese icing."

Much like the chocolate version, the vanilla bean one doesn't just have vanilla frosting on top, but rather, vanilla bean cream cheese icing.  Infusing the whole cheesecake thing into the cupcakes even.

The frosting was sweet, fluffy, and did have vanilla bean flavor to it.  The cake was decently moist, and had a lovely buttery sweet flavor to it.

Overall, a solid little cupcake.  ***+.

Vanilla Bean Cake Bite (2024).

"Buttery and moist vanilla cake with cream cheese, decorated with layers of rich vanilla bean and cream cheese icing and white chocolate chips."

"Vanilla cupcake topped with Tahitian vanilla bean icing and white chocolate chips."

After many years of having these, I still don't understand why the Cheesecake Factory doesn't sell cupcakes in their restaurants.  I know the focus is cheesecake, but, they make truly excellent cupcakes featuring cream cheese frosting.  The cupcakes are moist, they have a good vanilla bean flavor to them, not just vanilla extract.  The frosting is thick and rich, and truly highlights cream cheese.  The white chocolate shavings are a nice pop of creamy sweetness.

I truly enjoy these.  ****.

Lemon Drop.

"Light lemon cupcake topped with a ring of lemon cream cheese icing filled with lemon curd."

I know that I don't like lemon desserts, and generally don't go for cakes, but, after so much other success with these cupcakes, I couldn't resist eventually trying the Lemon Drop.

I'm glad I did, because, for a lemon dessert, it wasn't awful!

The icing was fluffy and sweet, just like the others, and only mildly lemon-y, barely cream cheese-y.  The dollop of lemon curd in the middle is where the lemon was concentrated, but, I really liked how fruity it was, and, it wasn't tangy really, mostly just sweet and tart.  I again enjoyed the shaved white chocolate curls on top for a pop of extra sweetness.

And the cake itself, decently moist, and more plain than lemon-y.

So overall?  Yup, a cupcake I enjoyed, even though lemon.  The vanilla are still my favorites however. ***+.

Red Velvet Cake Bite.

"Moist traditional red velvet cake topped with rich cream cheese icing."

This was my least favorite of the cupcakes, although I know red velvet is often a crowd pleaser.

The cake was moist and fine, but, boring red velvet cake.  The frosting, also fine, thick, rich, cream cheesy, but, fairly boring.

This was a fine cupcake, but, compared to the extra special touches of the Blackout and the vanilla bean (e.g. crazy good chocolate frosting, surprising vanilla bean cream cheese frosting), this one was just a bit pedestrian.

The full size red velvet cupcake comes garnished with dark chocolate curls, but the mini goes for white chocolate curls instead, I'm not sure why. ***+.

Red Velvet Full Size Cupcake.

"Elegant deep red butter cake with a hint of cocoa, layered with cream cheese icing and garnished with dark chocolate curls."

Red velvet is always my least favorite cupcake in general, and this was true for the minis from Cheesecake Factory.  But I still tried the full size.

And ... yeah.  I don't like these cupcakes.  Even the cream cheese icing does not do it for me.  It has a strange gummy consistency.  Meh. **+.

Note to self: stop getting these!

Red Velvet Bite (2024).

"Elegant deep red butter cake with a hint of cocoa, layered with cream cheese icing and  garnished with dark chocolate curls."

"Traditional Southern-style red velvet cupcake topped with classic cream cheese icing and chocolate curls."

Back to the bites, where the red velvet fares well again this year - same thick, rich, not too sweet cream cheese icing, this time with chocolate curls that help bring out the cocoa in the base.  The base is again quite moist, and does have a hit of cocoa flavor (such a pet peeve when red velvet cupcakes don't!).  ***+.

Cheesecake

The bakery obviously makes cheesecakes.  More than 20 varieties are available wholesale.  Some look similar to the restaurant varieties, but they certainly aren't a complete match.

Godiva Double Chocolate Cheesecake.

"Rich Godiva® cheesecake baked with chunks of mild chocolate topped with chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache, and chocolate whipped cream." -- GourmetXpress, distributor

"Layers of Flourless Godiva Chocolate Cake, Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake and Chocolate Mousse." -- Cheesecake Factory

Hmm.  This was interesting.  Some layers more successful than others.  Which was good, given how many layers there were.  Perhaps not surprisingly, given my reviews of their other products, the cheesecake layer was my least favorite.

The chocolate cake crust wasn't bad, much like the cupcakes, I was surprised by how rich and fudgey it was.

The cheesecake layer on top of it though I didn't care for.  The texture was good, but, chocolate and tangy cream cheese just don't go great together for me.

But the next layer, chocolate mousse, that was good, rich, fudgy, fluffy.  I guess the ganache was just the lines of chocolate on top?  The chocolate whip was good too.

So, ignore the cheesecake layer, and this was good.  Moist rich chocolate cake, creamy rich chocolate mousse, flavored whipped cream.  Just, uh, not a good *cheesecake*.  ***.

Godiva Double Chocolate Cheesecake (Sept 2018).

And ... we got it again.

I was interested to see if I felt any differently about it this time.  I did, slightly.  I liked it even less.

