Name: Belgian Cheese Tart
Ingredients: 1 x Shortbread; 1/2 lb Cream Cheese; 3 tb Confectioners' Sugar; 1 ts Lemon Juice; 2 ea Eggs; Large; 2/3 c Heavy Cream NOTE: As this is a tart rather than a cheesecake you should use an; 8-inch tart pan or flan ring. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Belgian Cheese Tart

Oven350°F

Time25 minutes

Ingredients

1 x Shortbread
1/2 lb Cream Cheese
3 tb Confectioners' Sugar
1 ts Lemon Juice
2 ea Eggs; Large
2/3 c Heavy Cream NOTE: As this is a tart rather than a cheesecake you should use an
8-inch tart pan or flan ring. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Directions

Make the filling

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and lemon juice until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until very smooth after the last addition.
Stir in the heavy cream and pour the mixture into the prepared crust.

Bake and chill

Brush the top of the tart with an egg and 1 Tbsp of confectioners' sugar that has been beaten together.
Bake for 25 minutes or until set.
Cool to room temperature and then chill before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

289Calories

9 gProtein

21 gFat

19 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Cream Cheese	1 oz (28g)	99
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Cream cheese + creamtop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,087 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together44,316 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Cream cheese + lemontop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together881 recipes

Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).

Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cream cheese: Provides the rich, creamy body that gives the filling its structure once set.
Eggs: Coagulate during baking to set the filling into a sliceable custard.
Heavy cream: Adds fat and moisture, keeping the filling smooth and tender rather than dry.
Confectioners' sugar: Sweetens the filling and dissolves smoothly into the cream cheese.
Lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens the rich cream cheese flavor.

The step that matters

Beat the eggs in one at a time and stop when smooth. Overbeating eggs whips air into the filling, which can cause cracking and a puffed, uneven set. Adding eggs gradually and mixing only until smooth keeps the custard dense and even as it bakes.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream cheese, sugar, egg, cream):

Vanillafits better
Strawberryfits better
Raspberryfits better
Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cream cheese, sugar, egg, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Lemon Pie37 recipes

Lemon Cake228 recipes

Lemon Ice147 recipes

Lemon Sherbet103 recipes

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Belgian Cheese Tart