Stephen Montoya
Once a week me and my budget conscious wife treat ourselves to that ever-so-glorious dinner idea of going out to eat. We normally stick to our routine of ordering a starter, then a main, and on the off chance we still have room, a dessert. This off chance actually occurred last week, when we frequented the Rim Scratch Craft Eats at 295 E Renfro Street in Burleson. After enjoying an appetizer and our main dishes, we still had a hankering for something sweet to break up the savory flavors still resting on our palettes.
As we perused the dessert options, we scoped a first-ever sweet treat that we had no idea even existed. The words Cheesecake Sopapilla popped out at us like a beacon, or for anyone who’s read my food reviews before, like a dare. I just had to see what this unique confection was all about.
With no pictures to guide us, I began to think of a freshly fried sopapilla filled with cheesecake filling. But I wondered how such a thing would work given the heat of a fresh-made sopa and the chill of a cheesecake filling. I imagined a melted mess served inside of a soggy sopa. “This can’t be the case,” I thought. And to my joyous surprise I was wrong. The cheesecake itself was served chilled, but instead of there being traditional cheesecake crust to separate the layers, the hunk of cake we were served was sandwiched between two large layers of thick sopapilla crust.
The crust itself had the proper sopapilla proportions and doughy taste. However, the pièce de resistance that really made this dessert shine was the triple berry (raspberry/blueberry/strawberry) drizzle that covered the entire slice of cake like a colorful spring dress. This wasn’t just a tiny hit of sauce either. This drizzle had large helpings of each berry mixed into it, making kind of like a thin preserve.
Upon my first bite, I was surprised how thick and hearty this slice of cake was given I had to really push down on my fork to cut into it. But I was quickly rewarded for my effort with a flavor burst that included some triple berry sweetness, a touch of sopa dough, and a whole lotta cheesecake.
This thick and hearty piece of cake had a great balance between its elements. The triple berry drizzle gave this hunk of sweetness some much-needed moisture. The sopapilla, besides being a structural component, added a new element of flavor to an already tried and true dessert trope. The cheesecake filling itself was savory enough to tie the first two elements of this dessert together to create a tapestry of flavors that work together as one.
This end-of-meal treat was so on point we fought over the last bite, playing dueling forks on the almost empty plate. So, if you ever frequent the Rim and your server asks if you saved room for dessert, don't sleep on this one. Chances are you’ll experience some familiar flavors that you’ve never tried blended together before.
