Inauguration Day and Eli’s Cheesecake

Nick was excited to go off to school today because they had plans for Inauguration Day that included a viewing of part of the day’s events.  When I picked him up from school this afternoon, I had to stop and remember that he’s only six as he talked about watching “Obama take the oath of office” and mention that he “had Lincoln’s book.”  I promised him that we would celebrate tonight in our own special way, and we did … with Eli‘s Cheesecake.

With Eli’s Cheesecake being one of the more popular desserts from the President’s homestate, it seems only fitting that they kick off the new Presidential term.  The folks at Eli’s made the dessert for tonight’s Commander-In-Chief Ball, a 500 pound version of what we received to sample, and it was also a stunning feature on Good Morning America this morning (leftovers from the Ball’s dessert are being donated to foodbanks in the DC area).  The Ball’s version features a combination of Eli’s Original Cheesecake and their Apple Cheesecake, a hat tip to Abraham Lincoln, fitting given his prominent presence in Obama’s campaign. The cheesecake was made in Chicago, and then driven to Washington in a freezer truck where the finishing touches were applied.  It took a whopping shopping cart (or ten!) for the ingredients to make this monster confection, including 100 pounds of cream cheese, 30 pounds of sugar, 25 pounds of sour cream, 126 eggs, 50 pounds of apples, 15 pounds of brown sugar and much, much more.  If you want to create your own version, they’ve very kindly given the recipe right here.

Having the taste of New York-style cheesecake or the denser Italian-style cheesecake in my mind’s palate, I never really stopped to consider that not all cheesecakes were created equal.  When we had the chance to review the cheesecake, I jumped at the opportunity.

I loved the layer of sour cream on top, and the crust was very different that the versions that we usually think of.  The actual cheesecake has a different flavor as well – a little creamier, as opposed to denser, and the taste of sour cream is really much stronger than the New York or Italian-style cheesecakes and really came through.  The cheesecake has an edible chocolate disk on the top, which although it lended nicely to the overall decoration and included the Illinois outline to honor Obama, you had to remove it to cut the cheesecake.  I’d rather have it cut-able as you slice the cake or not there at all.  Nick oohed and aahed as soon as he saw the cake, and it was a sweet ending to a very historic day.  Thanks, Eli’s!

P.S.  Even though Inauguration Day is coming to a swift close, you can still get your bite of Eli’s.  They have kindly offered up a coupon code Inablog9.  The code is good for 15% off your entire purchase through February 16, 2009 (not valid with other offers).

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