Why it works: Parmesan cheese and gruyere cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 152 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓
Puff Cheesecake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Roll out the pastry dough very thin.
Sprinkle half a handful of the mixed cheeses over the dough.
Fold the dough in thirds and roll it out to the same thickness.
Repeat the process, adding cheese until all is used.
Shape and bake
Cut the dough into desired shapes.
Bake in a moderate oven (350°F / 175°C) until golden and crisp.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Parmesan cheese + gruyere cheesetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together152 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pastry dough
- Forms the flaky, layered base that puffs and crisps when baked.
- Parmesan cheese
- Adds savory, salty flavor and browns during baking.
- Gruyere cheese
- Melts and adds nutty flavor and richness between the dough layers.
The step that matters
Rolling the dough very thin. Thin dough with cheese layered between folds bakes up crisp and light; thick dough stays dense and doughy in the center.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
More cheese puff recipes
You might also like
Cheese Balls97 recipes
Cheese Cake55 recipes
Cream Cheese46 recipes
Lemon Pie37 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.