Chäschüechli

Ingredients

Pastry

• 250 gplain flour
• 125 gcold butter, cubed
• 1/2 teaspoonsalt
• 1egg yolk
• about 3 tablespoons ice water

Filling

• 200 gGruyère, grated
• 100 gEmmental, grated
• 3eggs
• 200 mldouble cream
• 100 mlmilk
• 1 tablespooncornflour
• grated nutmeg
• white pepper
• a little salt

Sometimes added

• 1small onion, finely chopped and softened
• 2rashers of bacon, diced and fried
• chopped chives

Directions

1. Use a well aged Gruyere for a stronger tart. Grate the cheese rather than cubing it. Put the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the cold cubed butter to it. Rub it in with your fingertips quickly. Work until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Keep everything as cold as you can. Warm butter gives a greasy tough pastry. Add the egg yolk and the ice water. Bring it together with a knife.
2. Add water a teaspoon at a time only. Too much water makes the pastry shrink. Press it into a disc without kneading it. Wrap it and chill it for thirty minutes. Lining the tins takes a little care. Butter a twelve-hole tartlet tin. Roll the pastry out thinly on a floured surface.
3. Take it down to about three millimetres. Cut rounds a little larger than the holes. Press each round gently into its hole. Do not stretch the pastry as you press.
4. Trim the edges level with a knife. Chill the lined tin for fifteen minutes. Prick the bases all over with a fork. Line each one with a scrap of baking paper. Fill them with baking beans or rice. Bake them at 190C for ten minutes. Lift out the paper and the beans.
5. Return them for another four minutes. The bases should look dry and pale gold. Beat the eggs together in a jug. Add the cream and the milk to it. Whisk the cornflour in until smooth. That cornflour helps the custard set firm. Add the nutmeg, white pepper and a little salt. Filling them takes a steady hand. Divide the grated cheese between the shells.
6. Fill each one about two thirds with cheese. Add fried onion or bacon if you want them. Fill each one to just below the rim. Do not overfill them or they spill. Bake them for about twenty minutes. The tops should be puffed and golden brown.
7. Shake the tin gently to check. A liquid centre needs a few minutes more. Let them sit in the tin for five minutes. Serving them is done warm rather than hot. Scatter chopped chives over them if you like. They keep two days refrigerated.

Technique

• Chaschuechli are sold at bakery counters across Switzerland and are eaten warm from the hand as a snack or light lunch.
• The proportion of cheese to custard is deliberately high, so they set much firmer than a quiche.

Substitutions

• Any firm well-flavoured Alpine cheese works, and Appenzeller or Comte both suit it.
• Ready-made shortcrust pastry saves a good deal of time.

Variations

• Some bakeries add fried onion or diced bacon to the filling.
• A large tart version is baked and cut into wedges.
• Wähe is the related Swiss open tart made in both sweet and savoury versions.

History

A Swiss bakery and takeaway standard made with Gruyère or Emmental in a shortcrust shell.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chäschüechli?

Chäschüechli is a snack from Switzerland: small cheese custard tartlet eaten warm from a bakery counter. A Swiss bakery and takeaway standard made with Gruyère or Emmental in a shortcrust shell.

How long does Chäschüechli take to make?

Chäschüechli takes 40 minutes plus resting of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes 12 tartlets. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Chäschüechli?

Yes, within limits. Any firm well-flavoured Alpine cheese works, and Appenzeller or Comte both suit it. Ready-made shortcrust pastry saves a good deal of time.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chäschüechli?

Use a well aged Gruyere for a stronger tart. Grate the cheese rather than cubing it. Put the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the cold cubed butter to it. Rub it in with your fingertips quickly. Work until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Keep everything as cold as you can. Warm butter gives a greasy tough pastry. Add the egg yolk and the ice water. Bring it together with a knife.