Cheeses for desserts and sweets
Cheesecake, rasgulla, sandesh, kunafa, cannoli and the sweets made from fresh cheese.
Fresh cheese is the base of some of the world's best-loved sweets. India's rasgulla, sandesh, rasmalai and chhena poda are made from chhena; Italy's cannoli and cassata from ricotta; New York cheesecake from cream cheese; Russian paskha and syrniki from tvorog; and the Levantine kunafa from akkawi or nabulsi under syrup. A board of aged cheese with fruit and honey is another kind of dessert.
Chhena sweets of Bengal and Odisha
Chhena is curdled with lemon juice or sour whey, drained, and kneaded smooth before it becomes a sweet. Rasgulla rolls it into balls cooked in light syrup; both West Bengal and Odisha claim it, and each received a geographical indication, Banglar Rasogolla in 2017 and Odisha Rasagola in 2019. Sandesh is cooked with sugar in a pan and pressed into moulds. Rasmalai soaks flattened balls of chhena in thickened, sweetened milk with saffron and cardamom.
Cheesecakes of the world
Cheesecake has a long history in Europe, and every country bakes its own. New York cheesecake is dense with cream cheese. German Käsekuchen and Polish sernik use quark and twaróg, and Italian cheesecake uses ricotta. The Basque burnt cheesecake, from San Sebastián, is baked very hot until its top is dark and its centre still soft. Japanese cotton cheesecake is light and airy, closer to a soufflé.
Syrup, pastry and fruit
Kunafa layers shredded or semolina pastry over desalted cheese, then soaks it in syrup, and the city of Nablus is especially known for it. Sicilian cannoli fill fried pastry tubes with sweetened ricotta, and cassata layers ricotta with sponge and candied fruit. In Russia and Ukraine, syrniki are fried tvorog patties served with sour cream or jam. In Brazil, a slice of Minas cheese with guava paste is called Romeu e Julieta, Romeo and Juliet.
Worth knowing
- Rasgulla: Chhena balls in light syrup
- Sandesh: Pressed sweet of chhena and sugar
- Ras malai: Chhena in sweet, saffron milk
- Cheesecake: Baked in every style from New York to San Sebastián
- Knafeh: Cheese pastry in syrup, famous in Nablus
- Cannoli: Sicilian pastry tubes of sweet ricotta
- Syrniki: Fried tvorog patties
- Paskha: Moulded tvorog dessert of Orthodox Easter
Sources and further reading
Original text by the EveryCheese desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Customs are described as tradition, not as advice. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Desserts and sweets on EveryCheese
The cheeses written up so far, best known first.
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreRicotta
A fresh Italian whey cheese made by reheating leftover proteins from other cheesemaking batches.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 ItalyMascarpone
A soft, unripened Italian cream cheese made by acid-set coagulation of heavy cream.Cow · Fresh
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreQuarkTvorog
A fresh, acid-set cow's milk cheese with a smooth texture and mild taste.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreCottage cheese
A fresh, unaged curd cheese made from skimmed milk and dressed with cream.Cow · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreCream cheese
A soft, unripened cow's-milk cheese made with added cream and eaten fresh.Cow · Fresh · Buttery and creamy
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreTvorogтворог
A soft, white fermented cow's milk curd from Central and Eastern Europe.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇫🇷 FranceBrocciu
A fresh Corsican cheese made from sheep milk and whey, drained in rush baskets.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKhoa
A soft South Asian cheese made by simmering whole milk until thick and dry.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreBread cheeseleipäjuusto
A Finnish fresh cow's-milk cheese that squeaks when bitten and is traditionally baked or grilled.Cow · Fresh · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreBel Paese
A semi-soft cow's milk cheese from Italy with a mild buttery flavor and pale yellow color.Cow · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy
🇷🇴 Romania and 4 moreUrdaurdă
A fresh whey cheese from Southeast Europe and Hungary, made by boiling leftover milk liquid.Mixed · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇪🇸 SpainTetillaQueixo Tetilla
A soft, conical cow's-milk cheese from Galicia with a distinctive nipple-like peak.Cow · Bloomy rind · Buttery and creamy
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreChhenaଛେନ୍ନା / ছানা
A fresh, acid-set cow or buffalo milk cheese from eastern India and Bangladesh.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇵🇸 Palestine and 1 moreNabulsi cheeseجبنة نابلسية
A white brined semi-hard cheese from Nablus, flavored with mahleb and mastic.Sheep · Brined · Salty
🇪🇸 SpainMató
A fresh, unsalted Catalan cheese from sheep or goat milk, served with honey.Sheep · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇫🇷 FrancePetit suisse
A fresh, creamy French cow's milk cheese from Normandy, often sold in small cups.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreFromage blanc
A mild, acid-set fresh cheese from northern France and southern Belgium.Cow · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇫🇷 FranceFaisselle
A fresh, very soft French cheese strained in a faisselle mold, made from cow, goat, or sheep milk.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 ItalyFormaggio di fossa
A sharp Italian cheese aged in sealed underground pits for a distinct anaerobic fermentation.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇪🇸 SpainGarrotxa
A semi-soft Catalan goat cheese with a powdery gray rind and earthy flavor.Goat · Semi-soft · Earthy and cellar
🇬🇷 GreeceXynomizithraΞινομυζήθρα
A soft, sour Greek whey cheese from Crete made with sheep or goat milk.Sheep · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇫🇷 FranceDélice de Bourgogne
A soft triple-cream cow's milk cheese from Burgundy with a bloomy rind.Cow · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇬🇧 United KingdomCrowdiegruth
A soft, fresh Scottish cow's-milk cheese set by lactic acid without rennet.Cow · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇫🇷 FranceBrousse
A lumpy whey cheese from Provence and Corsica made from cow, sheep or goat milk.Cow · Whey · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 ItalyReblecRéblèque
A fresh Aosta Valley cheese made from surfaced cream and raw milk.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 ItalyHyblean ricottaRicotta iblea
A whey cheese from Sicily made with Modicana cow's milk and used in local pastries.Cow · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇳 IndiaChhena Podaଛେନାପୋଡ଼
A baked Odisha dessert of caramelised cottage cheese and sugarCow · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇵🇱 PolandHomogenized cheeseserek homogenizowany
A smooth Polish fresh cheese made from acid-set curd and cream.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Brocciu: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bel Paese: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Formaggio di fossa: Zeugma fr ( talk ) (Antoine FLEURY-GOBERT), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tetilla: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Ricotta: 8w9d, CC0, source
- Petit suisse: Chtfn, CC BY 2.5, source
- Faisselle: Véronique PAGNIER, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mató: Eabayar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fromage blanc: Pancrat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mascarpone: Brodolò1, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Urda: Mngck, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nabulsi cheese: رائد عزمي حموده, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tvorog: Loyna, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Bread cheese: Teemu Rajala, CC BY 2.5, source
- Quark: SKopp, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cottage cheese: F ASTILY (T ALK ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cream cheese: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Khoa: Miansari66, Public domain, source
- Chhena: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, source
- Garrotxa: Government of Catalonia, Attribution, source
- Reblec: F Ceragioli, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Brousse: Roland Darré, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Délice de Bourgogne: Beprost, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hyblean ricotta: Micniosi, Public domain, source
- Homogenized cheese: Kaworu1992, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chhena Poda: http://recipes.oriyaonline.com/content_images/chhena%20poda.JPG, FAL, source