Specialty Cheesecake Flavors & Ingredients

Hood Famous Bakeshop is best known for our cheesecakes, including our flagship ube cheesecake, but to be honest we’re much more than just ube. Our desserts featuring Filipino and Asian-Pacific flavors might use some ingredients that many may not be familiar with, so here’s a little guide on some of our most popular and favorite flavors:

Ube

Ube, pronounced oo-beh, is a purple yam indigenous to the Philippines. It’s bright purple color comes naturally making it perfect for Instagram-friendly dishes. It has a slightly sweet flavor that can be described as an earthly cookies and cream. Since ube has a very rich texture it is used more commonly in desserts like ice cream and cheesecake.

Pandan

Pandan, also known as a screwpine leaf, is a tropical plant grown in Southeast Asia. It is very fragrant and has a naturally sweet and earthy taste that is a little bit nutty with a hint of jasmine. The flavor can be described as a mix of vanilla and pistachio. It’s a popular ingredient in Asian cuisine and is most commonly paired with coconut in Filipino cooking.

Calamansi

Calamansi, also known as the Philippine lime, is a tiny citrus fruit that packs a punch. Native to the Philippines it can be described as a mix between a kumquat and a mandarin orange. This citrus is more on the sweeter side with a nice tang and tartness similar to key lime. This fruit is perfect for creamy desserts like cheesecake and drinks.

 

Guava

Guavas are tropical fruits native to South America. It is green on the outside but once cut it has a very beautiful deep shade of pink. It has a dense texture and depending on the ripeness it can be sweet or sour. The flavor can be described as a combination of a pear and a strawberry. If you’re looking for a super fruit guavas have a lot of health benefits like boosting your immune system and supporting weight loss.

Vietnamese Coffee

This type of coffee is prepared using Robusta coffee beans grown specifically in Vietnam. This coffee is twice as strong compared to what you normally drink in the mornings making it a bit more bitter and giving it a sharper taste. It’s traditionally prepared as a drip coffee and is often enjoyed over ice with sweetened condensed milk (cà phê sữa đá). If you’re a coffee lover you’ll definitely love our Vietnamese Coffee cheesecake.

Matcha

Matcha is a green tea powder originating from Japan. It is derived from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant which is dried and ground into a very fine powder which is later used in cooking or for ceremonial purposes. There are different grades of matcha depending on the use. It contains plenty of antioxidants and has a higher amount of caffeine compared to regular green tea making it a great substitute for coffee.

Durian

I hope you are all ready for the spooky season! For our Halloween special we are introducing a durian cheesecake. Durian is a very large spiky fruit grown in Southeast Asia and banned on transit systems and hotels because of its very foul smell. Don’t let this stop you from trying it! Once you cut through the spiky exoskeleton the fruit is soft and creamy with almost a custard texture. The taste is savory and sweet at the same time and can be described as diced garlic and caramel poured in whip cream. It supposed to have a subtle hint of chives and powder sugar perfect for fall and winter!

 

 

 

We love changing up our cheesecake menu and experimenting with new and exciting flavors. If there’s a flavor you’d love to try please feel free to let us know and it might appear in one of our seasonal dessert flavors