Japanese Cream Cheese Tarts

I didn’t intend to bake these Hokkaido cheese tarts today. However, I made egg tarts yesterday and it was a disaster. I just have to make tarts again to make amends.

So I decided to make these, which are very close to egg tarts but are different in some aspects. I need to affirm myself that I have not forgotten how to make them.

Earlier this year, our family was in Hokkaido and these were the best things one can eat. The milk and therefore cheese in Hokkaido were unbeatable. Memories of this place… therefore this tart.

Japanese Cream Cheese Tarts

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Equipment

• 9 Tart tins
• Blow torch if making the creme brulee version
• Electric Mixer (or muscles, tenacity and time)

Ingredients

  

Tart Dough

• 75 g unsalted butter
• 25 g sugar
• 1/2 egg white or 1 tbsp cold water
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 130 g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp salt

Tart Filing

• 100 g cream cheese
• 100 g mascarpone cheese
• 20 g parmesan cheese finely grated
• 120 g fine sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 80 ml milk
• 1 tbsp corn flour
• 1 egg

Egg wash

• 1 egg yolk

Instructions

 

Tart Skin using Creaming Method

• Cream butter and sugar briefly in a mixer, the mixture should look like sand, not more than 1 minute.
• Add the egg white or cold water and mix well.
• Add the salt, sugar, flours and bring the dough together.
• Refrigerate for an hour.

Cheese Filing

• Place everything except the corn flour and egg into a pot and heat up using low heat.
• When all the cheese have melted, cool the mixture down and add the egg.
• Mix well then add the corn flour and continue stirring at low heat.It will gradually thicken.
• When the mixture is thick like a thick soup, remove from the heat.
• Remember different corn flour performs differently, so gauge accordingly.
• Let the mixture cool down, and then sieve it.

Blind Baking

• Preheat oven to 175C.
• Place a ball of dough into a egg tart mold.
• Use thumbs to press the dough and spread it over the whole mold and slightly over. Make sure the sides of the mold is not thinner than the base!
• Use the back of a knife to cut off the extra dough. This extra dough can be used again. If you have mastered the lining of the dough very well, you might not need this step. 😉
• Poke 15 small holes on the tart pastry.
• Bake for 15 minutes, low shelf in the oven. Make sure the dough is very light in color, as you will need to bake again. This is only half baked, you need not cook through.
• Remove and cool. Then pipe in the cheese filing.
• Place the tarts into the freezer to harden the top of the cheese filings. Then brush egg yolk on this top (egg wash).
• Grill for a few minutes in the oven. You will know your tart is ready when the cheese filing rises a little. If you want a lava consistency, don't let the cheese set completely, and finish bake 2-3 minutes earlier.
• Chill or serve immediately.
• Decorate/Serve with your favourite fruits.
• If you want to be adventurous like me, spread half a teaspoon of white sugar on top of the cheese filings and use a blow torch to caramelize this. Seems to be our family's favourite.