Cheese Tarts

The recent popularity of cheese tarts in Hong Kong drew my attention. I saw many people line up for hours for the tarts. I was so intrigued that I decided to make some for my family to try. I really wanted to get an “oozing” effect to amaze my husband. It wasn’t as hard as I thought!

First and foremost, know your oven and work with it. All you need to do is not to bake the cheese tarts for too long. Make sure you remove them from the oven just in time, exactly like when making molten chocolate cakes. The cheese filling is so smooth and creamy, that it goes really well with the crispy tart shells.

Cheese Tarts Recipe (Printable recipe)
By Christine’s Recipes
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 50 mins
Yield: Makes 15 (each round tart mould: 7cm / 3 in, depth 3 cm / 1½ in.)

Ingredients:

• 180 gm plain flour / all-purpose flour
• 20 gm corn flour / corn starch
• 80 gm caster sugar
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 90 gm unsalted butter, cold and diced
• 1 egg
• cocoa powder, for garnish

Fillings:

• 100 ml milk
• 40 gm caster sugar
• 100 gm cream cheese, diced
• 100 gm ricotta cheese
• 25 gm Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Sift the flours and place in a food processor. Add sugar and salt. Pulse a few times. Add the cold butter. Briefly pulse 5 to 6 times until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. If you don’t have a food processor, rub the butter into the flour mixture with your finger tips. Move quickly, otherwise the butter will melt.
2. Transfer the mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add in the egg. Use your palm to lightly knead it into a dough on a clean surface. Don’t over-knead it though, as you don’t want your tart crust to turn tough. Form the dough into a disc and wrap with cling film. Refrigerate for 25 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 180 C / 350 F.
4. Remove the dough from the fridge. Sprinkle some flour on the surface and roll pastry out to ½ cm thick.  Cut out the pastry and line the tart tins. Use your thumbs to press evenly, starting from bottom up to the sides. Prick the base with a fork. Line with baking paper and place pastry beads or uncooked rice or beans on top.

5. Bake the pastry shells in the preheat oven for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges turn brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack.
6. To prepare the fillings, in a small sauce pan, pour in the milk and sugar. Heat over medium heat. Add the cream cheese, ricotta and parmesan cheese. Stir constantly and cook until all the cheese is dissolved and the mixture is very smooth. Remove from heat and let it cool down a bit. Stir in the egg yolk. Add vanilla extract. Let it cool down completely.

7. Spoon the fillings into the tart shells. Bake in the preheated oven for about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the tarts from the oven and place them on a wire rack for ½ minute. Remove from the tins. Serve hot. Sprinkle cocoa powder if desired. The leftovers can be refrigerated in an air-tight container after completely cooled down. Reheat them in a low-temperature oven.

Notes：

• All three kinds of cheese are available at supermarkets or bakery shops.
• While cooking cheese, make sure to stir constantly to get a smooth texture.
• The power of every oven is different. Adjust the baking time accordingly.