CAMBRIDGE, N.Y. — In the midst of quiet lives of prayer, a handful of nuns have sliced out a niche as bakers of high-end cheesecakes, so rich and creamy in flavors of chocolate, amaretto and key lime that they seem downright sinful.

But there are no transgressions here. In fact, money from the sales help the sisters of New Skete sustain their small monastery in upstate New York.

“Everything in moderation is one of the Christian concepts, I think,” said Sister Cecelia. “So who’s to say we shouldn’t appreciate food? God made us to love food.”

Even the sisters’ humility comes in moderation: They freely advertise their cheesecakes as “heavenly.”

Though the sisters’ mastery of cheese fillings and cookie-crumb crusts is novel, the idea of nuns and monks selling their handiwork — the sisters’ larger cheesecakes can sell for more than $40 — is not.