Cheese board featuring a layered gorgonzola fruit torta.
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Gorgonzola Fruit Torta

Gorgonzola & cream cheese are layered with fresh herbs, dried fruit, & toasted nuts upgrading any festive cheese board or appetizer spread.

Cheese board featuring a layered gorgonzola fruit torta.

Why we love this gorgonzola torta recipe

  • The colorful layers are absolutely gorgeous!
  • It looks beautiful as part of a cheeseboard, charcuterie board, or appetizer spread.
  • This recipe has sweet, salty, creamy, crunchy, and fresh components. It hits it all!
  • Gorgonzola torta can be made in advance and freezes well.
  • It’s versatile – use a loaf pan, ramekin, muffin tin, or almost any size or shape of container you’d like!

Ingredients for gorgonzola fruit torta lined up on a cutting board.

I’ve been making this recipe for many years now. It’s something that’s perfect for dinner parties, potlucks, and holiday gatherings.

This gorgonzola torta recipe is always something that impresses a crowd and gets rave reviews.

It’s been a hit both in person and virtually during my online cooking classes.

How to make this recipe

  1. Mix together cream cheese, butter, gorgonzola, and salt in a food processor.
  2. Line loaf pan, muffin tins, or other containers with aluminum foil and spray with oil or cooking spray.
  3. Layer dried fruit, gorgonzola mixture, and herbs into the prepared pan.
  4. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until firm.
  5. Turn out onto a serving platter, unwrap, then sprinkle with toasted slivered almonds.
  6. Serve the gorgonzola torta with your favorite crackers.

Adding salt to a food processor with cream cheese and gorgonzola.
Sprinkling dried cranberries into a foil-lined loaf pan.
Sprinkling dried apricots onto a loaf pan full of layers of gorgonzola and cream cheese.

This appetizer recipe comes together really quickly.

Just blend the cream cheese & gorgonzola mixture together in a food processor then layer it into your containers of choice, and refrigerate until firm.

You’ll alternate the different ingredients when layering it into the pan, spreading about 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture in an even layer on top of each addition.

Adding cream cheese and gorgonzola to a layered fruit torta in a loaf pan.

I like to spritz an offset spatula with some oil or cooking spray before spreading the cream cheese mixture.

The oil helps it spread easier without sticking, but it can be a bit finicky. It’s worth a little extra patience, I promise!

It freezes beautifully, making it perfect for make-ahead dinner party prep.

I often divide the gorgonzola mixture between several containers and freeze all but one so I have future party food already made.

Gorgonzola fruit torta on a platter, topped with toasted slivered almonds.

Serving gorgonzola torta

Then when you want to serve your gorgonzola torta, just unwrap it, invert it onto a platter, and sprinkle it with toasted slivered almonds.

If it was frozen, transfer it to the refrigerator and let it thaw in there overnight.

I usually toast the almonds in advance, let them cool fully, then store them in an airtight container, that way everything is prepped in advance.

Sprinkling slivered almonds into a skillet.
Skillet of toasted almonds.
Sprinkling toasted slivered almonds onto a gorgonzola fruit torta.

You could even freeze the cooled, toasted nuts if you’d like to portion some out to save for later.

The gorgonzola torta can be added right onto a cheeseboard, charcuterie assortment, or put on a platter all by itself.

ℹ️ Slivered Almonds vs. Sliced Almonds

This recipe uses slivered almonds which can be found in your grocery store located in the baking aisle.

There can be a little confusion about the difference between the various types of almonds sold in the baking aisle, so I’m going to help clear that up.

The two types of prepared almonds that are most often confused with each other are slivered almonds and sliced almonds.

Toasted almonds in a skillet.

So just what is the difference between slivered and sliced almonds?

Slivered almonds (pictured above) have been peeled, split, and cut into “slivers” that are thicker than sliced almonds.

Slivered almonds are fairly rectangular in shape, and don’t resemble the oblong/circular shape of a whole almond.

Sliced almonds often still have the skin on them, but they have been thinly sliced.

Sliced almonds are oblong – they look like slices cut from a whole almond. They’re typically very thinly sliced and are sometimes referred to as “flaked” almonds.

Slivered almonds will give you more crunch than sliced almonds since they’re cut more thickly.

Sliced almonds are a nice, delicate topping with just a bit of crunch.

You can use either for this recipe, or even chopped almonds, but I prefer to use slivered here.

Layered gorgonzola fruit torta on a cheese board.

