French Cheesecake for the Holidays
There are nights when apéro lingers and turns into the whole evening. For today’s everyday apéro, I made a French cheese “cake.” A tower of French cheese, layered, rustic, and so easy to build with whatever beautiful cheeses you have on hand.
It’s a grand centerpiece you can eat from apéro all the way to dessert.
Start with the base: Petit Brie
Every tower needs a foundation, and a large wheel of Petit Brie is perfect. It’s the broadest round cheese, creamy and mild, and it sets the stage for the rest of the cheese.
Second tier: Fourme d’Ambert
This blue beauty from Auvergne is one of France’s oldest cheeses and one of its gentlest blues. It adds height, a gorgeous marbled interior, and a subtle richness without being overwhelming.
Third tier: Chaussée aux Moines
A washed-rind classic that’s smooth, savory, and a tiny bit funky in the best way. The golden, glossy rind looks so festive in this tower.
Fourth tier: Selles-sur-Cher
Rustic, elegant, and coated in an ashy, velvety grey rind. It’s tangy, refined, and gives the tower both color and texture.
Fifth tier: Reblochon
A washed-rind mountain cheese from the Alps. Soft, pudding-like, and deeply savory. Giving cozy chalet in Megeve vibes.
And finally, our Loire Valley moment:
A crown of mini chévres and a perfect Crottin de Chavignol. Soft, tangy, bright goat cheese from the Loire Valley. They balance all the richness below and are the perfect crowned jewels of our cheese cake.
Decorate the tower
Adorn the base with whatever you have: fresh clementines, toasted nuts, a drizzle of honey, snowflake toppers, and herbs.
Best wine pairings
Notte Bianca Spumante pairs with every cheese in this tower. The bubbles cleanse the palate between cheeses and the acidity cuts the richness of the cheeses, so the flavors never overpower each other. The salt in the cheese enhances the flavor of the Spumante and makes it taste fresher, smoother and fruitier. Spumante is airy and elegant and lets the cheese shine and a single bottle of it can carry you from cheese to cheese without clashing.
Good Clean White pairs beautifully with all of these cheeses. It has the exact balance of freshness, minerality, and gentle fruit that pairs with the creamy brie on the bottom to the tangy chéve on the top.
Good Clean Red can gracefully handle all of these cheeses without overwhelming them. It’s light, bright, and smooth, with juicy red fruit that flatters soft and funky cheeses. Exactly the kind of red that pairs with all these creamy and tangy cheeses.
With this grand apéro cheesecake, who needs dinner and dessert? This can feed a table from the first glass to the last, looks stunning as a center piece, and can double as a birthday cake for your cheese lover.
Easy, no-bake, impressive, and delicious. Just good wine, good cheese, and a little creativity.
