Make the proper creamy and crispy snack at dwelling with my Baked Cheese Tarts recipe. I’ll train you to whip up the heavenly cream cheese filling and a flaky short-crust pastry that’s tender but crunchy. It’s scrumptious heat, cooled, or chilled!

Creamy and mushy on the within and crunchy on the skin, these lovely Baked Cheese Tarts are actually out of this world! The flavour of this heavenly Japanese dessert is without delay slightly candy, a bit tart, and a contact salty. I’m excited to show you how you can make the silky and wealthy cream cheese filling and the twice-baked pastry shells so you may get pleasure from this good petite chew at dwelling.

In the event you love Japanese baked cheese desserts, strive my Japanese Cheesecake, Basque Burnt Cheesecake, and Matcha Basque Cheesecake recipes subsequent!

What are Baked Cheese Tarts?

Baked cheese tarts, referred to as “Hokkaido cheese tarts” exterior of the US, originated in Japan’s northernmost prefecture famed for producing the richest and most scrumptious milk and cheese within the nation. Since 2011, these pleasant cream cheese pastries have gained recognition in Japan and later across the globe for his or her silky, wobbly facilities when recent from the oven, incomes the nickname “lava cheese tarts.” JOC’s pastry assistant and our group labored collectively to make our model of this recipe, and we hope you get pleasure from it!

Why I Love This Recipe

• It’s THE good chew – These tarts are creamy inside and crunchy exterior for a beautiful distinction of textures. It’s laborious to eat only one!
• Makes a crispy, flaky pastry crust – I’ll present you how you can double-bake the tart shell to provide a light-weight and tender pastry with a satisfying crunch.
• A refined and balanced style – The cream cheese filling is simply candy sufficient, a bit tart, and barely salty. I actually love the beautiful steadiness of flavors!

Substances for Baked Cheese Tarts

• Pastry Dough:
  • Unsalted butter
  • Powdered sugar
  • Kosher salt
  • Giant egg yolk – reserve the egg white in case you want it
  • Almond flour
  • Cake flour
  • Vanilla extract
• Cheese Filling:
  • Cream cheese – use full-fat
  • Unsalted butter
  • Entire or reduced-fat milk – keep away from nonfat
  • Heavy cream
  • Granulated sugar
  • Egg yolks
  • Cornstarch
  • Lemon juice
• Different:
  • Giant egg – for brushing on the tarts
  • Unsalted butter – for greasing the baking pan

Discover the printable recipe with measurements beneath.

Bounce to Recipe

Substitutions

• Cake flour – Cake flour has decrease protein content material and fewer gluten than all-purpose flour, giving truffles, cookies, and different delicate pastries a fantastic crumb and tender construction! Please don’t substitute it with all-purpose flour. You may make your personal cake flour with all-purpose flour and cornstarch. See the recipe card beneath.
• Almond flour – For a fantastic pastry texture, please don’t substitute almond meal on this recipe. Almond flour is okay and powdery, whereas almond meal is coarse and heavy. Almond flour additionally has a lighter coloration and taste than almond meal.
• Entire milk – In the event you don’t have complete milk, you need to use low-fat milk for this recipe. Nonetheless, I don’t advocate nonfat milk as a result of it lacks the richness wanted for the filling.

• Commonplace muffin tin, mini tart pan, or egg tart molds
• 3-cup meals processor (or stand mixer with paddle attachment)
• Resealable plastic bag (gallon dimension)
• Rolling pin
• Rolling pin guides (non-compulsory)
• 3.5-inch (9-cm) spherical cookie cutter
• Parchment baking liners (cupcake dimension)
• Pie weights (or dried beans)
• Piping bag and tip (or a resealable plastic bag with one cornered snipped with scissors)

The way to Make Baked Cheese Tarts

Combine the pastry dough

Step 1 – Combine, flatten, and chill the dough. Course of the pastry dough substances in phases utilizing a meals processor till the dough comes collectively. Put it in a resealable bag and roll it flat to five mm thick. Chill within the fridge for at the least 3 hours.

