Brûlée Baked Cheese Tarts – Recipe

Baked cheese tarts have been high on my to-make list, but when I received my very first cook's blowtorch for my birthday I knew I had to use it in my recipe. Unfortunately, the weekend after my birthday, when I was meant to use it, I came down with stomach flu. Yeesh. Luckily another week on I'm as right as rain, and here we are.




If you want a lava cheese tart, simply bake for 10 minutes instead of 5. Remember, caramel gets soggy in open air when it sits around, so brûlée the tops of these tarts just before you want to serve them.


Ready? Let's go.

Ingredients for Pastry

150g plain flour
1.5 tbsp cornflour
1.5 tbsp icing sugar
90g cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 small egg white
Pinch of salt

Ingredients for Filling

175g cream cheese
100ml double cream
75g caster sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsbp sugar

Ingredients for Brûlée Top

4 tsp caster sugar

Method:

1. To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flours, icing sugar and salt until crumbly, then knead in the egg white until you have a smooth dough. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease four mini tartlet tins. Divide your rested and chilled dough into 4, roll into discs and carefully line the tins, trimming off any excess. Prick the bases all over with a fork and pop into the fridge for 10 minutes, then bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly golden. When they're cool enough to handle, remove the pastry cases from the tins and let them cool completely on a wire rack.



3. Once the pastry cases are cool, preheat the oven to 180°C again, and lightly whisk the ingredients for the filling until slightly thickened and well-combined. Evenly divide between the pastry cases and bake for 15 minutes. Let them cool before making the brûlée top (wait until you're ready to serve for this part to keep the caramel crisp).



4. To make the caramelied brûlée top, simply sprinkle the sugar evenly over the tops of the tarts, and either pop under the grill or use a cook's blowtorch to caramelise the sugar. Let it cool for just a minute before serving.


Enjoy, and have fun.

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