It’s official – we have a final matchup set in the First Ever Cheesecake Playoffs!

In the second semifinal, it was a battle of peanut butter chocolate cheesecakes – #2 seed Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple and #3 seed Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake.

Now, in our original scoring, we rated the 30th Anniversary Chocolate Cake Cheesecake the highest, and we rated Adam’s #2.  You would think that a combination of these two – peanut butter with chocolate cake – would just make it even more delicilectable, but that would be just too easy!…

The Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake is really good, but it’s rich, and you’d be surprised how good a simple peanut butter chocolate cheesecake is, and how well it competes with total cheesecake richness.

Cinderella’s run is over! 

In the first Final Four matchup , the clock struck midnight on Oreo® Cheesecake, ending its improbable run in the First Ever Cheesecake Playoffs.  The number #12 seed, making it as far as the semifinals, couldn’t overcome the delectable chocolateness of the top seeded 30th Anniversary Chocolate Cake Cheesecake.

The Farris clan picked up both offerings this past Sunday, and for me, it was actually kinda tough – I personally think Oreo® put up a good fight.  But in the end, the 30th Anniversary Chocolate Cake Cheesecake (earning the most points from our previous run through the entire Cheesecake Factory menu of cheesecakes) proved its worth by gaining each of our votes.  Although it didn’t get any of our votes in the semifinal round, we’ve gotta give Oreo® its due.  It started as the #12 seed in a 12-cheesecake playoff, having to beat such contenders as the Original Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake, and the #4 seed Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake. 

This weekend, it’s a peanut butter cheesecake showdown, with Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake versus Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple.

In the highly anticipated return of activity in the First Ever Cheesecake Playoffs, Pumpkin Cheesecake got squashed against #2 seed Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple, setting up a premier no-holds-barred peanut butter semifinal showdown.

This past weekend, the Farris family renewed its effort to make cheesecake eating an actual sport, by finishing up the quarterfinal rounds, where #7 seed Pumpkin Cheesecake took on the #2 seed Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple.

As you know, we ate each of the cheesecakes on The Cheesecake Factory’s menu this past year (35 in all), and then forced the top 12 to compete against each other in a single elimination playoff.  This weekend, the quarterfinals were completed, after a unaminous 3-0 vote sent Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple to the next round.

To be honest, I really liked the Pumpkin Cheesecake (and it’s really tasty as the seasonal choice during the Thanksgiving holiday…).  However, I’ll have to admit, Adam’s had it won hands down.  Monroe made her choice quickly, and my wife cast her vote first, saying it wasn’t really a competition.  As Stephanie said, “Pumpkin didn’t even have a chance!…”

So, here are the brackets as they stand.  In the first semifinal matchup, the top seed 30th Anniversary Chocolate Cake Cheesecake takes on the upstart, underdog, Cinderella candidate #12 seed Oreo Cheesecake.  And in the other semifinal contest, it’s a battle of peanut butter offerings, where #2 Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple is pitted against #3 Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake (definitely a battle I’m interested in!…)