Liptauer Cheese Spread

Liptauer Cheese is my mother’s favorite spread and we served a creamy batch of it at our Gemütlichkeit holiday dinner party (more about that in a future post). The unusual combination of flavors makes for a “Wow, this is really good, what’s in it?” reaction. Which is what we all aim for at dinner parties, right?

Liptauer  Cheese is a traditional German cream cheese dip. I did adapt Mom’s recipe a bit, swapping out butter for the specified margarine. Then swapping out some of the butter with creme fraiche to make it fluffier. And I used smoked paprika instead of the regular kind because I have some really good stuff on hand.

Mom has a handful of Liptauer recipes in her archives (five in all, told you it’s her favorite) with variations that call for cottage cheese, heavy cream and sheep’s milk cheese.  White wine, Parmesan and even blue cheese show up in a few of them too.

But her basic recipe is the best:

LIPTAUER CHEESE SPREAD RECIPE
Makes 1 1/2 cups

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), softened
1/4 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
2 Tablespoons minced onion
1 1/2 teaspoons anchovy paste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon capers, chopped
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Combine softened cream cheese, softened butter and creme fraiche (or sour cream). Whisk until smooth and blended.  Add onion, anchovy paste, mustard, capers, caraway seeds and paprika.  Mix well and chill.

Serve with pumpernickel and rye breads. For a true old-school presentation, include dishes of cornichons, radishe halves and scallions stalks.

Also wonderful on a Ritz Cracker.

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