I really just don't like chocolate cheesecake.  I did like the bits of chocolate in that layer though.  The chocolate mousse also seemed sour, in a way I didn't like this time.  And the crust was eh, just soft chocolate crust.

The only part I really liked was the chocolate whipped cream.  I'll skip this next time.  **+.

Oreo Cookies and Cream.

"Oreo® cookies baked in our creamy cheesecake, layered with Oreo® cookie mousse. Finished with a drizzle of chocolate ganache and milk chocolate rosettes."

Ok, this was *good*.  Really good.  And I'm not usually the most excited about cheesecake, or Oreos for that matter.  But this was great.

It was one of those "I don't even know which component I like the best, it's all good!" sort of desserts.  There were a slew of different layers, but they were truly all good.  And even better combined.

Starting at the top, the decorative drizzle of chocolate and frosting rosettes.  Both were good, just chocolate components, but well done.  The milk chocolate rosettes were fairy large, and each slice had its own, and although I liked it, it was the one thing I didn't find went well with everything else - the milk chocolate was a bit of a mismatch to the other flavors.  It was still tasty, and I just ate it separately.

Oreo Cookies & Cream: Side View.

Digging into the rest of the layers ...

The very top was a fantastic Oreo cookie mousse.  Light, fluffy, not too sweet, and studded with mashed Oreos, and lots of Oreo crumb.  Very, very, "cookies & cream" flavor, if you know I mean.  I was very happy with this, and would gladly just eat a bowl of this mousse!

Next, the cheesecake.  Classic Cheesecake Factory quality cheesecake, smooth, rich, creamy.  It had giant chunks of full Oreo cookies baked right in, which added a nice texture, and obviously, made this very Oreo-forward.  Good on its own, but the light mousse combined with it was nice as well.

And finally, the Oreo crust.  Compressed chocolate crumb, I imagine Oreos, bound with ... something.  It was basically just like a thick, only slightly crumbly, Oreo cookie.  I'm not really that into Oreo cookies, and the "Stuf" is the best part for me, so this was kinda eh, but it did combine with the cheesecake and mouse nicely, and made for a good solid base.

As you may guess, this was not a light item, each slice clocking in at 620 calories, 39 grams of fat, 46 grams of sugar ... but come on, its a decadent cheesecake, this is pretty expected. ****

Ghirardelli Chocolate Raspberry

"Chocolate and white chocolate cheesecake swirled together with raspberry and chocolate chips, and baked on a moist browine. Topped with chocolate ganache. Made exclusively with Ghirardelli chocolate."

I often dislike chocolate cheesecakes, but I wanted to give this a try.

I ... wasn't into it at first.

The "moist browine [sic]" was a hard, dense, chocolate brick of meh.  On the plus side, it separated off and was easily thrown in the trash.  The chocolate ganache on top was mediocre, not bad, but nothing special.

And then the cheesecakes.  The texture was ok, not nearly as creamy as Eli's though.  The chocolate cheesecake and white chocolate cheesecake and raspberries and chocolate chips were all swirled together such that it was impossible to taste test any separately, but they did combine nicely.  If you are into fruity, chocolately, rich cheesecake, this really did deliver on those fronts.  And chocolate and raspberry really is a nice combination.  I still just find myself never that excited about chocolate cheesecake, and mostly wishes this was either a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake or a chocolate mousse instead.

It, like most cheesecake, clocked in at 640 calories per slice.  I probably wouldn't get this flavor again. ***.

Layer Cakes

The Cheesecake Factory Bakery makes a decent lineup of layer cakes, including two chocolate cakes, a classic red velvet, a lemon ice box cake, and an Italian cream torte.  No plain vanilla cake.  The chocolate cakes look to be either the same (or very similar) to the ones served in the restaurant.

Fudgy Wudgy Chocolate Cake.

"Moist fudge cake, chewy fudge icing and chocolate crunch on the sides. Did we mention fudge?" - GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Our moist fudge cake with chewy chocolate fudge icing, and chocolate crunch on the sides." -- Cheesecake Factory

This was serious chocolate indulgence.  690 calories per slice worth, in fact.  Everything chocolate.  Chocolate cake, chocolate fudge, chocolate pudding, chocolate crunch.

I was very excited to try the layered cake.  Which is funny, as I'm usual not interested in cake.  But the cupcakes were so good, I was eager to see it adapted to larger format.

I was saddened however to realize that the cake wasn't just a different form of the Blackout Cupcake.  As in, that chocolate fudge cream cheese frosting I loved was not part of it.  No cream cheese used in this item.  Doh!

But still, it was a looker.  A massive, massive slice, loaded with fudge frosting between the layers, and even more on top.  And then, a cookie crunch crust-like on the back.

The cake itself was fine, rich, moist, dark chocolate cake.  If you were served it at a birthday party, you'd be pleased.

The fudge frosting between the layers, and on top, was thick, rich, and remarkably pudding like.  Thicker than pudding, but it tasted like amazing chocolate pudding.  There was a ton of it though, making for a very intense experience.

The backside was coated with the "chocolate crunch", which let me down.  It wasn't actually crunchy, it was more like soggy Oreo bits stuck on top.

So overall, this wasn't really the cake for me, but, if you are a chocolate fan, and do actually like cake in the first place, I'm sure this delivers. ***.

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