Hokkaido Bake Cheese Tart

One of the main things that has stuck with me since our trip to Seoul is the Hokkaido Bake Cheese Tarts. Sometimes known as Hokkaido Cheese Tarts. When you walk past a stall, you will notice one of two things: a long line, or no one there at all. People really do line up for these things and they really do sell out! I know, they look like standard tiny cheesecakes, or cheese tarts you get from Chinese bakeries and the like, but they’re not. The website says

The best cheese tart in your life ever for you.

And it’s true on the list of cheese tarts in your life, this one is the best one. Maybe not nutritionally, but it will be the best. These tarts have a sort of cheese mousse filling that’s baked to a nice golden brown on top. Simply amazing.

You’ll find these tarts are best eaten warm to the point that they’re still a bit soft and gooey a.k.a heavenly.

I used the recipe I found at the Michelin Guide – Singapore as a starting place for my own Hokkaido Cheese Tart recipe. While I found the ingredients to be a pretty close approximation, I made a few changes of my own. I also found their bake times and heat to be way off. I’m also generally not big on making my own pastry dough for some reason. I find that most of the time store-bought to will suffice. That being said, if you want my favorite crust recipe, I use the one at Serious Eats. Or feel free to use your own! Try them both, see what you think!

***update: there is now a Bake Cheese Tart San Francisco location at the Westfield Mall. Check it out! Now back to your regularly scheduled baking***