Give Cheesecake A Savory Upgrade With An Unexpected Cheese

Cheesecakes stand the test of time as a dessert because they're easy to make and customize. They're so tempting that even though we're lactose intolerant, we can't help but bake and eat them. You can bake them into Japanese or Basque cheesecakes, or make a bake-free, icebox version using cream cheese, whipped heavy cream, and gelatin. Change up the flavors and ingredients in the cheesy dessert if you'd like. You can even give cheesecake a savory upgrade with an unexpected cheese: blue cheese.

This recommendation may surprise you, as we normally use blue cheese to make a bold sauce for pasta or add it to salads. Seasoned bakers will tell you that all sweet treats need a touch of balance from a salty ingredient, be it salt itself or a touch of miso. In this case, we'll be using crumbles of blue cheese, which lends its strong, sharp, earthy, and tangy flavors. Some say blue cheese has a bit of funk and subtle spiciness. Since blue cheese can be quite intense, you won't need to add a lot of it to balance the sweetness of cheesecake. Start with a few crumbles, mixed into the cream cheese batter, and go from there.

Adding blue cheese to desserts, is admittedly, not a new idea. Salt & Straw makes a delicious pear and blue cheese ice cream. Meanwhile, on a charcuterie board, blue cheese is often found next to fruits and honey. The sweet and salty pairing is divine.

Let's get back to cheesecakes, as there are many recipes for this dessert that you can upgrade with blue cheese. For example, try tweaking Molly Madigan Pisula's baked ricotta cheesecake recipe. Omit the pinch of salt, and pulse a teaspoon or so of crumbled blue cheese with the ricotta and cream cheese in the food processor. Then, proceed with baking the cake as instructed. For even more blue cheese flavor and punch, top a slice of the cake with a few crumbs of blue cheese. 

Another recipe you can upgrade with blue cheese is Katie Rosenhouse's double-salted caramel cheesecake recipe. This recipe is perfect for incorporating the savory cheese as it has a salt component from the get-go. For this recipe, you can again mix a little blue cheese directly into the cheesecake batter. Additionally, instead of using salt in the caramel, mix in blue cheese. The result is a double blue cheese salted caramel cheesecake that will make your taste buds dance delightfully.