Käsewähe - Savory Cheesecake from Switzerland
A classic Swiss recipe for a savory filled tart. Perfect for the cold season
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When I moved to Switzerland in 2015, I had to learn some food vocabulary: suddenly I was surrounded by Gipfeli (croissants), Baumnüssen (walnuts), Silserli (lye roll), Znüni (second breakfast) and also Wähen. A Wähe is a simple cake or tart, either sweet with fruit or savory with cheese. After a short time I took a liking to it and it became a popular option for a quick lunch at the bakery near the office.
The cheese tart is similar to a quiche, with a very simple filling of cheese, cream, egg and milk, lightly seasoned. It is very quick to prepare and you can easily make a small side salad while the tart is baking in the oven.
The recipe is based on that of Swissmilk. The standard version calls for no other ingredients in the filling, but I like to add some fried onions. If you’re in a hurry, you can use a ready-made pastry instead of making your own.
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Recipe
A slice of savory cheesecake with salad.
Ingredients
Preparation Time: 10 min
Total Time: 45 min
Servings: 4
- • 80 g butter
- • 1/4 tsp salt
- • 200 wheat flour
- • 75 g water
- • 1 onion
- • 1 clove of garlic
- • 1 tablespoon oil
- • 300 g grated cheese, for example a mixture of Gruyère and Emmental
- • 150 g milk
- • 250 g cream
- • 3 eggs
- • 1/2 tsp salt
- • 1 pinch of pepper
- • 1 pinch of nutmeg
- • 1 large head of lettuce (about 250 g)
- • about 200 g cherry tomatoes
- • 1/3 cucumber (about 200 g)
- • 80 g oil
- • 40 g vinegar
- • 10 g mustard
- • 2 g sugar
- • 1/4 tsp salt
- • 1 pinch of pepper
Ingredients
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 10 min
Total Time: 45 min
- • 80 g butter
- • 1/4 tsp salt
- • 200 wheat flour
- • 75 g water
- • 1 onion
- • 1 clove of garlic
- • 1 tablespoon oil
- • 300 g grated cheese, for example a mixture of Gruyère and Emmental
- • 150 g milk
- • 250 g cream
- • 3 eggs
- • 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- 1 Prepare the dough: heat the butter in the microwave or in a saucepan. Add the other dough ingredients and mix to form a dough.
- 2 For the topping, peel and chop the onion and garlic. Fry in a pan with oil until the onions are translucent.
- 3 Meanwhile, make the rest of the topping: In a large bowl, combine the grated cheese, milk and cream. Whisk the eggs and add to the mixture. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Finally, add the fried onion and garlic and mix again to form a homogeneous mixture.
- 4 Line a round baking tin with baking paper, spread the dough on top, press down a little and form a rim. Spread the cheese mixture on top.
- 5 Bake in a fan oven at 200-220°C for about 30-35 minutes.
- 6 While the cheese tart is baking, prepare the salad: Wash and clean the lettuce. Wash and chop the cucumber and tomato. Mix the oil with the vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper to make a vinaigrette. You can add the cucumber and tomatoes directly to the vinaigrette, and the salad itself just before serving.
- 7 Remove the golden-brown cheese tart from the oven and cut into slices. Serve with the salad.
Carbon Footprint
Carbon Footprint: 2868 g CO₂e
This ranks it number 52 out of 58 recipes published on the blog so far in terms of estimated carbon footprint.
In other words, it is one of the 10% of recipes with the worst carbon footprint. At least 90% of recipes cause fewer emissions. 😬
When it comes to ingredients, butter, cheese and cream are of course the most noticeable: All three dairy products have a relatively high greenhouse effect due to the climate footprint of cattle farming. The side salad, on the other hand, is almost negligible: Although lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers together make up about one-third of the weight of the ingredients, they account for only about 5% of the carbon footprint.
