September 4, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 9 ‘Cheesecake Queen’ wins prizes at NJ State Fair “The Cheesecake Queen,” Lisa Dosch of Ramsey, has won several prizes at the 2013 New Jersey State Fair. Dosch’s blueberry cheesecake won first place in the blue- berry contest, her plain cheesecake won first prize and her coconut cheesecake won second in the cheesecake contest, and her “Perfect Pecan Pie Bars” won first place in the bar cookie category. Last year, Dosch won first place for both the plain cate- gory and the flavor category for her pumpkin cheesecake. “I’m constantly asked which is my favorite, and I hon- estly can say they all are,” Dosch said. “I created each one after flavors that I love. Each one has such a full body of flavor, creaminess, and taste, and the different types of crust only make it more difficult to decide.” Dosch makes a wide variety of cheesecakes, includ- ing an espresso cake with Kahlua, and an amaretto cake made with Amaretto Di Soronno and topped with sliced almonds. She also makes cherry, strawberry, cookies ‘n’ crème, peanut butter, chocolate chip, and piña colada. She notes that a whole plain cake weighs up to six pounds, Lisa Dosch of Ramsey displays the ribbons she received for her baking at this year’s NJ State Fair. while a whole flavored cheesecake can weigh up to seven pounds. This year, when it came time to decide which cheese- cakes to enter in the flavor category, she couldn’t settle on one, so she let the customers at her family’s business decide. Dosch bakes for the West Gate Restaurant in Nyack, which her family has owned and operated for almost 50 years. She asked the public to select a flavor to enter and, after over 100 submissions, the most popular choice was coconut. Dosch derives a good deal of enjoyment from her baking, and likewise enjoys watching others delight in her creations. “I tell everyone to let it melt in their mouth,” she said. “Then the full flavor fills your palate, and you’re in cheese- cake heaven. You can actually see the expressions on their faces and their body language change, and that is when I get the full satisfaction from all my baking.” People come from all over the tri-state area just for Dosch’s cheesecakes and have taken them as far as Florida, Chicago, and Detroit.