Rich, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth, and not overly sweet, cheesecake is a dessert loved by those with a sweet tooth, while its balanced flavour also appeals to people who prefer less sugary treats. But beyond its classic appeal, this dessert has also made its way into the record books with some truly unusual feats. Ahead of National Cheesecake Day tomorrow, here’s a look at some of the most bizarre cheesecake records from around the world, from the world’s most expensive cheesecake (costing lakhs!) to the world’s largest one (weighing thousands of kgs), and even a cheesecake speed-eating record.
Event Context
The Guinness World Record for the world’s most expensive cheesecake belongs to a creation by chef Raffaele Ronca of Ristorante Rafele in New York City. Made on October 30, 2017, the extravagant dessert cost a whopping $4,592.42 (approx ₹4.4 lakhs)!
The cheesecake was crafted using ingredients such as buffalo ricotta, white truffles imported from Alba, Italy, Hennessy Paradis cognac, Madagascar vanilla, and was finished with 200-year-old balsamic vinegar and 24-karat edible gold leaf. Talk about a slice of luxury!
The title for the world’s largest cheesecake is held by PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese in Lowville, New York, USA, achieved on September 20, 2024.
The record-breaking cheesecake weighed 6,807.5 kg and was made using more than 13,000 pounds (5,896.7 kg) of cheesecake filling, along with 870 pounds (394 kg) of graham cracker crumbs, 300 pounds (136 kg) of sugar, and over 100 pounds (45 kg) of butter. The massive dessert measured more than 11 feet in diameter, making it a cheesecake that was impossible to miss.
The world’s longest cheesecake was a 303-metre (994-foot) rollo cheesecake created in Italy in 2002. The record was achieved by the Associazione Pasticceri Siciliani J. Castelli (Sicilian Pastry Chefs Association).
The cheesecake was long enough to cover the length of three consecutive professional football pitches. It was made in the traditional Italian rollo style, where the cake is carefully rolled, allowing it to stretch into one continuous line without breaking.
For some people, cheesecake is meant to be slowly enjoyed. For competitive eater Sonya Thomas, it became a race against time.
Sonya, popularly known as The Black Widow in the competitive eating community, holds a cheesecake-eating record after consuming around 5 kg of cheesecake in 9 minutes at the Downtown Atlantic Cheesecake Eating Championship in Brooklyn, New York, on September 26, 2004. The event was organised as part of the competitive eating circuit.
A South Korean-born American competitive eater from Alexandria, Virginia, Thomas joined the International Federation of Competitive Eating in 2003 and quickly rose through the ranks. She has earned records across more than 25 eating competitions, making her one of the most recognised names in competitive eating.
