Yummy Mummy's Cheesecakes, Wellington

A while ago - on our way home from our Italian cooking class, in fact - I spied an incongruous little shop hiding in the back of James Cook Arcade labelled "Yummy Mummy's Cheesecakes." I tucked it away in the back of my head that I must pay them a visit sometime (a specialty cheesecake shop? You know I had to go there), and have been desperately looking for excuses ever since.

I never found a really good excuse, but I've had a bit of a bout of back-to-work blues this week and yesterday felt like it would be nice to start the weekend with a little indulgence, so I nipped down there in my lunch break and got myself an assortment of flavours.

The cheesecakes come in small pottles, which are touted as 1-2 servings each - I think they're definitely two servings each, unless you're the sort of person who thinks Lone Star serve normal-sized meals, in which case you should get a whole one for yourself. ;-) Of course, just because they should be two servings doesn't mean they have to be... Or that the second serving can't be breakfast the next day... 

The business is a family enterprise based in Woodville, near Palmerston North, and the Wellington store opened last year after much success with online orders. They have a pretty large range of flavours - I counted 15 - and they all sound very alluring.

The young man looking after the shop was very friendly, and asked if I'd have Yummy Mummy's cheesecakes before. When I said no, he helpfully explained that I could purchase chilled or frozen, told me the bottom row were the most popular flavours, and told me about storage (they can be re-frozen after purchase if necessary - good to know!). He also offered me a sample of passionfruit, which was nicely tangy.

With his help, I whittled my list down to four flavours; raspberry and white chocolate, caramel, zesty lemon, and banoffee. He packed them into a paper bag for me and I sneaked it into the back of the work fridge. 

The cheesecakes are quite fluffy - less dense than I expected. They're very much at the high end of the sweet scale so they might not appeal if you're a dedicated fan of the cheesier cheesecakes, and I have to admit I wasn't initially impressed - but perhaps my tastebuds were impaired by the terribly unhealthy dinner I whipped up last night, because when I tried some today I liked it. ;-) I did find the crust overwhelmingly sugary, and didn't eat this - but I do often take issue with cheesecake crusts, and seldom finish them when eating out so I think that might be a personal aversion on my part. The fillings were pretty good, though.

The banoffee was the only one I wouldn't go back for; it wasn't bad, really, but I'm not a fan of that fake banana flavour (you know, the same flavour that's used in most banana milkshakes and banana ice-cream - doesn't actually taste like banana!). The chocolate and caramel layers were nice, but when eating in combo with the banana they faded into the background. The raspberry white chocolate one had a nice big dollop of raspberry sauce on top, and the cheesecake was nice, not too sickly like white chocolate cheesecake can be. My favourite was the zesty lemon, which was, true to its word, zesty, and I demolished my portion of this pretty speedily. Mr Cake's favourite was the caramel, which also came with a dollop of sauce on top and was subtly flavoured.

The cheesecakes are $9.50 each, so pretty pricey, and though they were pretty nice I think I'd prefer to visit the supermarket for a cheaper Crofters one - but it depends what you're after. The zesty lemon (and the passionfruit I tried in-store) were both quite different from the supermarket brands so might be worth going back for - and I am regretting not getting the tiramisu flavour!

What are your cheesecake preferences - fluffy, smooth, or baked? Have you tried Yummy Mummy's?




Yummy Mummy's Cheesecakes is located in James Cook Arcade, Lambton Quay, Wellington, or at 67 Vogel Street, Woodville, ph 0800 4 YUM YUM, www.yummum.co.nz