Here comes the brie!

Cheese cake tiers offer a savory spin on the traditional wedding dessert.

A slice of brie.

Wedding season is upon us, and so is cake eating. But what if you’re gluten-free? Or sugar-free? Or not a fan of cake in general (suspiciously. . .)? Or what if you simply want to change things up? What if (last one) you love cheese?

At a wedding I attended recently, the bride and groom offered a cheese cake (not to be mistaken for a cheesecake) as a dessert option. They still had the traditional cake-cake (to avoid an uproar from sweet-toothed attendees, perhaps), but as an ode to their Wisconsin roots and love for the dairy food group, they also served a four-tier “cake” of cheddar, gouda, blue, and brie cheeses. How creative, I thought, and how brilliant — I spent more time at the cheese and fruit table than on the dance floor. 

What can’t dairy do?

Turns out the couple had composed their “cake” from a personal selection of local wheels, but a quick browse of cheesemakers’ websites from around the world reveals offerings of le gâteau du fromage in a variety of compilations. The Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, New York City’s Murray’s, and the UK’s The Fine Cheese Co. and The Courtyard Dairy are just a small sampling of places that offer artisan cheese cakes. 

The towers include a carefully curated variety of artisanal cheeses from each specified cheesemaker. Usually, the cake is some combination of a soft cheese, a hard cheese, an aged cheese, and a mixed-milk cheese, or something of the like. The tiers are shipped to the buyer as separate pieces and can be assembled or decorated as desired with flowers, fruit, or other adornments.

Cheese cakes are not limited to weddings, of course. A curated tower could easily grace the menu of any event or gathering — small or large. Why not try for a savory dessert course next time you reach for the host or hostess cap? 

Or, if you aren’t feeling the wheel, visit www.hoardscreamery.com to peruse Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery’s portioned cheese selection.