Self-care is Philadelphia’s new single-serve Cheesecake Crumble Dessert cups.
After nearly 150 years, the Philadelphia cheese mongers finally went beyond providing cheesecake recipes inside the package to give us the actual cheesecake!
OK, technically they call it a three-layer cheesecake with sauce, cheesecake filling, and crumble topping, but it’s all the same deliciousness to me. There are four flavors: Cherry, Chocolate Hazelnut, Original, and Strawberry.
These were so enticing and tasty that my partner ate them all before I could even write a review and he usually leaves my snacks alone. But, after I re-purchased and tried them for myself, I couldn’t blame him.
There were two key thoughtful choices that made this dang good.
First, instead of a dense block of cheesecake filling, it was creamy and smooth with a whipped texture. Whipped cream cheese is my favorite form, but even if it weren’t, this was the right choice for easy eating with a spoon.
Second, the crumbles were very crOnchy. Yes, cronchy. As someone who always goes for the crust first, I appreciated that it maintained its texture. No soggy crust or crumble in this house please! The amount of crumble was also just right. I was concerned that there wouldn’t be enough just by looking at it, but it was plenty to ensure a consistent eat!
I’m also extra impressed by this because I know Philadelphia doesn’t make grahams or cookies on the regular. I mentioned cookies as the Chocolate Hazelnut flavor is the only one that comes with “rich cookie crumble” and not a “buttery graham crumble.” The graham tasted like regular, crushed up graham crackers and the cookies reminded me of Oreo.
As for the flavor – let’s start with the filling first. It’s truly like having a cheesecake slice in a cup. I got the expected slight tang from the cream cheese balanced by the perfect amount of indulgent sweetness. The chocolate one tasted more chocolate pudding cup-like than hazelnut, but I still was able to taste the tanginess.
Three of the four had an additional layer of sauce: cherry, strawberry, and chocolate flavored. I started with the cherry because I was the most skeptical of it – usually cherry-flavored foods taste like cough syrup to me. However, it definitely tasted like real fruit! It was a bit tarter than I had expected, but that was quickly solved by mixing the sauce and filling evenly. The strawberry, though, was just right for me and didn’t require any mixing! I ate the “layers” as-is.
As for the chocolate one, the sauce was negligible. I’m never going to complain about more chocolate goodness, but it was more of a visual difference given the darker color. I was hoping that this would be the hazelnut flavor part, but no dice. Regardless, it was still absolutely delicious. It wasn’t as much as a dealbreaker because unlike the fruit ones, the sauce wasn’t integral to delivering the flavor as the chocolate filling did most of that legwork!
All of this combined was like lightning in a bottle. I’m ready for a pumpkin cheesecake one for PUMPKINUNDATION season please!
Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: 2 – 3.3oz cups
Purchased at: Meijer
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (serving size: 1 dessert) Cherry – 290 calories, 18 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 gram of trans fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 220 milligrams of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, 16 grams of added sugar, and 4 grams of protein. Chocolate Hazelnut – 320 calories, 17 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 gram of trans fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 240 milligrams of sodium, 37 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 26 grams of sugar, 25 grams of added sugar, and 5 grams of protein. Original – 340 calories, 24 grams of fat, 15 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 75 milligrams of cholesterol, 290 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 17 grams of sugar, 16 grams of added sugar, and 5 grams of protein. Strawberry – 290 calories, 18 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 220 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, 17 grams of added sugar, and 4 grams of protein.
Well, well, well. This is indeed some good news. I have definitely been in a cheesecake stat of mind. I made pear cheesecake 2 weeks back when I had a bowl of pears ripen before I could eat them all. Whie it was delicious, I could better use the time spent. Even though I just bought a few blocks of philly cream cheese with plans to use up the cinnamon grahams in my cupboard before they get too stale to salvage, I will toss those grahams if I can get this handy-dandy treat. It’s right down my breezeway. Now I have to find it in my neighborhood. Thank you, Tiffany [I’m a crust firster, too!)
