Cheese Tart
This vegetarian builds shortcrust pastry, brie cheese and mascarpone cheese into a proper meal you can have ready in about 70 minutes. Scroll down for the ingredient checklist, a serving scaler and unit converter, and the method broken into 8 steps.
You'll mainly reach for oven and saucepan. At medium difficulty across 8 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's meat-free.
What you'll need
Shopping list (3)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
Diet: vegetarian — no meat or fish, based on every ingredient listed below.
Contains: Gluten Dairy Egg
Allergen labels are informational and may not cover cross-contact; verify every package and consult a qualified professional for medical dietary needs. Diet labels are derived from the ingredient list on this page — how we verify diet and allergen labels.
Food-safety and allergen information is general, not medical advice. Follow current guidance from your local food-safety authority, verify product labels, and seek qualified advice for allergies or health conditions.
How to make it
- Heat the oven to 190 C (375 F) and lightly butter a 23 cm loose-bottomed tart tin.
- Roll the shortcrust pastry out to about 3 mm thick, line the tin pressing it into the edges, trim the overhang, then prick the base with a fork and chill for 15 minutes.
- Line the pastry with parchment and baking beans and blind-bake for 15 minutes, then remove the beans and bake a further 5 minutes until the base is dry and pale gold.
- Trim the rind from the brie and melt the brie with the butter in a bowl set over barely simmering water, stirring until smooth, then let it cool for a few minutes.
- Beat the mascarpone with the sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and a pinch of salt until smooth, then whisk in the melted brie mixture until evenly combined.
- Pour the filling into the warm pastry case and smooth the top, lowering the oven to 170 C (340 F).
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the filling is set around the edge but still has a slight wobble in the centre and reads at least 71 C (160 F) internally.
- Cool the tart completely in the tin, then chill for at least 2 hours before slicing so the cheese filling firms up.
You'll use: Oven · Saucepan · Whisk
Ingredient substitutions
- Mascarpone
- cream cheese softened with a little cream
- Butter
- olive oil (¾ the amount) · coconut oil · margarine
- Eggs
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce (baking) · 1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water per egg
- Lemon
- lime · 1 tbsp white wine vinegar per lemon
Tips & common questions
How long does Cheese Tart take to make?
About 70 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 8 steps and 9 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of mascarpone?
Try cream cheese softened with a little cream. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Cheese Tart vegetarian?
Its ingredients contain no meat, fish or shellfish, so it is suitable for vegetarians. Check any cheese for animal rennet if that matters to you.
Related recipes
Adapted recipe — rewritten in our own wording from an open-licensed community cookbook, not yet independently kitchen-tested by Consomee. How we source, test & correct recipes.
Cheese Tart is adapted by Consomee from the Wikibooks Cookbook, rewritten in our own wording and used under CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo: Chocolate cheese tart with blueberries.jpg by Shisma, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure — how we source recipes.