Put together the cream cheese filling

Step 2 – Mood the eggs with the recent cheese combination, then cook dinner till thick. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and cornstarch in a bowl. Warmth the cream cheese and remaining filling substances (besides lemon juice) in a saucepan till mixed. Mood the eggs with the recent cheese combination, then cook dinner it to 160°F (71°C). Take away from the warmth and add the lemon juice. Cool the filling and retailer it within the fridge.

Roll and reduce the pastry

Step 3 – Punch out dough rounds and take away a small wedge. Roll the chilled dough to five mm thick, then reduce and peel away the highest of the plastic bag. Punch out pastry circles with a spherical cutter and reduce out a pie-shaped wedge so the dough matches neatly into the molds.

Type the pastry shells

Step 4 – Slide the dough into the mini tart molds. Right here, I exploit a typical muffin pan to make mini pastry shells which might be 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep. Gently press the dough into the corners of the mould and clean the perimeters. Prick the underside of every tart shell with a fork.

Bake the pastry

Step 5 – Bake with pie weights, then cool. Place a parchment liner in every shell and fill with the weights. Baked in a preheated 350°F (180°C) oven for quarter-hour, then take away the weights. Decrease the temperature and bake for one more 5 minutes till the shells are set however nonetheless pale. Take away from the pan and funky on a wire rack.

Assemble

Step 6 – Pipe the cream cheese filling into the cooled tart shells. Maintain the tip near the underside heart of the pastry shell as you squeeze the piping bag. Keep in that place till the shell fills fully with cheese filling. When it appears overfilled, pull out the tip.

Closing Bake

Step 6 – Brush with egg wash and bake till golden. Set the tarts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 10–quarter-hour at 425°F (220°C). The tarts are finished when the floor is dry and turns golden. Get pleasure from them heat, at room temperature, or chilled!

Nami’s Recipe Ideas

• Weigh your flour – It’s vital to measure the flour precisely for baking recipes, in order that’s why I like to recommend weighing your substances with a kitchen scale. To see ingredient weights, click on on the Metric button on the high of the recipe card. In the event you use a measuring cup, you might find yourself scooping greater than you want in case your flour is tightly packed. In the event you don’t have a scale, then fluff the packed flour with a spoon and sprinkle it right into a measuring cup. Overfill it, then degree it off with a knife.
• Pre-chill the substances and tools for the pastry dough – Chilly butter is the important thing to flaky pastry. To maintain the butter as chilly as doable, I take the extra step of pre-chilling all of the pastry dough substances in addition to the meals processor bowl and blade for at the least 1–2 hours. This ensures a cooler atmosphere when it’s time to make the dough.
• Use almond flour for a young texture and deep taste – Almond flour lightens the wheat flour within the dough, making the pastry softer and extra tender. I additionally love the richer taste it provides to the pastry in comparison with utilizing cake flour alone. Please don’t use almond meal, which is coarser and heavier than almond flour.
• Chill the pastry dough earlier than slicing – Chilling retains the butter items stable and distinct from the opposite substances within the dough. I like to recommend rolling the dough flat and chilling it within the fridge for at the least 3 hours or in a single day. As soon as within the oven, the butter melts and creates steam that kinds these scrumptious flaky layers. If you’re brief on time, I counsel chilling the dough within the freezer for 1 hour as a substitute.
• Blind-bake the pastry shells – For a crunchy crust, remember to pre-bake and funky the tart cups earlier than filling them. I do know this will seem to be an additional step, however belief me once I say that baking the shells twice makes the perfect tart crust. The ultimate outcomes are value it!
• Use full-fat cream cheese – The upper fats content material is critical to make a creamy and wealthy filling with the right texture. I do know it’s tempting, however please don’t use reduced-fat cream cheese for this recipe.
• Mood the eggs – When combining the recent cheese combination with the egg combination, you need to progressively introduce the recent substances whereas whisking to softly deliver up the temperature of the eggs. In the event you mix the 2 , the eggs will cook dinner and also you’ll find yourself with scrambled egg lumps in your filling.
• Brush with egg wash for a golden high – Baked cheese tarts have an exquisite golden high and sheen due to egg wash. Making use of a skinny layer of egg overwhelmed with slightly water provides a barely crisp high to the cheese filling, too.

