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This Burnt Cheese Tart has a crunchy shortcrust tart base, a melty sweet and savory cream cheese filling, and a caramelized burnt top. This treat is a mind-blowingly delicious combination of textures and tastes.

This unique-looking cheese tart has recently become very popular in Singapore and Thailand. It has a crunchy buttery tart base and a melty custardy cream cheese filling with a caramelized top. I have never tried this viral Burnt Cheese Tart before, but I was intrigued to experiment with making it for myself to see what it is all about.

I have to say that this Burnt Cheese Tart is one of the best cheese tart or cheesecake I have ever made. The contrast between the crunchy tart shell and the soft melty cheese filling is so satisfying. The filling also has the perfect balance between sweet and salty. The burnt surface doesn’t taste burnt in case you are wondering. It has that wonderful caramelization paired with the rich melty creamy inside. It is such a treat!

Ingredients You Need

Tart Crust

Unsalted butter. Make sure your butter is at room temperature so that it is easy to blend with the other ingredients.
Confectioner’s sugar. The finer confectioners’ sugar makes this incorporate more thoroughly and easily into the dough compared to granulated sugar. It also yields a more tender crust, while using granulated sugar can make it more crumbly.
Egg. This makes the dough more pliable and easy to roll out. Eggs also make the crust more compact. I found that using 1 whole egg makes the dough too wet, so I used 2/3 egg. Or you can add 1 egg yolk with 1 tablespoon egg white.
Vanilla extract. To enhance the flavor.
Cake flour. Cake flour is ideal for baked goods with a tender texture due to its low gluten content. You can also use all-purpose flour to substitute the cake flour.
Cornstarch. Cornstarch typically improves the water-binding capacity of a dough. Because it has no gluten, cornstarch tends to soften the texture of the baked goods.
Almond flour. It adds a fantastic nuttiness and more delicate, light crunchiness to the tart base. You can also substitute almond flour with the amount of cake flour.
Salt. For taste.

Cream Cheese Filling

Cream cheese. For the best results, use full-fat cream cheese.
Castor sugar. Sugar not only sweetens the cheese filling but also aids in caramelizing the top for that iconic burnt finish.
Egg. To bind the ingredients together, contributing to the filling’s structure. It also helps create the silky, custardy texture.
Vanilla extract. To enhance the flavor.
Cornstarch. It helps to set up the filling while baking and keep the mixture stable during storage.
Salt. To balance the sweetness.
Heavy whipping cream. The cream is added to achieve the luxuriously creamy center of this cheese tart. It loosens up the cream cheese while adding fat.
Whole milk. To loosen up the cream cheese without making it too heavy.

Special Tools You Need

Tart pan. This recipe makes one 8-inch/20 cm tart. Use the tart pan with a removable bottom. You can use the excess tart dough and filling to make two mini 5-inch/12 cm tarts.
Pie weights. Pie weights are small ceramic or metal balls that are used when . If you don’t have pie weights, you can use uncooked rice or dry beans.
Blow torch. To caramelize the top of the cream cheese filling.

Pro Tips For Making Tart

Making homemade tart crust may seem scary to many people. But as with anything, the process becomes simpler and quicker after a few tries, and the results are well worth the preparation and practice.

Here are some tips to make the perfect crunchy tart:

Weigh your ingredients. If you don’t weigh your ingredients with a food scale, you might end up with a dough that’s a bit too dry or wet.
Chill your dough before you start rolling it out. The dough needs downtime, so make sure you rest it in the fridge before rolling. This allows the gluten strands to relax before the baking process and helps it retain shape when baking.
Freeze the raw tart. After you have added the dough into the tart pan, freeze it for 30 minutes. Freezing your tart dough provides some stability to its shape in the early stages of cooking while a crust is formed.
Prick the tart base with a fork. Before baking, prick the tart base with a fork. This helps any trapped steam between the pastry and the tin or dish escape during baking
Use pie weights. Pie weights keep the crust from puffing up or shrinking away from the edge of the pie plate or pan. If you don’t have pie weights, you can also use uncooked rice or dry beans.

More Tips for the Filling

Do not overmix the batter. Overmixing incorporates too much air, which makes the cheesecake rise during baking (the way a souffle does), then collapse as it cools.
Adjust the baking time. Bake for a shorter time if you like the filling more melty or bake a few minutes longer for firmer filling.
Cool the filling. The filling will look jiggly when you first remove it from the oven. Cool the cheese tart to be fully set while allowing the flavors to meld.

How to Serve

This Burnt Cheese Tart is best served on the same day it is baked. Serve at room temperature when the filling is melty and creamy.

If there are any leftovers, store them in the fridge. The filling will thicken when it is cold. When you are ready to serve, leave it at room temperature for a few minutes to let the filling become melty again.

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