Cheese Tart- A Light and Creamy Cheese Filled Pastry

Cheese Tart- A Light and Creamy Cheese Filled Pastry

Creamy and lightly sweet cheese filling nestled on a buttery cream cheese crust, this Cheese Tart is a delicious and special dessert inspired by the well-loved Japanese Cheese Tart.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Asian

Keyword Cheese Pastry, Cheese tart

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 40

chill times 3

Total Time 4 40

Servings

Calories 412kcal

Author sanna

Equipment

9 inch tart pan with removable bottom
rolling pin
pastry scraper

Ingredients

For the Cream Cheese Crust

1 cup all-purpose flour
⅛ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup cream cheese cold, cubed
6 tbsp. butter cold, cubed
1 ½ tbsp. whipping cream
1 tbsp. water cold
½ tbsp. apple cider vinegar

For the Cheese Filling

¾ cup cream cheese
¼ cup butter
¼ cup sugar
½ cup whipping cream
⅔ cup evaporated milk
1½ tbsp grated parmesan cheese
½ tbsp cornstarch
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

Make the Cream Cheese Tart Crust

In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add the cream cheese and butter, and using a pastry cutter, cut both the butter and cream cheese into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse, leaving some tiny bits and pieces of fat in the mix.
Add the cream, water and apple cider vinegar. Continue to mix briefly just until the mixture clumps together when pressed with your fingers. With your hands in the bowl, gather the mixture by pressing and kneading lightly, until a rough, patchy dough is formed. The characteristic of the dough is that it's no too wet that is easily gathered liked a play dough. It is somewhat crumbly, patchy but it holds together.
Place the dough into a piece of plastic wrap and flatten into a disc. Wrap the dough in plastic and knead gently with your fingers and palm to form it a bit more. Chill this in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
Take the dough out and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes. On a floured surface, roll the dough out from the center going out, going in firm but single strokes to avoid overworking the dough. Roll it out to ¼ inch thickness, and no less. The dough should be larger than your tart crust. Wrap the dough in the rolling pin. Again, this dough is delicate and patchy. Use a pastry scraper as needed to lift the dough.
Gently lower the crust to the tart pan. Ease it into the sides and leave about ¼ inch overhang on the edges. If the crust tears or is short on some edges, patch up using excess pastry on the other sides. Roll the pin over the tart pan to trim the excess pastry . Then, using your fingers gently ease the pastry into the pan edges so that there is a little bit of overhang. Chill this in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
Preheat oven to 425 ℉. Using the tines of the fork, poke holes all over the pastry. Cut a piece of parchment paper that is larger than your pan. Lay it in top of your crust and fill the the hollow with uncooked rice that extends all the way up the sides. Set the pan on a baking sheet. Bake the crust for 12 minutes. Take it out and remove the weights and parchment, then bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven. The crust will be lightly browned.

Make the Cheese Filling and Bake the Cheese Tart

Preheat the oven to 425 ℉. Bring about an inch of water in a deep pot to simmer. In a heat-proof bowl that can fit snugly on top of the pot of simmering water, add cream cheese, butter, evaporated milk, whipping cream and sugar. Set it on top of the pot. ( See photos in the post for this double boiler set up).
Stir the mixture frequently until everything melts together. I like to start with a spoon or silicon spatula, then switch to a wire whisk once the cream cheese starts to melt. Stir in the parmesan cheese until the mixture is smooth and thick like curd. Turn off heat and carefully remove the bowl from the pot.
In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk, lemon juice and cornstarch until no lumps remain. Once the cheese filling has slightly cooled down, quickly but thoroughly stir in the yolk mixture until incorporated. Pour the cheese mixture to the pre-baked tart pan.
With the tart pan still in the baking sheet, bake it at 425℉ for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are set and the center is just slightly jiggly. Allow the tart to cool before slicing. However, this cheese tart is superb while warm! The soft, velvety cheese filling is just everything!

Video

Notes

Cream cheese tart crust is delicate and flaky. Don't be tempted to overwork the dough when cutting the butter and cream cheese into the flour. Leave them in pea size bits.
When gathering the dough, it will be patchy and slightly crumbly. Simply knead it and press until it just comes together without overworking the dough. Shape it into a disc and wrap in plastic. Knead it with your palms some more to pack it.
Chill times are important so the dough gets to rest after being worked. So, do not skip the chill times in the fridge.
Use a bench scraper to help lift the dough to the rolling pin.
If dough tears while easing it into the pan, or when some edges are shorter, simply patch up using excess dough from the other other sides.
Do not attempt to blind bake/ pre-bake without the weights ( uncooked rice) or your crust will shrink! Very, very important.
Finally, allow the cheese tart to cool down before slicing. Or just enough for the crust to be sturdy and the filling to be still warm. This is the best slice!
Store cheese tart in the fridge, tightly wrapped up. To serve, re-heat slices in the microwave for 8-10 seconds.

Cream Cheese Pie crust recipe adapted from The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Berenbaum

Nutrition