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Chäschüechli (Swiss Cheese Tartlets)
Little shortcrust cases filled with grated Gruyère and a nutmeg-scented custard of eggs, milk and cream, baked until puffed and golden, a favourite Swiss bakery snack eaten warm or cold.
Swiss · medium · serves 12
prep 25 min · cook 25 min · plus 30 min hands-off time
~180 cal · 6g protein · 11g carbs · 12g fat · 0g fiber · 1g sugars · 7g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Chäschüechli means little cheese cakes in Swiss German, but they are savoury: small tartlets of crisp shortcrust holding a quiche-like filling of grated hard cheese set in an egg and cream custard. In French-speaking Switzerland they are called ramequins, after the small dishes they were once baked in. They are one of the country's favourite snacks, sold in bakeries and made at home for an aperitif, a picnic or brunch.
The pastry is a plain dough of flour, butter, salt and water, mixed quickly and chilled. The filling depends on the cheese, and the choice is part of the pleasure: Gruyère is the usual one, but Appenzeller, Vacherin Fribourgeois, Raclette cheese or Tilsiter all work, alone or mixed. Eggs, milk and cream are seasoned with nutmeg, salt and pepper and poured over the cheese, and the tartlets bake in a hot oven until the filling puffs up and browns.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 12
- 160 g plain flour
- 1/2 tsp salt, plus a pinch for the filling
- 60 g cold butter, diced
- 80 ml cold water, add the last of it only if needed
- 120 g Gruyère or other Swiss hard cheese, grated, traditional Gruyère is made with animal rennet; strict vegetarians should use a vegetarian-rennet hard cheese
- 2 eggs
- 125 ml milk
- 125 ml single cream
- a pinch nutmeg, freshly grated
- a pinch black pepper
Instructions
- 1Mix the flour and salt, rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until it looks like coarse crumbs, then add just enough cold water to bring it together. Do not knead. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- 2Heat the oven to 200°C and butter a 12-hole muffin tin. Roll the pastry out thinly, cut 12 rounds a little larger than the holes and press them in so they come up the sides.
- 3Whisk the eggs with the milk, cream, nutmeg, pepper and a pinch of salt.
- 4Divide the grated cheese between the pastry cases and pour the custard over it, filling each almost to the top.
- 5Bake for about 25 minutes, until the filling has puffed up and is golden brown and set. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes, then lift out. Eat warm or at room temperature.✎ Chef’s noteThey sink a little as they cool; that is normal.
Swiss bakery tradition, ramequin in French-speaking Switzerland.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Bern. Bern is farm-kitchen Switzerland, home of rosti, the golden pan-crisped potato cake once eaten by farmers for breakfast. Alpine dairy dominates: hard mountain cheeses, cream sauces, and cured meats served on wooden boards with pickles and dense bread.
🗺️
Switzerland. Switzerland melts its way to fame with fondue and raclette, alongside crispy rösti potatoes and superb Alpine cheeses and chocolate. French, German, and Italian regions each shape a distinct, dairy-rich cuisine.
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Europe. A surprising amount of European cooking is under five hundred years old. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, maize, beans and chocolate all crossed from the Americas after 1492, and none of them was trusted quickly: the potato took most of the eighteenth century to be accepted as food rather than animal fodder across much of the north.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Switzerland
RöstiSwitzerland’s golden potato cake, crisp outside, tender inside, flipped whole and served with pride.
Swiss Cheese FondueA communal pot of melted Gruyère and Emmental with white wine and garlic, for dipping bread.
ÄlplermagronenAlpine macaroni baked with potato, cream, and cheese, topped with fried onions and served with applesauce.
Browse all Switzerland recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven, Mould or tin, Whisk.
Storing it: Keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and reheats covered in the oven. Most bakes can be assembled a day ahead and baked when needed.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Chäschüechli (Swiss Cheese Tartlets)?
Little shortcrust cases filled with grated Gruyère and a nutmeg-scented custard of eggs, milk and cream, baked until puffed and golden, a favourite Swiss bakery snack eaten warm or cold.
Where does Chäschüechli (Swiss Cheese Tartlets) come from?
Chäschüechli (Swiss Cheese Tartlets) is a Swiss dish from Bern, Switzerland.
Can Chäschüechli (Swiss Cheese Tartlets) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Chäschüechli (Swiss Cheese Tartlets) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Chäschüechli (Swiss Cheese Tartlets) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Chäschüechli (Swiss Cheese Tartlets) take to make?
About 1 h 20 min in all: 25 minutes prep and 25 minutes cooking, plus 30 min of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 12.
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