It was not until I tasted my first sheep's milk ricotta cake in Florence that I realized cheese's true dessert potential. Accustomed to the sugary cheesecakes with graham cracker crusts in the states, I assumed that cheese reached its dessert height when spread with raspberry preserves or rippled with coffee liquor.
I was put over the edge by tasting a salty, meaty blue cheese work its magic on a piece of warm, earthy, cherry-and-cocoa toned dark chocolate. I was convinced that cheese and dessert belong together.
The Italian cake's lemony, savory, nutty flavors proved me wrong. Unlike the monotone sweet, mildly tangy taste of many American cheesecakes that bores the tongue after three or four bites, this new dessert had more flavor layers than a multicolored jawbreaker.
Back home, I tasted my first local goat cheese version of the dessert and realized there was something blaringly delicious about the artisan cheese and dessert combination. I was put over the edge by tasting a salty, meaty blue cheese work its magic on a piece of warm, earthy, cherry-and-cocoa toned dark chocolate. I was convinced that cheese and dessert belong together.
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