Cream Cheese
Cream cheese is a soft, mild, tangy fresh cheese made from cream and milk, best known as the base of cheesecake and the classic bagel spread.
How to buy
Choose blocks or tubs that feel dense and smooth with no liquid separation on top. Whipped cream cheese is aerated and softer, better for spreading than for baking, where a solid block gives more predictable structure. The smell should be clean and mildly tangy, not sour.
How to store
Keep refrigerated and tightly wrapped, using it within 1-2 weeks of opening. Cream cheese doesn't freeze well for spreading since it turns grainy and watery, though it can still work in cooked baked goods after thawing.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Mildly tangy, rich, and slightly sweet on its own, blending well into both sweet and savory preparations without overpowering them.
- Texture
- Thick, dense, and smooth when cold, softening to a spreadable, almost whippable consistency at room temperature.
- Aroma
- A mild, clean lactic tang with little other aroma.
How to prepare
- Whipped — Beaten smooth and airy, often sweetened, for frostings or dessert fillings.
- Blended into batter — Mixed into cheesecake batter for its characteristic dense, tangy set.
- Spread — Softened and spread cold on bagels, toast, or crackers.
- Melted into dips — Warmed and stirred into dips and sauces for a creamy, rich base.
Classic dishes
American
- New York cheesecake — A dense, rich baked cheesecake built almost entirely on cream cheese.
- Cream cheese frosting — A tangy-sweet frosting for carrot cake and red velvet cake, balancing their sweetness.
- Bagels with cream cheese and lox — A toasted or fresh bagel spread with cream cheese and topped with smoked salmon.
- Cream cheese danish — A sweet pastry filled with a baked cream cheese center.
- Jalapeño poppers — Jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese, often breaded and baked or fried.
- Spinach and artichoke dip — A warm, creamy party dip built on a cream cheese base with spinach and artichoke hearts.
- Buffalo chicken dip — Shredded chicken and hot sauce blended with cream cheese into a baked, spoonable dip.
- Crab rangoon — Fried wonton wrappers filled with a sweet cream cheese and crab mixture, a staple of American Chinese restaurants.
- Cream cheese-stuffed chicken breast — Chicken pounded thin and rolled around a cream cheese filling before baking.
- Cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing — Sweet rolled dough topped with a tangy cream cheese glaze.
- Cream cheese pinwheels — Tortillas spread with seasoned cream cheese, rolled, and sliced into bite-sized appetizers.
- Smoked salmon cream cheese canapés — Small toasts or crackers topped with cream cheese and smoked salmon.
- No-bake cheesecake — A chilled, set cheesecake relying on whipped cream cheese instead of baking.
- Cream cheese mashed potatoes — Mashed potatoes enriched with cream cheese for extra tang and silkiness.
- Rugelach — A rolled pastry whose dough is traditionally made rich and tender with cream cheese.
- Cream cheese-stuffed mushrooms — Mushroom caps filled with a seasoned cream cheese mixture and baked until bubbling.
- Kolache with cream cheese filling — A sweet yeasted bun with a baked cream cheese center, a Czech-American bakery staple.
Substitutions
- Ricotta Cheese — Lighter and grainier than cream cheese; blend smooth first and expect a less dense result in baking.
- Sour Cream — Much thinner; useful for flavor in dips but won't hold structure the way cream cheese does in baking.