The delicious combination of crispy pizza crust and melty-cheese-savory glory make this cream cheese pizza sure to please everyone!
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
1 hourhr
Total Time1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Course: Pizza
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Cream cheese pizza
Servings: 4
Author: Katia
Ingredients
Pizza dough
1 easy pizza dough (or your fav dough)
Cream cheese topping
1(130 gr/4.5oz)mozzarella ball packed in water (or shredded low moisture mozzarella)*
⅓ cupgrated pecorino cheese
¾ cup(180 gr/6oz)Soft cream cheese (use a bit more if desired)
¼tsp fine salt
freshly ground black pepper
To serve
fresh chives, chopped
chili flakes, to taste
extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
Instructions
Pizza dough
Follow the easy no-knead pizza recipe through step 5, including shaping the pizza and preheating the oven.
Mozzarella topping
Shape the dough: when the dough is ready follow step 5, place the paper sheet or parchment paper onto a pizza peel or onto the back of a rimmed baking sheet. Then place the dough on this parchment paper, and starting from the center, gently press it out with your fingers until you get approx a 9×13 inch pizza (try to not make it flat, you want to keep it airy and fluffy).
Add the topping: if using fresh mozzarella in water, dice it and place it on kitchen paper. Add another folded piece of paper on top, pat it dry to absorb excess moisture. Finally add it evenly to the pizza, follow with the grated pecorino cheese, and using a dessert spoon make and scatter over small dollops of cream cheese. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper.
Bake the pizza: when the oven is hot, use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza until the mozzarella cheese and crust are nicely browned, approx 12-15 minutes. But each oven is different, keep an eye on it (e.g. in a forced fan oven it will take about 8-10 minutes).
Serve: allow the pizza to cool for a minute or two before serving, drizzle with good-quality extra virgin olive oil and scatter fresh chives, chili flakes and/or extra black pepper if desired. Slice, serve immediately, enjoy!
Notes
Mozzarella: Usually a standard mozzarella ball packed in water weights 125 grams (if you're based in the UK). If you prefer to use shredded mozzarella, I think 140 grams/5oz work for this recipe.How to soften a block of cream cheese: allow the cream cheese to come to room temperature (it may take an hour to two), then you can beat it with a mixer or food processor until soft and fluffy, or warm it up slightly in a microwave or warm water bath. As soon as it's "spoonable" you can use it for this cream cheese pizza recipe.What to use instead of a pizza stone? A rimmed baking sheet or a large cookie sheet that you can invert it and place on the lowest shelf of your oven work fine. When the baking sheet is right-side up, taking the pizza in and out of the oven will be easier and the preheated baking sheet will make a nice and crisp pizza crust. How to measure flour?I use both US cups and grams. The cups of flour are leveled, which means you have to fill the measuring cup all the way to the top letting the flour flow over a little. Then, use the back of a knife to level the top off. But a digital scale is an excellent kitchen tool and gives a more correct weight. Cream cheese pizza leftovers: cover leftover pizza tightly and store in the refrigerator up to 1 day or freeze up to 3 months. Thaw and reheat the pizza leftovers in the preheated the oven (350 F/180 C) and bake for about 8 minutes or until warmed through, crispy and the cheese is melted. Enjoy!