More often than not, we associate cheese with savoury dishes. What may surprise you is the fact that you can use this delicious ingredient to make some of the most scrumptious cheese desserts. Here are a couple of recipes to keep in mind when you want to bake with cheese.

Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust

Cheddar is a particularly scrumptious cheese and is very popular in many households. This recipe calls for a good helping of cheddar along with a few other ingredients.

Ingredients for the crust:

  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 6 ounces cheddar cheese (grated)
  • ½ cup vegetable shortening (chilled and cut into pieces)
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup ice water

Ingredients for the filling:

  • 4lbs Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored, and sliced thinly)
  • 2/3 cup raisins
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup and 2 teaspoons white sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 egg beaten and blended with 1 tablespoon water

 

Directions to prepare the crust:

  • To make this scrumptious cheese crust, you will need to begin by combining the flour and salt in a food processor.
  • Add the butter and shortening and pulse together.
  • Next, add the cheese and blend well by pulsing again until you achieve a crumbly consistency.
  • Turn the processor to a slow speed and gradually add water until the texture is soft. It might be lumpy but this is not a problem.
  • Press the dough into a disc shape and wrap in plastic before you refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Directions to prepare the filling:

  • While your scrumptious cheese crush is resting in the fridge, it’s time to make the filling. Mix the apples, raisins, 1/3 cup of white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and nutmeg together in a bowl. Allow this mixture to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat your oven to 400 F.
  • Remove the dough from your fridge and allow it to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.
  • Spoon the apple mixture into a baking dish and dot three tablespoons of butter on top.
  • Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. The dough should be ½ an inch larger than the baking dish.
  • Fold the extra ½ inch of dough in. Crimp the edges to make a thick border.
  • Place the dough on top of the fruit mixture and make sure all the edges are neatly tucked in.
  • Bake for 15 minutes before brushing with egg and water glaze.
  • Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of white sugar over the top and bake at 375 F for another 35 minutes.
  • Allow to cool for 15 minutes and make sure you serve this dish warm.

Mascarpone Brownies

This scrumptious cheese dessert recipe only requires a few ingredients and is really easy to make.

Main ingredients:

  • ½ cup Mascarpone cheese
  • 1 cup butter (unsalted)
  • 3 ounces semisweet chocolate (chopped finely)
  • ½ cup cocoa powder (sifted)
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 eggs (room temperature)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Ingredients for the Ganache:

  • 6 tablespoons whipping cream
  • 6 ounces semisweet chocolate (chopped finely)
  • 3 tablespoons butter (unsalted)

Directions:

  • Before you begin making this scrumptious cheese dessert, you should warm your oven to 375 F and prepare your pan by greasing it or use parchment paper.
  • Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl and then add 3 ounces of chocolate. Mix well until the two ingredients are properly combined.
  • Add sugar to the mixture and heat again. It should now have a shiny appearance.
  • Add the marscapone, vanilla and eggs before mixing thoroughly.
  • Sift together the flour, cocoa and salt. Add this mixture to the chocolate mixture and stir well.
  • Pour this batter into the baking pan and bake for 40 – 50 minutes.
  • Allow to cool.
  • To prepare the ganache, you will need to heat the butter and cream together.
  • Add the chocolate and mix until properly combined and smooth.
  • Pour this ganache over the brownies while they are warn but not hot.
  • Allow the ganache to set on the brownies. You can place them in the fridge to speed up the process.
  • Cut your brownies into portions and enjoy!

As you can see, these scrumptious cheese desserts may contain a savoury ingredient but the results are deliciously sweet! Apart from these two recipes, there are also other popular cheese desserts such as cheesecake which is an extremely rewarding recipe to master.