Build a stunning, colorful and perfectly sweet dessert charcuterie board full of all your favorite sweet treats and cheeses to pair with!
Whether you are building a charcuterie board for Valentines day or just want to make a sweet and simple dessert charcuterie board to snack on, you will love the cheese and dessert pairings for this dessert cheese board!
In a past life, I worked as a cheesemonger for a few years, and during that time I learned so much about cheese! I learned all about how to arrange a simple cheese board, as well as different cheese pairings with all sorts of additions, such asn sweets and cookies. This was a fun board to create and yes, you can have your dessert and eat it too (even with cheese!)
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🍓Ingredients
Cheese pairs very well with sweets and desserts. Here are some ingredients to add to your dessert cheese board.
Cheese
- Triple Cream Brie: Triple cream brie is decadent and rich. Some options are St Angel, shown in these photos and Delice de Bourgogne, which is rich and buttery. You can also look for a mild double cream brie, such as D'affinois.
- Mascarpone: This is a creamy, thick and spreadable Italian cream cheese. Top mascarpone with dried rose petals or with strawberry or raspberry jam.
- Kaltbach Cremeux: This is an alpine style cheese from Switzerland and personally, one of my all time favorite cheeses! Kaltbach cremeux melts really well and is delicious simply sliced on it's own. The flavor is slightly nutty and buttery. If kaltbach cremeux isn't available, look for Gruyere cheese.
- Roquefort Blue Cheese: This is a sheeps milk blue cheese from France. Roquefort is creamy and slightly salty and spreads very well. Use roquefort cheese when making a blue cheese dressing or topping a grilled steak.
- Aged Gouda: Aged gouda has lovely protein crystals called tyrosine. These give a great crunchy texture to the nutty and buttery cheese. Cut the aged gouda into rustic cubes.
Sweets and Crackers
- Chocolate Bar: Use a good quality semi sweet or dark chocolate bar. Break up the pieces and add them to your dessert board.
- Crackers: Look for buttery crackers and chocolate crackers to pair with the theme. Some favorite are these chocolate crackers and these buttery shortbread crackers.
- Linzer Cookies: Or jam filled thumbprints.
- Chocolate Covered Strawberries and Cherries: Melt chocolate and dip the strawberries into the melted chocolate. Do the same with maraschino cherries. Then place on a parchment lined plate to dry.
- Fresh Berries: Raspberries, strawberries and cherries, if they are in season.
- Macarons: Many local bakeries make macarons but they are also available online. feeling inspired, Let's make some Make Marzipan Fruits and give some as a sweet gift.
- Honeycomb: Break up the honeycomb into small chunks and serve alongside the blue cheese.
- Jam: Strawberry jam, raspberry jam and black cherry jam are some favorites.
- Nuts: Because there are a lot of sweets on the dessert charcuterie board, look for something salty to balance the flavors, such as whole pistachios or almonds.
🍪 How to Arrange a Dessert Charcuterie Board
- Assemble the bowls with jams or mascarpone cheese onto the cheese board.
- Arrange the cheeses around the cheese board, evenly spaced out.
- Add the honeycomb next to the blue cheese and arrange the chocolate dipped strawberries.
- Nestle the crackers, cookies and macarons around the cheese and in the large areas.
- Fill in the gaps with fresh fruit, nuts and pieces of chocolate bar.
🧀 Dessert and Cheese Pairings
Try these fun and delicious cheese and dessert pairings.
- Roquefort Blue Cheese + Honeycomb + Shortbread Crackers
- Triple Cream Brie + Linzer Cookies or Jam Filled Thumbprints
- Kaltbach Cremeux + Chocolate Cracker
- Mascarpone Cheese + Raspberry Jam + Dark Chocolate
- Aged Gouda + Chocolate Crackers
- Triple Cream Brie + Shortbread Crackers + Strawberry Jam
📍Cheese Board Tips
- Let the cheese sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving.
- Make the board look full, without any gaps.
- Make the chocolate covered strawberries ahead of time, so the chocolate has time to harden.
- Cut the cheeses into different shapes for a better visual effect. Cut the gouda into cubes, the alpine style cheese into slices and the blue cheese into a wedge.
- Serve your dessert charcuterie board with sparkling wine.
What cheeses pair with dessert?
Cheese and dessert pair very well together! Try a creamy brie cheese with raspberry jam and jam filled cookies, such as thumbprints. And try aged gouda with dark chocolate.
Can you make a charcuterie board ahead of time?
Yes you can. If making a charcuterie board ahead of time, arrange the cheeses on the board and make sure the fruit is not wet and is fully dry. Keep the crackers separate until ready to serve, as the crackers can get soggy if placed in the refrigerator.
How much cheese per person?
A general rule is to have 2 ounces of each cheese, per person with 3-5 different styles of cheese.
More appetizer inspiration
Dessert Charcuterie Board
LittleFerraroKitchen.com
Build a stunning, colorful and perfectly sweet dessert charcuterie board full of all of your favorite sweet treats and cheeses to pair with!
Ingredients
Cheese
- 4 ounces Triple Cream Brie
- 4 ounces Roquefort Blue Cheese
- 4 ounces Kaltbach Cremeux sliced, or Gruyere cheese
- ½ cup Aged Gouda cut into ½ inch cubes
- ½ cup Mascarpone cheese top with dried rose petals, optional
Crackers and Sweets
- Dark Chocolate Bar broken up into pieces or chunks
- Crackers chocolate or shortbread crackers
- Linzer Cookies or thumbprints
- Fresh Raspberries
- Chocolate Dipped Strawberries recipe below
- Chocolate Dipped Maraschino Cherries recipe below
- Macarons
- Honeycomb cut into small chunks
- Fruit Jam
- Whole Pistachios
Instructions
Make the Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
- Wash and dry the strawberries very well. Dry the maraschino cherries.
- Melt 1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds until melted or use a double boiler.
- If using a double boiler, add an inch of water to a small pot and place a heat proof glass bowl on top, making sure the bowl is not touching the water.
- Pour 5 ounces of chocolate chips into the bowl and bring up to a simmer. Use a spatula to whisk the chocolate until melted.
- Dip the fruit into the chocolate and place on a parchment lined plate until the chocolate has solidified.
Arrange the Dessert Board
- Fill bowls with mascarpone cheese and another bowl with jam and assemble onto the cheese board. Garnish the mascarpone cheese with dried rose petals or jam.
- Arrange the cheeses around the cheese board, evenly spaced out.
- Add the honeycomb next to the blue cheese and arrange the chocolate dipped strawberries and cherries.
- Nestle the crackers, cookies and macarons around the cheese and in the large areas.
- Fill in the gaps with fresh fruit, nuts and pieces of chocolate bar.
Video
Notes
- Measurements of cheeses are estimates, but a good rule of thumb is 2 ounces of each cheese, per person.
- Let cheese come to room temperature 30 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 155kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 6gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 172mgPotassium: 24mgSugar: 0.4gVitamin A: 374IUCalcium: 164mgIron: 0.05mg
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Blake says
I needed something impressive. I was in charge of Dessert for a small gathering and didn't want a typical Cake or Ice cream. If I had more time I would have done the Amaretto Tiramisu or the San Sebastian Cheesecake from Chef Samantha's website. I brought some champagne and sparkling apple juice to go with the Dessert Charcuterie Board. Everybody loved it.
FamilyCook says
We rarely do cheese boards, Probably because When I do it just looks like a pile of finger food on a platter. I took a breath and followed the steps here in this recipe. Not only was it fun but everybody had a favorite bite. I did order a nes cheese tray and will re-do it when my Amazon delivery arrives.