This Cheese Makes A Restaurant-Quality Dessert (It's Not Ricotta)

There are a few ways that you might be used to seeing cheese on the dessert menu, aside from the cheese platter that sometimes serves as the finish to a good meal. There are the many types of cheesecake, as well as tiramisu with silky mascarpone, and the myriad creative uses for ricotta, some of which lean sweet. But there's one cheese suited just as well to dessert as it is to dinner that is not so common in confections. As it turns out, a ball of creamy burrata is a shortcut to an elegant, restaurant-worthy dessert that asks very little effort of the cook.

If you haven't tried it before, burrata is an Italian cheese unlike any other. On the plate it looks just like a ball of fresh mozzarella, but this cheese is all about the filling. Inside that thin shell of stretched mozzarella there is a mixture of cream and mozzarella shreds called stracciatella. The combination of textures and flavors, with stretchy, salty mozzarella and rich cream, adds lusciousness and savor to whatever it accompanies.

Some argue that the best way to serve burrata is on its own, perhaps drizzled with olive oil, but this cheese also has a beautiful ability to enhance just about anything, sweet or savory. There are, after all, few dishes that don't benefit from a touch of cream. Most often it is served in savory settings, but when you replace olive oil and fresh tomatoes with grilled fruit and honey, you get a stunning dessert that your guests won't soon forget.

You don't need much to turn burrata into an excellent dessert. The creamy cheese makes a perfect complement to sweet, tart fruits, and a touch of herbal aroma never hurts. Plate burrata with grilled grapes, or instead try pan-seared peaches and tender basil leaves. A drizzle of honey over the top enhances the sweetness of the dish, but another interesting choice that is surprisingly easy to make yourself is a thick, syrupy homemade balsamic glaze. The sharpness of the vinegar cuts through the richness of the cheese, but the sweetness of the glaze also pairs perfectly with fruits like roasted strawberries. Artfully arrange it all on a plate for a refined dessert as is, or spread the combination over toasts for a lightly sweet handheld bite.

If you want to get a bit more creative with your burrata desserts, it can fill some other surprising roles in the pastry kitchen. You can top a cobbler with burrata much like you would a scoop of ice cream. It is not so sugary as ice cream, which is actually perfect for a dessert that is already quite sweet on its own, allowing the richness of the cheese to star alongside the syrupy fruits.

Another meal-ending idea for this unique cheese is using it as the centerpiece of a dessert pizza. A warm pizza crust topped with sliced figs, a drizzle of honey, some fresh thyme leaves, and a ball of burrata in the center is a wonderful way to cap off a delicious dinner.