What to serve with a gorgonzola torta

I like serving crackers alongside this gorgonzola torta.

Then people can just spread as little or as much of the mixture onto their crackers as they want.

Since the recipe has a lot of flavor from the sweet fruit, fresh herbs, and the tangy gorgonzola mixture, I tend to go for fairly mild crackers.

That means I’m not serving anything with tons of flavor alongside, because it could easily overpower the torta or get lost in the mix.


Cutting into a mini gorgonzola fruit torta with a small knife.
Overhead view of a cheese board with assorted cheeses, meat, fruit, pickles, olives, and crackers.

📝 Pro Tip: Toasting Nuts on the Stovetop

Toasting nuts is a way to intensify the flavor that they bring to a dish.

It’s easy to toast nuts on the stovetop, which is my preferred method for toasting.

Add the nuts in a single layer to a dry skillet.

Place your skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. Let them cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until they’re golden brown, about 3-5 minutes.

Remove the nuts from the pan and allow them to cool. Leaving them in the pan after they’re toasted will increase the risk of them burning from the residual heat.

One thing that can help in preventing nuts from burning while they toast is to turn off the heat when you see them starting to brown.

They’ll continue to cook from the residual heat of the skillet and will be less likely to burn.

Once toasted nuts have cooled fully, you can transfer them to an airtight container and store them for later use.

With all nuts, if you don’t plan on using them for a while, I recommend keeping them in the freezer.

The natural oils in many nuts can spoil quickly, so freezing them is a great way to help them last longer.

Close-up of a cracker topped with cheese, dried fruit, and herbs.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! Now I’m off to go dig around the freezer to see if I have one on standby…

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Cheese board featuring a layered gorgonzola fruit torta.

Gorgonzola Fruit Torta

  • Author: Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen – Ashley Covelli (Adapted from CLBB – TLee4)
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes (plus refrigeration time)
  • Yield: 810 1x
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Method: Stovetop, Refrigerator
  • Cuisine: American

Description

Gorgonzola & cream cheese are layered with fresh herbs, dried fruit, & toasted nuts upgrading any festive cheese board or appetizer spread.


Ingredients

Units Scale

Instructions

  1. To the bowl of a food processor, add cream cheese, butter, Gorgonzola, and salt. Process until smooth.
  2. Line a loaf pan, muffin tins, or other shaped container with foil. Spray the foil with oil or cooking spray. Sprinkle cranberries into the prepared pan in an even layer. Spread 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture evenly on top of the cranberries. Sprinkle on the green onions and parsley in an even layer. Add half of the remaining cream cheese mixture, again smoothing into an even layer. Sprinkle on apricots in an even layer, and finish with the remaining cream cheese mixture.
  3. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until firm.
  4. Before serving, toast the slivered almonds. Place almonds in a single layer in a dry skillet. Place skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. Let almonds cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until they’re golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool.
  5. To serve torta, remove the cover and turn out gently onto a serving platter. Gently remove foil and sprinkle with slivered almonds. Serve with your favorite crackers.


Notes

When toasting almonds, turn off heat when you see them starting to brown. They’ll continue to cook from the residual heat of the skillet and will be less likely to burn.

Spritz an offset spatula (or your utensil of choice) with a little oil or cooking spray before spreading the cream cheese mixture to make it spread more easily.

If you don’t have a food processor, you could blend the cream cheese mixture together in a bowl with a hand mixer or with a spoon – just be sure to mix really well to incorporate all of the ingredients well.

This torta freezes beautifully! Cover with a double layer of foil and store in an airtight bag, squeezing out as much air as possible before freezing. To thaw, transfer to the refrigerator the day before you want to serve so it has time to thaw evenly.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: About 2 ounces
  • Calories: 270
  • Sugar: 8.5 g
  • Sodium: 313.1 mg
  • Fat: 23.1 g
  • Saturated Fat: 13.2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 11.4 g
  • Fiber: 1.1 g
  • Protein: 6.2 g
  • Cholesterol: 62 mg

Keywords: cheese board, freezer-friendly, make-ahead appetizer

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Ashley Covelli is a food photographer, recipe developer, and culinary instructor based in Ossining, New York. She loves helping people become enthusiastic and adventurous in the kitchen so that they can build skills and confidence to cook for themselves and their loved ones. She can almost always be found with at least 3 different beverages within arm's reach.

One Comment

  • Joanne (eats well with others)

    This is gorgeous!! Totally perfect appetizer…though I would be tempted to eat the whole thing myself.

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