Hokkaido Cheese Tarts

5 from 2 votes

Homemade Hokkaido cheese tarts – shortcrust pastry shells filled with an incredible cheese filling. A very popular and addictive Asian dessert.

Prep Time1

Cook Time18

Total Time1 18

Course: Pies and Cheesecakes

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings: tarts

Calories: 360kcal

Author: Adina

Combine: Place flour, icing sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse shortly to combine. Add the very cold, cubed butter and pulse a couple of times to combine. Add egg yolk and cold water and pulse a few times more to combine. Don't overmix; you should still be able to see tiny pieces of butter in the pastry.
2 cups all-purpose flour/ 240 g + ¾ cup powdered sugar/ 85 g + 1 pinch of salt + ½ cup unsalted butter/ 130 g + 1 egg yolk + 1 tablespoon cold water
Refrigerate pastry: Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour or longer.

Stir filling ingredients: Place the mascarpone, cream cheese, yogurt, milk, butter, and salt in a bowl. Slowly heat the mixture on bain-marie, stirring almost constantly until everything is combined (Note 3).
¾ cup mascarpone/ 175 g + ¾ cup cream cheese/ 175 g + ¾ cup yogurt/ 175 g + ⅔ cup full-fat milk/ 150 g + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter + 1 pinch of salt
Thicken filling: Sift the powdered sugar and cornstarch over the mixture, add the vanilla extract and egg, and whisk continuously until the mixture thickens and becomes smooth. It’s thick enough when the whisk leaves traces in the mixture.
⅓ cup icing sugar/ 40 g + 1 tablespoon cornstarch + ½ teaspoon vanilla extract + 1 egg
Cool: Remove from the heat and pour the filling into a large bowl. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the mixture and let cool.

Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 180°C.
Roll pastry: Divide the dough into 12 pieces and form little balls. Roll each ball on a lightly floured surface into circles slightly larger than the tart pans.
Line the tins: Carefully press each dough circle down into the tart pan to line its bottom and sides, then cut out the excess. Poke the bottom with a fork. Place the tart forms on a baking tray.
Bake the shells for about 10 minutes or until the pastry is lightly golden. Leave to cool slightly in the pans.

Increase the oven temperature to 445°F/ 230°C.
Fill each pastry shell with the filling. Whisk the egg yolk and the milk in a small bowl and brush each Hokkaido cheese tart with the mixture.
1 egg yolk + 1 tablespoon milk
Bake cheese tarts: Place the tray with the tarts in the hot oven and bake for another 5-8 minutes until the filling turns very golden with a few darker spots here and there.
Cool the tarts: Remove the tray from the oven and allow the cheese tarts to cool slightly before serving.

Tart forms: Use some with removable bottom if available; they are easier to work with.
Measurements: Always use a digital kitchen scale in baking; it ensures the best results (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab).
To make the bain-marie, I place the bowl with the ingredients in a pot with water. The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl.