Cream cheese, like Ricotta is a dead easy thing to make. I generally make my own yoghurt anyway, especially if I have a surplus of milk, and this cream cheese was made with a surplus of yoghurt.

• Line a sieve or perforated container with a piece of muslin.
• Mix the juice of 1 large lemon into 500ml of yoghurt
• I added two teaspoons of Orange Flower Water and the finely grated zest of the lemon too.
• Twist the top of the muslin (cheesecloth) together and weight down with a side plate.
• Stand the sieve in a bowl or container large enough to ensure that the bottom of the sieve does not touch the bottom of the bowl.
• Cover with a lid or foil so that the cream cheese doesn’t pick up fridge odours, and leave in the fridge to drain for 24 hours, pouring off any excess whey when it becomes too full.
• Once all the whey is drained you can compact your cheese slightly by twisting the muslin round.
• Unmould into a bowl, cover and keep in the refrigerator.
• Use within a week.

If you are wanting to use your cream cheese for savoury dishes you can add seasoning when you add the lemon juice, instead of the orange blossom water.

Thank you for trying a Vanielje Kitchen recipe.

I hope it fed you mind, body and soul.