Variations and Customizations

• Add flavors to the cream cheese filling. There are chocolate, matcha, Earl Gray, orange, peach yogurt, and so many alternative flavored cheese tarts obtainable in Japan. In the event you like a savory profile, strive Parmesan cheese. You could possibly additionally experiment with mascarpone, an Italian cream cheese.
• Benefit from the cheese tarts at totally different temperatures. When recent from the oven, they’ve wobbly facilities, thus the nickname “lava cheese tarts.” The texture transforms at room temperature or as soon as chilled, growing a dense, creamy, and cheesecake-like consistency. When frozen, the texture is rather like ice cream.
• Use handy store-bought tart shells. If you find yourself brief on making selfmade pastry, get these premade tart shells from World Market and add your personal fillings!

What to Serve with Baked Cheese Tarts

These tarts are an exquisite dessert or afternoon snack on their very own. They’re additionally scrumptious paired with these recipes:

Storage and Reheating Ideas

To retailer: To benefit from the cheese tarts on the day you make them, preserve them at room temperature. To retailer them longer, preserve them in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days. It will protect the feel of the filling, giving it a dense, creamy consistency much like cheesecake.

To freeze: Wrap every tart individually in plastic wrap, then place them in an hermetic container or freezer bag and freeze for as much as one month.

To reheat: If the tarts are chilly or at room temperature, microwave for just a few seconds and luxuriate in! If frozen, thaw at room temperature or get pleasure from them frozen for a texture much like ice cream. In the event you desire a freshly baked texture, calmly heat refrigerated or thawed tarts in a preheated oven or toaster oven for a couple of minutes. It will restore the crispy crust and barely soften the filling.

Incessantly Requested Questions

Extra Wealthy and Creamy Dessert Recipes

In the event you love this Baked Cheese Tarts recipe, you’re in for a deal with with these different irresistible baked recipes.

Prep Time: 1 hour hr 10 minutes minutes

Prepare dinner Time: 50 minutes minutes

Chilling Time: 3 hours hrs

Complete Time: 2 hours hrs

Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you need substitutes for Japanese condiments and substances, click on right here.

Prepare dinner ModeForestall your display from going darkish

Earlier than You Begin…

• Collect all of the substances. I extremely encourage you to weigh your substances utilizing a kitchen scale. For weights, click on the Metric button above. In the event you‘re utilizing a cup measure, please observe the “fluff and sprinkle“ methodology: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and degree it off. In any other case, you might scoop greater than you want.

• Chill your substances and tools for the pastry dough so that they’re very chilly once you begin. Reduce the butter into ¾-inch (2-cm) cubes and place them within the freezer. Place the cake flour, powdered sugar, almond flour, salt, and egg within the fridge. Lastly, place the detachable elements of your meals processor (or stand mixer, if utilizing) within the fridge. Chill all the things for at the least 1–2 hours.

To Put together the Pastry Dough

• In a meals processor (at the least 3-cup capability), add ¼ cup unsalted butter and course of.

• Then, add ½ cup confectioners’ sugar and course of till clean. Alternatively, in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream collectively the butter and sugar till clean.

• Add 1 giant egg yolk and ¼ tsp pure vanilla extract, mixing till included.

• Add ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and ¼ cup almond flour and blend till clean.

• Add 1 cup cake flour and course of on low.

• Scrape down the edges of the bowl with a spatula. Maintain mixing.

