Fried Cheesecake

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Crunchy on the outside, with a soft interior, this fried cheesecake recipe is impossible to resist.

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Total Time35

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Fried Cheesecake Recipe

Servings:

Calories: 304kcal

Ingredients

1 frozen cheesecake, approximately 1 pound
1 cup Bisquick pancake mix
½ cup milk
1 large egg
¼ cup powdered sugar
Caramel sauce and/or strawberry sauce, for serving
1 quart vegetable oil, for frying

Instructions

Remove the frozen cheesecake from the packaging and cut it into pieces. The pieces should be approximate squares. If the crust is crumbling away from the cheesecake, it may be best to trim the crust off the pieces as well (see note). Keep the cheesecake pieces frozen while preparing the rest of the recipe.
Fill a deep skillet or Dutch oven with several inches of cooking oil, such as vegetable oil or canola oil. Use a candy thermometer in the oil to monitor the temperature. Heat the oil until it reaches 375°F and maintain the oil temperature between 350°F and 375°F throughout cooking.
While the oil is heating, prepare the batter by whisking together the pancake mix, milk, and one egg until well combined. The batter should be thick enough to coat the cheesecake pieces while still allowing you to drip off the excess and work quickly.
Dip one piece of cheesecake at a time into the batter. Use a fork to toss the cheesecake in the batter, and then lift the piece out and allow the excess batter to drip off. Immediately transfer the battered cheesecake into the hot oil.
Flip the cheesecake occasionally while frying to ensure even cooking. Remove the cheesecake from the oil when it is golden brown all over, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Blot excess oil from the fried cheesecake by placing it on several layers of paper towels.
Continue battering and frying all of the cheesecake pieces. Dust cheesecake pieces with powdered sugar.
Drizzle the sauces over the cheesecake bites or serve them alongside as dipping sauces.

Notes

Depending on the cheesecake, the size and thickness may vary. I like to cut the pieces into squares, so if your cheesecake is thicker, your overall square pieces will be larger than a shorter cheesecake. The process and time for cooking the fried cheesecake pieces, and the recipe for the batter, should not vary regardless of the size of your pieces.
Some cheesecakes are made with a more crumbly crust, and when you batter this crust, it tends to crumble into the pancake batter and gets messy. For these cheesecakes, most people will cut the crust off and simply batter and fry the cheesecake portion. I’ve also worked with cheesecakes where the crust stays intact, and there is no crumbling issue.
If you're having trouble transferring the battered cheesecake from the batter to the oil, lift with one fork to drain the excess batter and then use a second fork to swipe the battered bite from the fork to the oil.
You can fry several pieces of cheesecake at a time but don’t overcrowd the pot. You need the cheesecake pieces to have enough room to turn them to cook evenly and remove them when done.

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