A cheese platter is a simple and elegant dessert option. We love traditional desserts like ice cream or apple pie or chocolate pudding, sometimes it’s a nice note to end a meal without a sugar high. Cheese paired with sweet flavours like honey, figs, grapes and other fruits brings a whole new dimension of flavour to cheeses, and feels very elegant without a whole lot of work.
Choose 2-3 cheeses for variety without overwhelming your guests (or yourself!). This is a good time to steer away from lots of strong flavours and really embrace the subtle aromas of cheeses. Here are some suggestions for great dessert cheeses and what to pair them with. These cheeses should be relatively easy to find in your local supermarket, without having to go to a specialty cheese shop.
Brie: Brie is a classic choice for dessert. Its creamy texture and mild, buttery flavour make it an excellent pairing with fruits like figs, pears, or grapes. Serve it with a drizzle of honey for added sweetness.
Camembert: Similar to Brie, Camembert has a creamy texture and a slightly more robust flavour. It pairs beautifully with fresh berries or a berry compote.
Blue cheeses: Blue cheeses can range from strong and pungent flavours to milk and only a hint of blue. Strong flavours pair well with apple or pear slices, which have a sweetness without competing. Milder blues pair with honey and walnuts. Stilton blue is often served with a port wine, if you’re looking for a traditional pairing.
Wensleydale: Wensleydale is a crumbly but supple cheese. It is frequently sold with apricots or cranberries already mixed in, making it perfect for a dessert course cheese. You can of course buy it without the fruit and add your own though.
Brillat-Savarin: This soft cheese can be harder to track down but it is an excellent beginners dessert cheese with its rich buttery flavour. It pairs well with grapes and walnuts.
Parmesan: Strong and salty parmesan might not immediately come to mind when thinking about dessert but parmesan is actually very edible chunked off the block. It shines when paired with sliced fig and honey.
Comte: Comte is a semi-hard french cheese with a mild and slightly sweet flavour. It pairs well with strawberries, figs and caramelised bananas.
Gouda: Aromatic and caramel-like gouda with its dense and springy texture pairs well with dark chocolate for an indulgent treat.
Emmental: Emmental has tones of ripe fruit and hazelnuts, with no acidity, and a firm and dense texture. Also known as emmentaler, it pairs well with a jam like citrus marmalade.
A good rule of thumb for selecting cheeses is a soft cheese, a hard cheese and a blue. You can serve them on a platter to share or on individual plates for a more formal experience.