Spread the joy! Ten delicious ways with leftover cream cheese – from curry to decadent shortcake

Not so way back, I had the misfortune of discovering some wildly out-of-date cream cheese festering in the back of my fridge. I'd quite burn down my fridge than ever put myself in that place once more. Fortunately, I don’t must. Cream cheese is a type of magic elements that may elevate virtually any dish, so it’s straightforward to make use of up. Some recipes right here name for a full tub, others only a spoonful.

Tamal Ray’s honey-and-ginger cheesecake with streusel topping.
Tamal Ray’s honey-and-ginger cheesecake with streusel topping. Photograph: Lizzie Mayson/The Guardian

Honey-and-ginger cheesecake with streusel topping

The primary and most evident factor to do with cream cheese is to make a cheesecake, however you already knew this. I’m going to recommend Tamal Ray’s honey and ginger cheesecake with streusel topping; a Basque-inspired marvel that's virtually as a lot creme brulee as cheesecake. It makes use of a ton of cream cheese, so it in all probability isn’t strictly a leftovers recipe, however it's spectacular nonetheless.

Stuffed french toast

Utilizing half the quantity of cream cheese (however nonetheless quite a bit), is Michael Zee’s recipe for stuffed french toast, which is decadent to the purpose of absurdity. Think about a sandwich, crammed with a mix of cream cheese, strawberries, rosewater and jam, that's soaked in milk then fried in butter. That is the form of breakfast you'd make not more than as soon as a decade, as a result of the human physique can solely face up to a lot opulence.

Strawberry shortcake cookies.
Strawberry shortcake cookies. Photograph: Julie Marie Craig/Getty Pictures

Strawberry shortcake cookies

Lowering the quantity but once more, Lauren Miyashiro’s recipe for strawberry shortcake cookies requires just some tablespoons of cream cheese. The scantness is as a result of these are crammed cookies: the cookie dough is rigorously folded round a dollop of sweetened, lemony cream cheese. It's way more of a faff than making common cookies, however the result's magnificently fluffy. Plus, you're going to get to make use of up your outdated cream cheese, which is the explanation we’re right here, bear in mind?

Nigel Slater’s salmon and cream cheese tart.
Nigel Slater’s salmon and cream cheese tart. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin/The Observer

Salmon and cream cheese tart

Transferring on to savoury dishes, Nigel Slater’s 2020 recipe for salmon and cream cheese tart is a factor of marvel, like a quiche from the gods. Spiked with dill, it’s the form of tart that has an irresistible wobble when it comes out of the oven, and is sure to impress anybody who tries it.

Creamy lentil curry.
Creamy lentil curry. Photograph: Simon Reddy/Alamy

Creamy lentil curry

I solely seemed on the official Philadelphia recipe web site within the hope that it will throw up a godawful, who-would-eat-this concoction. Sadly, although, it solely accommodates rigorously stable recipes. The most effective of them is its creamy lentil curry. That is good leftovers territory, requiring simply three tablespoons of cream cheese, and it will likely be on the desk in 20 minutes. It has the potential to develop into a weeknight staple.

Yotam Ottolenghi’s prawn and cream cheese pasties.
Yotam Ottolenghi’s prawn and cream cheese pasties. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian

Prawn and cream cheese pasties

Clearly, the very best factor about cream cheese is its capacity to show into culinary catnip when heated sufficient. Yotam Ottolenghi’s prawn and cream cheese pasties make full use of this high quality. Combined with prawns, chilli and tomato, the cream cheese in these tiny, deep-fried pasties has a behavior of exploding as you chew into them. Heavenly.

Jalapeño poppers

In case you solely wish to use minimal elements and fewer effort, you possibly can obtain roughly the identical impact as Ottolenghi’s pasties with Alvin Zhou’s jalapeño poppers. Get a chilli pepper, fill it with cream cheese, wrap it in bacon, and bake. You'll quickly be in a red-hot, molten wonderland.

Obatzda dip with a pretzel.
Obatzda dip with a pretzel. Photograph: Dietmar Rauscher/Alamy

Obatzda

Obatzda is a German dish made with gentle cheese, cream cheese and wheat beer. Only a Little Chew’s recipe is maybe a bit of thicker than most, but it surely’s nonetheless principally simply an meeting job quite than a full kitchen expedition. Plus, its consistency permits it for use as a sandwich unfold simply as simply as a pretzel dip.

Scrambled egg with cream cheese.
Scrambled egg with cream cheese. Photograph: Petr Goskov/Alamy

Scrambled eggs

Earlier than we wrap up, right here is an train in contrasts. In case you’ve simply obtained a little bit of cream cheese to make use of up, and also you’re at a loss for lunch concepts, chuck a spoonful into some scrambled eggs. It really works absolute wonders, making the eggs fluffier and creamier, whereas the temperature will assist to forestall them from overcooking, so that you received’t need to labour by a depressing rubbery meal. Greatist has a helpful walkthrough, but it surely’s all just about self-explanatory.

Savoury cheese-filled croquembouche

Lastly, probably the most elaborate, labour-intensive cream cheese recipe on Earth. That’s proper, it’s Molly Baz’s cheese-filled croquembouche. Forty-eight savoury profiteroles, delicately crammed with a mix of herby cream cheese, ricotta and parsley, glued right into a vertigo-inducing tower with pepper-flavoured caramel. You'll in all probability by no means, ever make this, however it's unarguably a factor of marvel.

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