• Combine till the butter is absolutely included. The dough will likely be a bit crumbly but it ought to come collectively. If it does not, add a little bit of reserved egg white or egg yolk to assist it bind. Mine continues to be too fluffy, so I added 1 tsp of egg white.

• Mix once more and test the consistency. I added 1 extra tsp of egg white.

• Mix and test if the dough comes collectively. Now, it appears nice.

• Switch the dough to a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Press out the air from the bag and seal it.

• Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough within the bag to precisely 5 mm (or a bit lower than ¼ inch) thick. We’ll repair the thickness once more after chilling, so it does not must be good at this stage. Right here, I place rolling pin guides (I used acrylic steadiness rulers) on both aspect of the bag to assist obtain a good thickness. You could possibly additionally use picket rolling pin guides or square-sided disposable chopsticks as guides.

• Maintain rolling the dough via the bag till it is flat and a good thickness. Place the bag on a flat tray or sheet and chill within the fridge for at the least 3 hours or in a single day (or freeze for 1 hour if you happen to’re in a rush).

To Put together the Cheese Filling

• In a big bowl, whisk collectively ¼ cup sugar and 2 giant egg yolks by hand till barely fluffy, about 1–2 minutes.

• Add 1 Tbsp cornstarch and whisk till you have got a clean paste.

• In a saucepan, warmth 3 Tbsp complete milk, 3 Tbsp heavy cream, 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, and 8 oz cream cheese over low-medium warmth. Use a spatula to interrupt up the cream cheese, and as soon as it begins to soften, whisk till clean. Take away from warmth as quickly because the substances are mixed, simply earlier than simmering.

• Now, mood the egg yolk combination. Progressively pour the nice and cozy cheese combination into the bowl with the egg yolk combination whereas whisking vigorously. The combination ought to thicken barely.

• Pour the combination again into the saucepan. Prepare dinner, stirring ceaselessly, on medium warmth for a couple of minutes. Stir vigorously for about 1 minute after it begins to boil (you see small bubbles across the edges).

• At this stage, the temperature is round 160°F (71°C) and it’ll begin to thicken.

• When the combination has thickened, take away from the warmth. Then, add 2 tsp lemon juice, which can loosen and clean out the combination a bit. Combine till included.

• Pour the cheese filling right into a shallow tray or bowl (I used a prep tray from JOC Items). Degree it and clean the highest with a spatula.

• Place a sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper instantly on the floor of the cheese combination to stop a pores and skin from forming. Cowl the tray or bowl with a lid. Cool to room temperature, then retailer it within the fridge till prepared to make use of.

To Make the Pastry Shells

• Grease the tart molds or muffin pan cups with 1 Tbsp unsalted butter. You do not have to make use of all of the butter.

• Place the bag of chilled dough on high of your work floor. I exploit a Silpat baking liner to stop sticking. By means of the bag, roll the chilled dough once more to precisely 5 mm (a bit lower than ¼ inch) thick.

• Reduce the edges of the resealable bag with a knife and peel away the highest aspect, leaving the underside aspect in place.

• Utilizing a 3.5-inch (9-cm) spherical cutter, punch out a circle of dough.

• Use a knife to chop out a small, pie-shaped wedge (about one-eighth of the circle) from the dough spherical. It will assist the dough match neatly into the mould. Then, set the dough spherical on high of a tart mould or muffin cup. Whereas engaged on the subsequent rounds, the chilled dough will heat up and turn out to be a bit extra pliable. You do not wish to wait too lengthy, both, as a result of the dough will tear simply if it is too heat.

• Repeat punching extra rounds from the dough, slicing out small wedges, and transferring them on high of the molds.

• As quickly because the dough rounds look pliable, match them into the molds to make pastry shells which might be about 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep. They need to slide in simply. Press the dough gently into the corners and clean the perimeters. Tip: You do not wish to stretch or prolong the dough, which can make the pastry shell too skinny. For a typical muffin cup or tart mould, there will not be sufficient dough to cowl the edges all the way in which as much as the highest edge.