Comparison of Ingredients
| Ingredients | Carbon footprint per kg | Carbon footprint for recipe | % of ingredients | % of CO₂ emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| butter | 9.0 | 360 | 4% | 13% |
| salt | 0.7 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| wheat flour | 0.9 | 89 | 10% | 3% |
| onion | 0.2 | 8 | 4% | 0% |
| garlic | 0.5 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| oil | 3.2 | 16 | 1% | 1% |
| cheese | 6.0 | 900 | 16% | 31% |
| milk | 1.4 | 105 | 8% | 4% |
| cream | 4.2 | 525 | 13% | 18% |
| eggs | 3.0 | 225 | 8% | 8% |
| salt | 0.7 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| pepper | 1.4 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| nutmeg | 1.1 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| salad | 0.3 | 23 | 8% | 1% |
| cherry tomatoes | 0.8 | 80 | 10% | 3% |
| cucumber | 0.4 | 40 | 10% | 1% |
| oil | 3.2 | 128 | 4% | 4% |
| vinegar | 1.4 | 27 | 2% | 1% |
| mustard | 1.4 | 7 | 1% | 0% |
| sugar | 0.9 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| salt | 0.7 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| pepper | 1.4 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| Warm butter | 5 | 0% | ||
| Sauté onion | 41 | 1% | ||
| Bake the pie | 284 | 10% |
Instructions
- 1 Prepare the dough: heat the butter in the microwave or in a saucepan. Add the other dough ingredients and mix to form a dough.
- 2 For the topping, peel and chop the onion and garlic. Fry in a pan with oil until the onions are translucent.
- 3 Meanwhile, make the rest of the topping: In a large bowl, combine the grated cheese, milk and cream. Whisk the eggs and add to the mixture. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Finally, add the fried onion and garlic and mix again to form a homogeneous mixture.
- 4 Line a round baking tin with baking paper, spread the dough on top, press down a little and form a rim. Spread the cheese mixture on top.
- 5 Bake in a fan oven at 200-220°C for about 30-35 minutes.
- 6 While the cheese tart is baking, prepare the salad: Wash and clean the lettuce. Wash and chop the cucumber and tomato. Mix the oil with the vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper to make a vinaigrette. You can add the cucumber and tomatoes directly to the vinaigrette, and the salad itself just before serving.
- 7 Remove the golden-brown cheese tart from the oven and cut into slices. Serve with the salad.
Carbon Footprint
Carbon Footprint (2 portions): 2868 g CO₂e
This ranks it number 52 out of 58 recipes published on the blog so far in terms of estimated carbon footprint.
In other words, it is one of the 10% of recipes with the worst carbon footprint. At least 90% of recipes cause fewer emissions. 😬
When it comes to ingredients, butter, cheese and cream are of course the most noticeable: All three dairy products have a relatively high greenhouse effect due to the climate footprint of cattle farming. The side salad, on the other hand, is almost negligible: Although lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers together make up about one-third of the weight of the ingredients, they account for only about 5% of the carbon footprint.
Comparison of Ingredients
| Ingredients | Carbon footprint per kg | Carbon footprint for recipe | % of ingredients | % of CO₂ emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| butter | 9.0 | 360 | 4% | 13% |
| salt | 0.7 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| wheat flour | 0.9 | 89 | 10% | 3% |
| onion | 0.2 | 8 | 4% | 0% |
| garlic | 0.5 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| oil | 3.2 | 16 | 1% | 1% |
| cheese | 6.0 | 900 | 16% | 31% |
| milk | 1.4 | 105 | 8% | 4% |
| cream | 4.2 | 525 | 13% | 18% |
| eggs | 3.0 | 225 | 8% | 8% |
| salt | 0.7 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| pepper | 1.4 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| nutmeg | 1.1 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| salad | 0.3 | 23 | 8% | 1% |
| cherry tomatoes | 0.8 | 80 | 10% | 3% |
| cucumber | 0.4 | 40 | 10% | 1% |
| oil | 3.2 | 128 | 4% | 4% |
| vinegar | 1.4 | 27 | 2% | 1% |
| mustard | 1.4 | 7 | 1% | 0% |
| sugar | 0.9 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| salt | 0.7 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| pepper | 1.4 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| Warm butter | 5 | 0% | ||
| Sauté onion | 41 | 1% | ||
| Bake the pie | 284 | 10% |