Käsewähe is one of the Swiss’ staple foods, especially in the colder months of the year. I’m quite picky with the cheese tarts though, the ones from the supermarkets and bakeries are often too heavy and filling for me (both the pastry and the cheese). I like this recipe here as the cheese layer is a little thinner and the entire tart doesn’t feel that fatty, and the aded yoghurt makes it a little lighter too. Also, while I’m normally fine with shop-bought doughs for tarts, for the cheese tart I prefer a homemade one – the cheese is intense and I like it balanced out with a freshly made, crunchy and not too filling pastry base.
Recipe
Pie crust
Either use a shop bought Kuchenteig (pastry dough), ideally the 32cm flattened, round one, or prepare your own dough with the recipe here. For this cheese tart I made my own dough according to the mentioned recipe, but with 1/3 wholemeal flour and 2/3 white flour instead of white flour only.
Filling
- 250g grated cheese (I usually buy the Käsekuchenmischung from Coop or Migros, but you can also use other hard or half-hard grated Swiss cheese such as Appenzeller)
- 180g plain yoghurt
- 1 egg
- 1.5dl milk
- 1 tsp flour
- a little salt and a little freshly grated nutmeg
Method
Pre-heat oven at 220 degrees Celsius.
Put a baking parchment onto a round tart tin of 32cm diameter. Put rolled out dough onto the parchment. Using a fork, make holes into the dough (this helps for a beautifully crunchy crust).
In a bowl, mix all ingredients of the filling. Pour onto the dough.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, on the lowest rack of the oven (the right temperature and the lowest rack are very important for a crunchy pie crust).
Once the cheese is nicely browned, take the tart out of the oven and eat either hot or cold.
This pie can also be frozen. To eat, take a slice out of the freezer, defrost at room temperature for 1-2 hours and reheat at 150 degrees C for 10-12 minutes until thoroughly hot.
Variations
This cheese tart recipe is a great one for adding further ingredients. Just add as many of them as you want to the tart before you bake it (depending on the size of the ingredient either under or on top of the cheese filling). Ideas:
- chopped and fried bacon
- chopped and lightly fried onion
- halved cherry tomatoes
- steamed broccoli or any other steamed vegetables
- chopped ham
- chopped fruit if you like sweet and salty
Did you try the one at the Ziegelhutte at I’s b’day? OMG it was so good, I’ve been dreaming about it ever since. Will definitely have to try to make my own!
Yes I did, it was good! Mine is a bit less rich as far as I can remember. But I think a homemade pastry makes all the difference with the cheese tart!
I made a Spinatwähe last night, I went out to the Elternabend at school and came back and my kids had only left me 2 slices! Little buggers! I make mine with Rezent Gruyere, Halbrahm, and two eggs. I love a good wähe!
Hello!
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. May I ask a question regarding the oven setting? Should it be heated with both the top and bottom heating elements on? Or only one side? Thanks!
Hi yes heated with both bottom and top! And then put the tart on the very lowest rack.
I live in the US. Could you convert the recipe for the US measurements? I want to make this recipe.
Hi, yes I’ll try to convert it once I find some time for it, it might take a while though. You can use Google to convert grams to ounces and decilitres to the US equivalent. It works really well.
So delicious. I’ve used cheddar cheese too since my daughter doesn’t like Swiss cheese and it’s still delicious. I doubled the recipe and made 2 tarts so I didn’t have to cook fhe following day. Really delicious and not eggy.
Thank you! Cheddar cheese sounds like an interesting substitute!
This was served to us during a farm tour we did in Engelberg and it was delicious! I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thank you for sharing!
My Mum is Swiss and I’ve been eating Käsewähe for over 50 years. Thanks for the recipe- mine is a little different and we’re a little heavier on Nutmeg and no flour. What a lovey dish with a salad – can eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner ! So DELISH !
This cheese tart is absolutely delicious! We tried this on a holiday to Lucerne in 2023 and now it is a firm favourite at home in the UK. I can buy Gruyère and use a good quality Lancashire cheese, it’s a lovely combination. In fact I’ve just made one!
So glad you like it and you could find the right cheese for it in the UK!