My Blue Cheese Puff Pastry Tarts will be a hit at your next party! Flaky, buttery, puff pastry contains a delicious, creamy, blue cheese filling. Their ease of preparation and great flavour means they are amongst my go-to appetisers. Be sure to make plenty – they are always popular!
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Why we love this recipe:
These Blue Cheese Puff Pastry Tartlets are simple but they’re also elegant. They are extremely versatile, being suitable for a cocktail party, a starter for a dinner party, take on a picnic or enjoy as a snack.
- You need just 5 ingredients, all readily available in supermarkets. The blue cheese flavour is softened by the cream and egg, making it mellow, savoury and very tasty.
- This is a great appetiser to make when you need one in a hurry. The puff pastry tartlets are super easy and quick to prepare. It will only take about 30 minutes to prepare and bake them then you can sit back and enjoy!
- Mini, savoury, Blue Cheese Tarts are the solution for stress-free entertaining. You can bake them in advance and reheat them when ready to serve. Alternatively, store some cold tarts in the freezer to use when unexpected guests arrive.
- I love warm, bite-size food and it seems that most other people do too. If you are entertaining, be sure to make plenty as I have found the Blue Cheese Tarts are always the first to disappear.
Ingredients in this recipe:
Please see the recipe card further along in the post for exact quantities of ingredients and the full method.
Blue cheese – it’s not necessary to use the best blue cheese; I buy a wedge of Danish Blue which is inexpensive and readily available in supermarkets.
Pouring cream – this is cream with a fat content of 35%, and, as the name describes, it is a cream of pouring consistency.
Egg – we use a large free-range egg in this recipe.
Chives – a member of the onion family, they have a grass-like appearance and a mild onion flavour.
Puff pastry – for the best flavour, my preference is for butter puff pastry.
Freshly ground black pepper - to taste.
Step by step instructions:
You will need to start by preheating your oven to 200 Degrees C (390 F).
- Gather your ingredients. Remove the pastry from the freezer shortly before preparing the filling ingredients.
- Lightly grease the patty pan or muffin tin.
- Put all the filling ingredients into a food processor.
- Blend until thoroughly mixed. (You can also use handheld beaters.)
- Use a cookie cutter to cut rounds of pastry.
- Put your pastry rounds into the prepared tin/patty pans. See further details in the recipe.
- Place about 1 tablespoon of filling into the pastry and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the filling puffs and becomes golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving. Or, place onto a wire rack to cool and store.
Tips for success and FAQs:
If time permits, it is best to defrost your puff pastry in the refrigerator. If you defrost on the bench, be careful that the pastry does not become too soft.
It will be difficult to work with and the butter in the pastry will begin to melt, damaging the pastry’s ability to rise into the crispy, puffy layers that we want. If your pastry becomes too soft, return it to the refrigerator to firm up.
It is not necessary to use an expensive cheese. I use a wedge of Danish Blue Cheese, readily available in supermarkets. When blended with the cream and egg, the flavour becomes mild and deliciously creamy.
Yes, you can. You can store the cooled tarts in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat in a pre-heated 180 Degrees C (350 F) oven for about 5 – 7 minutes.
You can freeze them for up to 3 months. I find it best to freeze them initially in a single layer and then transfer to an airtight container. This will avoid the tarts sticking together. When ready to serve, place them into a pre-heated 180 Degrees C (350 F) oven for 10 – 12 minutes. If you thaw them first, re-heat for 5 - 7 minutes.
More delicious recipes for you to try:
We love to entertain! Here are some more of our favourite easy finger food recipes for you to try:
You can also view our complete collection of Savoury Puff Pastry Recipes here.
These Blue Cheese Tarts will become firm favourites. They are ideal for the Festive season, special celebrations, dinner parties or family gatherings. Similar to a mini quiche, they are also ideal to serve at a wine and cheese party or with a glass of champagne for brunch. They are so simple to make, you can make lots of them very easily.
Alex xx
This post was originally published in July 2018. It has been updated with new photos and more information. The recipe remains the same.
Blue Cheese Puff Pastry Tarts
Please note:
For accuracy, when weights are provided, we recommend weighing your ingredients. This will produce the best results. All oven temperatures listed are for fan forced.
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry See Note 1
- 75 g (2.5 oz) blue cheese See Note 2
- 2 tablespoon cream - pouring/single See Note 3
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon chives - finely chopped
- freshly ground black pepper - to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 Degrees C (390 F).
- Remove the pastry from the freezer shortly before preparing the filling.(Don’t remove it too early or it will be difficult to cut neatly. The pastry will have a better texture if it is still chilled when placed in the oven.)
