Learn how to make soft cream cheese at home using sour cream and yogurt. In just 12 hours, you will have a delicious spread to use for breakfast, a perfect base for a sauce, salad dressing, and, of course, a variety of desserts.
It was my first experience making soft cheese. Therefore, I decided to document it. As you would expect, I stumbled upon some difficulties, but the result was quite satisfying. This recipe came out as a result of an experiment. I had guests coming in the evening and decided to bake my favorite carrot cake (for those who are wondering, the recipe is here). However, there is no carrot cake for me without the icing that you make with cream cheese, and I did not have it.
So, I started wondering whether you can make it at home or not. First, I stumbled across recipes where milk was the main ingredient and, unfortunately, you had to wait about 12 hours or overnight to let the soft cheese form. Yeah, my guests had to have carrot cake without white frosting. However, I decided to make cream cheese nevertheless and have it the next day if there was any leftover cake.
However, I had another problem. There was no milk. I kept browsing until I found a perfect recipe where you could use sour cream or yogurt. As a result, I had them combined to get the amount of cheese that I needed. I hope that you will appreciate the recipe as the cream cheese itself came out tastier than I have ever expected. It has a tender texture with a slightly sour note. This recipe will be perfect to use to make cream cheese for cheesecake, for example.
Here are some other recipes that were born because of an experiment:
- Apple Strudel Recipe with Soft Flatbread
- Easy Pate Recipe with Chicken Liver
- 3-ingredient Coconut Cookies
Homemade Cream Cheese Ingredients:
- 200 g sour cream;
- 500 ml plain yogurt (preferably drinkable);
- ½ tsp. lemon juice;
- 1/3 tsp. salt;
- Sieve, butter muslin, or thick fabric.
How to make cream cheese at home with three main ingredients:
- I started by placing a cheesecloth in three layers. Unfortunately, I did not have a butter muslin (a finer type of cheesecloth). And, in the end, decided that it was still too coarse to use for draining soft cheese. So, I took a thick fabric and layered it over the gauze. You can avoid all this trouble simply by acquiring a sheet of butter muslin in advance.
- Pour yogurt into the bowl. I will once again emphasize that it should be plain with no added sugar and supplements.
- Add sour cream to yogurt.
- Whisk sour cream and yogurt to combine. Make sure to avoid any lumps in the mixture.
- Add mentioned amount of salt to the mix and lemon juice (preferably freshly squeezed).
- Wrap up the ends of the cloth to cover the mixture.
- Place some weight on the top. I used a carafe filled with water placed on a plate.
- Put the bowl into the fridge for 12 hours. When cheese is ready, get rid of the weight, transfer soft cheese to the desired dish, and serve. As a result, you will get 350 g of soft, delicious cream cheese. Enjoy!
If you liked my version of Homemade Cream Cheese, I would appreciate it so much if you would share it on Pinterest or you could give the recipe a star review!
Of course, you can use both homemade and store-bought cream cheese. However, the recipe can come in handy when you have forgotten to buy cream cheese at the store, and you need to have it the next day for some recipe.
Homemade Cream Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 200 g sour cream
- 500 ml plain yogurt (preferably drinkable)
- ½ tsp. lemon juice
- ⅓ tsp. salt
- Sieve
- Butter muslin or thick fabric
Instructions
- I started by placing a cheesecloth in three layers. Unfortunately, I did not have a butter muslin (a finer type of cheesecloth). And, in the end, decided that it was still too coarse to use for draining soft cheese. So, I took a thick fabric and layered it over the gauze. You can avoid all this trouble simply by acquiring a sheet of butter muslin in advance.
- Pour yogurt into the bowl. I will once again emphasize that it should be plain with no added sugar and supplements.
- Add sour cream to yogurt.
- Whisk sour cream and yogurt to combine. Make sure to avoid any lumps in the mixture.
- Add mentioned amount of salt to the mix and lemon juice (preferably freshly squeezed).
- Wrap up the ends of the cloth to cover the mixture.
- Place some weight on the top. I used a carafe filled with water placed on a plate.
- Put the bowl into the fridge for 12 hours. When cheese is ready, get rid of the weight, transfer soft cheese to the desired dish, and serve. As a result, you will get 350 g of soft, delicious cream cheese. Enjoy!
Notes
If you have any questions about the recipe, feel free to leave them in the comment section below. I hope that you will like the taste of cream cheese from this recipe.
