Cheese is not just for savoury snacks anymore! This versatile ingredient lends an amazing taste to various delightful desserts as well. Whether you combine cheese with dark chocolate or summer fruits, they can create perfect sweet dishes that can become the showstopper at your dinner table. Easy to incorporate into the recipe, there is much more than cheesecake you can prepare with cheese.
Chestnut Chocolate And Cheese Cannoli – Serves 4
Prep time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
This dessert features a crispy cannoli shell filled with a rich and creamy filling made with cheese, chocolate and hazelnuts.
Ingredients:
For the Shells
| Quantity | Ingredients |
| 2 cups | All-purpose flour |
| 2 tbsp | Granulated sugar |
| 1/2 tsp | Unsweetened cocoa powder |
| ½ tsp | Ground cinnamon |
| 1/2 tsp | Salt |
| 3 tbsp | Vegetable oil |
| 1 tsp | White wine vinegar |
| 1/2 cup | Red wine |
| 1 | Egg white |
| as needed | Vegetable oil for frying |
| as needed | Powdered sugar for garnish |
For the Filling
| Quantity | Ingredients |
| 250 g | Unsweetened chestnut puree |
| 1/4 cup | Granulated sugar |
| 1/8 tsp | Salt |
| 2 | Cheese cubes |
| 1 tsp | Vanilla extract |
| 60 g | Dark chocolate, chopped |
| 60 g | Hazelnuts, toasted and chopped |
Method
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt. Combine oil, vinegar, and wine. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms. Knead dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Divide dough into 4 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece into a thin sheet (about 1/16 inch thick). Cut dough into 4-inch squares.
- Wrap each square around a cannoli form, overlapping the edges slightly. Brush seam with egg white to seal. Fry cannoli shells in hot oil (180°C) for 1-2 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oil and cool completely on a wire rack. Carefully slide cannoli shells off forms.
- In a food processor, combine chestnut puree, sugar, and salt. Process until smooth. Add cheese and process again until well combined. Stir in vanilla extract, chocolate, and hazelnuts.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a star tip with the filling. Pipe the filling into the cooled cannoli shells. Garnish with powdered sugar and serve immediately.
Summer Berries With Cream Cheese – Serves 4
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Indulge in the taste of summer with colourful berries and creamy cheese. It is easy to prepare and a perfect crowd-pleaser.
Ingredients:
For the berries
| Quantity | Ingredients |
| 1/3 cup | Granulated sugar |
| 1/3 cup | Water |
| 4 cups | Mixed summer berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries) |
| 1 tsp | Fresh lemon juice |
For the cheese cream
| Quantity | Ingredients |
| 500 g | Cream cheese |
| 3/4 cup | Heavy cream |
| 3 tbsp | Confectioners’ sugar |
| 1/2 tsp | Pure vanilla extract |
Method
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Heat over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the berries and lemon juice. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes, until the berries are heated through and release their juices.
- Transfer the berry mixture to a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. Press gently with a spoon to extract as much juice as possible. Reserve the berries and let them cool slightly.
- Return the berry juices in the bowl to the saucepan and cook over medium heat until the syrup is reduced by half, about 5-7 minutes. Let the syrup cool slightly.
- Whisk together the cream cheese, heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
- In a serving bowl or individual bowls, spoon the reserved berries. Drizzle with the cooled berry syrup and top with dollops of the cheese cream topping. Serve immediately.
Dessert Fondue Board-Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
This decadent platter overflowing with colourful dippers is perfect to enjoy with your family and friends.
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredients |
| 1 cup | Hazelnut spread |
| 1 cup | Cream cheese |
| 1 lb | Strawberries |
| 180 g | Blackberries |
| 180 g | Raspberries |
| 120 g | Blueberries |
| 50 g | Figs, quartered |
| 30 | Mini cream puffs, frozen |
| 6 | Graham crackers |
| 2 cups | Mini pretzel twists |
Method
- In a medium-sized glass bowl, combine the hazelnut spread and softened cream cheese. Heat the mixture in the microwave for 2 minutes at 50% power. Remove the bowl and stir the mixture until smooth.
- Transfer the chocolate fondue to a serving dish and set it aside to thicken slightly while you prepare the dippers.
- On a platter or board, place the serving dish with the fondue in the centre. Section off the area around the bowl into wedges. In each wedge, arrange a different type of dipper, creating a colourful and inviting display.
- For example, you could have a wedge of graham cracker squares, a wedge of pretzel sticks, a wedge of cream puffs, and then fill the remaining wedges with different colours of berries.
- Serve your dessert fondue immediately, and enjoy!