• Re-roll the leftover dough between the sheets of the identical plastic bag.

• Roll to a thickness of 5 mm (a bit lower than ¼ inch) over the plastic so the rolling pin does not stick.

• Use the cutter to punch out extra dough rounds and reduce out small wedges.

• Re-roll the leftover items once more.

• Repeat till you employ all of the dough.

• Press the pastry dough into the corners and sides of the molds to kind the shells to 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep. Make the highest edges of the shells neat for presentation.

To Blind Bake the Pastry Shells

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Prick the underside of every tart shell with a fork. Place a parchment liner in every shell, and fill with pie weights.

• Repeat. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for about quarter-hour.

• Take out the muffin pan from the oven and thoroughly take away the liners and pie weights. Return the pan to the oven, decrease the oven temperature to 160°C (320°F), and bake for one more 5 minutes.

• When the shells are set however nonetheless barely pale, take away them from the oven.

• Gently raise out every pastry shell from the muffin pan and place on a wire rack to chill. Tip: With my thumbs contained in the shell, I apply gently outward stress to raise up the shells and switch them to the cooling rack.

To Assemble and Bake the Cheese Tarts

• Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F). To make the egg wash, beat 1 giant egg (50 g every w/o shell) with a whisk in a small bowl. Add 1 tsp water and whisk once more. Put aside.

• Take away the cheese filling from the fridge. Place a piping tip in a pastry bag and set it over a cup.

• Switch the cheese filling to the piping bag with a spatula.

• Pipe the cheese filling into the cooled tart shells. Squeeze the filling into near the middle backside, staying in that place till it fills up all the way in which and appears overfilled, after which pull out. If the cheese filling is simply too agency, let it sit for a bit at room temperature to melt for simpler piping.

• Set the crammed tarts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

• Brush the egg wash over the floor of every crammed tart.

• Place the tarts on the upper-middle rack within the oven and bake for about 10–quarter-hour at 425°F (220°C).

• Rotate the baking sheet midway via for even coloring. The cheese tarts are finished when the floor is dry and turns golden.

• Let cool on the wire rack for a couple of minutes. For the perfect taste, get pleasure from them heat or at room temperature on the identical day they’re baked. When chilled within the fridge, the filling turns into denser, permitting you to get pleasure from a texture much like a Japanese uncommon cheesecake.

To Retailer

• In the event you plan to eat the tarts the identical day, preserve them at room temperature. Cowl them calmly with plastic wrap or place them in an hermetic container to stop drying. For longer storage, preserve the tarts in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days. It will protect the feel of the filling, giving it a dense, creamy consistency much like cheesecake. You too can freeze them for as much as one month. Wrap every tart individually in plastic wrap, then place them in an hermetic container or freezer bag within the freezer. To serve, thaw at room temperature or get pleasure from them frozen for a texture much like ice cream.

To Reheat

• In the event you desire a freshly baked texture, calmly heat refrigerated or thawed tarts in a preheated oven or toaster oven for a couple of minutes. It will restore the crispy crust and barely soften the filling.

• 8 egg tart molds (or a typical muffin pan or mini tart pan)

• 3½-inch spherical cookie cutter (9 cm)

• 8 parchment baking liners (cupcake dimension)

• pie weights (or dried beans)

• piping bag and tip (or a resealable plastic bag snipped on one nook with scissors)

• rolling pin guides (non-compulsory)

• resealable plastic bag (gallon dimension)

Energy: 366 kcal · Carbohydrates: 28 g · Protein: 6 g · Fats: 26 g · Saturated Fats: 15 g · Polyunsaturated Fats: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fats: 7 g · Trans Fats: 0.4 g · Ldl cholesterol: 133 mg · Sodium: 116 mg · Potassium: 80 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 14 g · Vitamin A: 897 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 61 mg · Iron: 1 mg

Writer: Namiko Hirasawa Chen

Course: Dessert

Delicacies: Japanese

Key phrase: cheese tart, cheesecake

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