Sara Lee New York Style Cheesecake, Butter Streusel Coffee Cake and Fruited Dessert Items : Which Ones Taste Great and Which Ones Missed the Mark?

As someone who frequently uses coupons, I am lucky enough to shop at stores where coupons are honored and can be combined with buy-one, get-one free items. On this occasion, I had a variety of Sara Lee coupons from the SmartSource coupon machine. To make the offer even more enticing, Publix (the supermarket where I purchased my Sara Lee items from) was having a 50% off sale.

To stock up and save, I purchased the following items: Sara Lee New York Style Cheesecake, Original Cheesecake with Strawberries and Butter Streusel Coffee Cake. Since a celebratory meal was in order, my dessert choice was the Sara Lee New York Style Cheesecake, which was more dense and expensive than the Original Sour Cream Cheesecake I had also purchased.

While serving the New York Style Cheesecake, I was impressed by its firmness and serving ease. The cheesecake was no runny nor did it topple over when plated. The taste was also excellent and I would highly recommend this product, although if you are on a diet, it will most likely count for your entire day's meal allowances.

A week or so later, I baked the Sara Lee Butter Streusel Coffee Cake in the toaster oven. This warms the coffee cake and allows the crumb topping to brown. Warming time takes approximately 8-10 minutes and can be done right out of the box, as the coffee cake comes in a toaster oven friendly, metal pan. This, by, far, is the best product I have had from Sara Lee. The coffee cake was warm, filled with multiple layers of cinnamon and pastry, and was very easy to prepare. If paying full price, the Butter Streusel Coffee Cake costs a little under $5, but even at this price, is definitely worth the cost.

Finally, there is the Sara Lee Original Sour Cream Cheesecake, sold with or without fruit topping. I have tried both the strawberry and the cheery fruit toppings and neither is impressive. The cheesecake is a more runny texture than the New York Style Cheesecake and only coming in at about $1 less, is not worth the savings. The fruit topping tastes like it came right out of a can and is lacking the more bakery-presentation the Butter Streusel Coffee Cake and New York Style Cheesecake have. Even with a coupon and being able to get the item for 50% off, would I purchase it again? Most likely not, especially if I had to serve this to guests.

In the end, if you are able to find Sara Lee coupons, buy items at 50% off, take advantage of buy-one, get-one free sales; by all means try the Sara Lee New York Style Cheesecake and the Butter Streusel Coffee Cake. If you budget only permits one, my vote is for the coffee cake. You will not be disappointed and will definitely be back for more.