- Grease the patty pan tin (or muffin tin if using) well – see Note 4.
- Add the blue cheese, cream, egg, chives and freshly ground black pepper to the bowl of a food processor and blend until thoroughly mixed.
- When the pastry has just defrosted, using a 6 cm (2 ¼ inch) cookie cutter for patty pan tins or 7 ½ cm (3 inch) cutter for muffin tins, cut rounds of pastry and put into prepared muffin tin/patty pans, gently pushing the pastry down into place.You will cut 12 rounds for the patty pan or 9 for the muffin tin.
- Evenly distribute the filling between the pastry cases. This is about 1 tablespoon (4 teaspoons) for the patty pans and 1 ½ tablespoons (6 teaspoons) for the muffin tins.
- Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes in the patty pans or 12 - 15 in the muffin tins. The time will vary depending on the heat of your oven but bake until the filling puffs and becomes golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before removing and placing on a wire rack to cool and store – or serve warm immediately.
- If making them in advance, reheat in a pre-heated 180 degrees C (350 F) oven for 5 - 7 minutes.
Notes
- My puff pastry sheet measured 24 cm X 24 cm (9 ½″) square. If the puff pastry defrosts before you have prepared the filling, place the puff pastry in the refrigerator until ready to use. It must remain chilled.
- It is not necessary to use expensive cheese. I use a wedge of Danish Blue Cheese, readily available in supermarkets.
- The Australian tablespoon is 20 ml or 4 teaspoons. In many other countries, the tablespoon is 15 ml or 3 teaspoons. If necessary, please adjust your measurements.
- I have used a patty pan tin. This is a baking tin with small round individual indentations in which cakes or pastries are cooked. To make in the patty pans I use a 6 cm (2 ¼ inch) cookie cutter. I make 12 pastries from 1 sheet of pastry. To do this, I use some of the offcuts to patch the last few circles. If your cutter is slightly larger you may need part of another sheet. You can re-freeze the remainder. If you are using a muffin tin, use a 7 ½ cm (3 inch) cookie cutter. You will make 9 pastries from one sheet of pastry.
- Please note, the nutritional information is based on one tart. This has been calculated based on 12 tarts made in a patty pan tin. The nutritional information is an estimate only.
Nutrition Estimate:
Nutritional Disclaimer:
The nutritional information is an estimate only, and is derived from online calculators. For accurate results, we recommend calculating the nutritional information based on the ingredients and brands you use.
Tawnie says
All of my favorite flavors! These were so simple and so delish.
Alexandra says
Thank you, Tawnie, I love these tarts. They're so easy to make and easier to eat; always popular. 🙂
Dennis says
These were absolutely mouthwatering - great recipe!
Alexandra says
Thanks, Dennis!
Susie says
what is a tin/patty pan? Is it like a cupcake pan?
Alexandra says
Hi Susie!
I've linked to a patty pan here: Patty Pan
We are about to update this post though, and test it out in a few different tins, as they don't seem as easy to come by worldwide - so I hope to share some updated information with you soon!
Kind regards, Alex
LindaK says
Hi Alexandra,
Thanks for your fast response. I didn’t realize you are in AU. I looked at your patty pan link. There is nothing like this readily available in the US. I wish we did have these. The closest would be a cheap “dollar store” cupcake tin. These usually have more shallow sides than high quality tins. I love blue cheese and can’t wait to make these tarts. Thanks!
Alexandra says
Hi Linda! I hope you will get a chance to make them soon - love to know what you think 🙂 Hopefully, you will find a tin closer to this - I had a bit of a google and another popular term for the tin seems to be a "mince pie tin"! It comes up on Amazon for me, but not sure is that's the AU based part - maybe give that a try? 🙂
LindaK says
What are “patty pans?” Nothing by that name on Amazon. Also, what do you mean by “pouring cream?” Heavy cream? Half & Half?
Alexandra says
Hi Linda! Excellent questions, thank you!
In respect to cream, what we call "pouring cream" seems to be the equivalent of your "heavy cream"
Patty pans have two different meanings here in Australia! They are the casing around a muffin/cupcake - usually paper/foil.
If you have what we use here that is called a "patty pan tin", then you can put the pastry directly into the tin, as long as it is greased.
Here's the tin we used:
Patty Pan Tin
Hope that helps! Please do not hesitate to get in touch with anymore questions.
Sayanti says
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. So delicious.
Alexandra says
Thanks, Sayanti!!! Enjoy 🙂