You can make a copycat! Rather than baking a whole cheesecake, do a “no-bake” version and just whip your room temp cream cheese with some vanilla and confectioner’s sugar (sometimes I’ll add a little cream or milk to reach the desired consistency. Then just combine your graham crumbs with some soft butter to make a crumble and bake it. Voila! And do whatever you want for sauces!
They need to bring back the cheesecake bars!
WHAT!? They had cheesecake bars?!
Fiber one makes one now that is kinda the same. I refrigerate mine.
I think I recall having like a caramel or dulce de leche one of those years back? Still not a “healthy” snack, and I’m (assuming/hoping) that people reach for them as a preportioned dessert?
I miss those! The Strawberry and Classic versions were amazing.
Nice review, Tiffany!
Sounds absolutely horrible to me. I f’ing LOVE the rich and dense texture of cheesecake, but I don’t buy it very often because I love it so much. The original flavor cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory that they sell frozen at WM is really good, IMHO.
What is WM please?
Probably WalMart. That’s how I abbreviate it on my lists anyway. =)
Aha, such passion about cheesecake! Who remembers the Sara Lee Cheesecake Bites? Making dessert in bite size pieces is a waste of time for me. I’ma eat the same as a regular serving, probably even more more.
I remember those. lol.
That’s how the sales and marketing departments get people, hehe.
Thankfully it seems like the whole “mini dessert” trend/phase has run its course.
and pandemic/quarantine conditions have played the finale!
I remember them, but they always sounded horrible to me, so I never tried them. I’ve never had a cheesecake with a good tasting crust, and the crust on the Sara Lee bites would have been way too damn hard to remove if it was bad.
Do you just not like graham crackers then? All cheesecake crusts are traditionally graham crumbs, butter, and a bit of sugar sometimes.
I love honey graham crackers, no other flavor. I don’t think I’ve ever had a cheesecake made with honey graham crackers, and if I have, the honey part got totally lost in translation.
This is my second attempt at trying thr strawberry crumble and both times the cheese cake was gritty. No more for me. Waste of money
Could it have been seeds from the strawberry sauce? I eat them all the time and never experienced this. Try the original cheesecake crumble it shouldn’t have any grittiness at all. I actually like the original the most! I can’t find the cherry or chocolate hazelnut near me and I’ve looked everywhere! Would love to give them a try as well lol.
Philadelphia and Nabisco are both part of the same company which explains why their cronchy game is strong. I am actually happy to hear the chocolate overpowered the hazelnut; sounds good!
Yes!! I second the PUMPKIN suggestion.
I hope they make a key lime one in the summer maybe raspberry too?
No, both of those flavors need to be offered year round.
Yesssss, Rachel. Why aren’t you in charge of marketing this product? Sales would be astronomical
That’s their mistake. 🙂
Yes, it is. I will tell them immediately. ;D
I appreciate it, thank you. 😀
I second this!! xo
Oh. My. Goodness. What a concept, If they don’t, I’m making a Key Lime Cheesecake, for my birthday! Raspberry is good too. The marriage of sour fruit with sweet cream is sublime.
Wow, I love these, PCC the strawberry is the best. I wish they would make more and load up the store’s.
Please make alot more !!!
I Love these a lot but I got one today and it had mold in it and ext. Date was for October 24 2021. I get them regularly so I have never had a bad one. Hopefully someone can a dress this matter not let it happen to anyone else
Thank you for your time
I randomly found this dessert (original flavor) at a local deli and was instantly addicted. I haven’t been able to find it anywhere but this one store, even tried to order it online. I found one place on instacart that had a “salted caramel” flavor – it was decent but not quite the same, no crumbles, about half the serving, with a small cup of caramel on the side. I’m absolutely obsessed with the crumbles line, plz find me a wholesale option lol.
Love them. My favorite is the original. Can you buy the crumbs separate? My favorite snack.