Got 35 minutes of prep time? Whip up this specialty cheesecake for National Cheesecake Day, July 30th. Boston Cream Cheesecake is a fusion of—you guessed it—Boston Cream Pie and cheesecake.

So we’ll start with some food trivia:

 
The recipe is courtesy of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, which published the first recipe for a cream cheese-based cheesecake in 1928.

Cream cheese itself was invented by a farmer in New York state in 1872, but became mass marketed by the Philadelphia Brand in 1928.

The package included the recipe for “New York Cheesecake,” which refers to an all-cream-cheese recipe. Prior to then, cheese cakes were made with cottage cheese and ricotta.

> The history of Boston Cream Pie is below.

> Check out the year’s 16 cheesecake holidays.

> October 23rd is National Boston Cream Pie Day (photo #3).
 
 
RECIPE: BOSTON CREAM CHEESECAKE

While prep time is 35 minutes, the total ready time, including baking and refrigeration, is 5 hours 20 minutes. Makes 16 servings.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. HEAT the oven to 325°F.

2. PREPARE the cake batter as directed on the package. Pour into a 9-inch springform pan sprayed with cooking spray*. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool.

*Note: If baking the cheesecake in dark springform pan, reduce the oven temperature to 300°F

3. BEAT the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl with a mixer until well blended. Add the sour cream; mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over the cake layer in the pan.

4. MICROWAVE the Cool Whip and chocolate in microwaveable bowl on HIGH for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes or until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is blended, stirring after each minute. Cool for 15 minutes; slowly pour over the cheesecake, using a spatula as needed to distribute the glaze. Refrigerate for 4 hours.

[1] Chocolate and cheesecake are a great combination, as any cheesecake lover knows (photos #1 and #2 © Kraft Heinz.

[2] Have a slice! The cheesecake has one layer of yellow cake and one layer of cheesecake, topped with chocolate ganache.

[3] The namesake Boston Cream Pie has two layers of yellow cake plus a custard filling, topped with chocolate ganache. Here’s a recipe (photo © Taste Of Home).

So why is a yellow layer cake that is filled with pastry cream or custard and frosted with chocolate ganache called a pie?

That answer is most likely that, in the mid-19th century pie tins were more common than cake pans. The distinction between calling something pie or cake was more flexible than it is today. The cake might well have been baked in pie tins.

Chef M. Sanzian, hired for the opening of Boston’s Parker House Hotel in 1856, created the modern Boston Cream Pie, a sophisticated remake of an early American pudding-cake pie recipe. He sandwiched two layers of sponge cake with crème pâtissière, a vanilla-flavored custard. He topped the cake with a chocolate ganache glaze.

At the Parker House Hotel, the cake was originally served with the names Chocolate Cream Pie or Parker House Chocolate Cream Pie.

Beginning in the 20th century, a custard filling often replaces the crème pâtissière.

In 1996, Boston Cream Pie was declared the official cake of Massachusetts.