Goat’s Cheese Tartlets

Savoury Goat’s Cheese Tartlets featuring light as a feather whipped goat’s cheese, fig paste, toasted walnuts and fresh thyme leaves.

The easiest fancy-looking savoury you’ll ever make

Looking for a delicious little savoury bite that pairs perfectly with a glass of your favourite wine—or even a cozy afternoon tea? Look no further! These Goat’s Cheese Tartlets are a beautiful blend of creamy, sweet, and nutty flavours, making them an irresistible addition to any gathering.

The best part? They’re incredibly easy to make, thanks to a couple of clever shortcuts.

Why you’ll love these

• Crunchy buttery pastry filled with creamy, earthy and acidic goat’s cheese
• Complemented with a perfect pairing of walnut, fig paste and fresh thyme
• Professional looking but so easy to make
• Suitable for lots of occasions as well as vegetarians

Let’s be honest—sometimes you just need a go-to recipe you can whip up at short notice. One that looks impressive, tastes amazing, and doesn’t have you sweating in the kitchen for hours. That’s exactly what this recipe delivers.

To save time (and stress), I’ve used a few smart cheats:

• Pre-made savoury shortcrust tartlet shells (the straight-edged ones) are available from most gourmet food stores.
• Fig paste is readily found in many supermarkets—and it pairs so beautifully with goat’s cheese, it would be a crime not to use it.

All you need to do is whip the goat’s cheese with a splash of milk to lighten it and toast the walnuts (which helps remove any bitterness). To finish. simply pipe the goat’s cheese, add a dash of fig paste, then top with a piece of walnut and fresh thyme leaves. That’s it!

I used a disposable piping bag fitted with an open star tip for a pretty finish, but you can just as easily snip the end of a bag and pipe little clouds of cheese instead. No fancy tools required.

These Goat’s Cheese Tartlets are destined to become your new go-to for effortless entertaining. Perfect for birthdays, Christmas drinks, cocktail parties—or simply elevating your next afternoon tea.

Don’t like Goat’s Cheese? You can replace it with cream cheese if you prefer. See my FAQs at the end of the post on how to do this.

Good to know

• A stand-mixer or hand-held beaters are a must to whip the goat’s cheese
• A large diposable piping bag, with or without a tip, will give you a professional finish
• As with any recipe, make sure you read all the steps before you begin

Make ahead tips

• Toast and skin the walnuts up to a day ahead and store at room termperature in a small sealed container
• Store the tartlets in a sealed container in the fridge up to 4 hours before your event
• Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before serving

Why not make these recipes too?

Raspberry White Chocolate Cheesecake

Smoked Salmon Pikelets

Afternoon Tea Mimosas

Ginger Scones with Lime Marmalade

Cucumber Finger Sandwiches

Ingredients

Savoury shortcurst tartlet shells – Buy the best quality you can find/afford. You want to look for a product that contains butter as they will give you a melt-in-mouth texture and a better flavour than shells made with oil or shortening. Size: 4cm / 1.5 inch. You can also make pikelets if you can’t find the shells. See FAQs.

Goat’s cheese – I recommend a French style goat’s cheese with a creamy texture and tangy flavour. You can also use cream cheese with a few additional ingredients to replicate the tanginess/acidity. See FAQs below for how to do this.

Milk – Use whole milk / full-fat milk

Fig and walnut paste (or just fig paste) – You can find a good range of pastes in the cheese section of a supermarket or specialty store. If you can’t find fig, then quince or even pear would work just as well. I used this one from Wattle Valley for this recipe.

Walnuts – Use shelled walnuts then toast in the oven to remove their bitter skins (see recipe below).

Fresh thyme leaves – Thyme’s earthy, herbal notes are the perfect complement to the earthiness of the Goat’s Cheese. Remove the leaves from the stems just before serving to maintain their freshness and colour.

How to make Goat’s Cheese Tartlets

Preparation

Remove the goat’s cheese from its packaging and set aside on a plate for now.

Preheat the oven to 160 C fan / 320 F fan

Line a small tray with baking paper and spread out the walnuts in a single layer.

Toast in the oven for 5 minutes.

Remove the bitter skins

Remove from the oven and rub the skins with a piece of paper towel or clean tea towel while still warm. Don’t worry if they break, you will need to break them into small pieces when you garnish the tarts. Set aside to cool while you do the rest of your prep.

Fit your stand mixer with the paddle attachment or set up your hand beaters.

Prepare your piping bag

Fit a piping bag with a large open star tip such as a 1M and cut off the end. If you don’t have a piping tip then cut 5cm / 2 inches off the end of a disposable piping bag.

Place the piping bag in a tall glass with the third top of the bag turned over to create a cuff.

Set out your tartlet shells on a tray or plate.

Make the filling for the Goat’s Cheese Tartlets

Place the goat’s cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a mixing bowl suitable for hand beaters.

Mix on low speed to break up the cheese.

Add one teaspoon of milk and mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the other teaspoon of milk, then continue mixing on medium until fluffy and most importantly pipeable.

Pipe the mixture

Using a spatula, transfer the goat’s cheese to your piping bag. Pull up the cuff and twist to secure.

Take a pastry shell in one hand, then holding the bag directly above, pipe the goat’s cheese mixture until it is just a little higher than the top of the shell. Repeat with remaining shells.

Add the garnishes to your Goat’s Cheese Tartlets

Using the handle end of a teaspoon, take a little fig paste and place it in the middle of the piped goat’s cheese. Use another teaspoon to slide it off if it’s a bit sticky.

Break off a small piece of walnut and add it to the right of the fig paste. Make sure you put it in the same place each time so they remain consistent.

Finish with a sprig of thyme in between the paste and the walnut.

Serve or store

Place on a tiered stand, decorative plate or platter. For a professional finish, ensure all the garnishes are going the same way. Serve immediately.

Alternatively, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours before your event. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before serving.

FAQ’s about my Goat’s Cheese Tartlets

Can I use cream cheese instead? Yes! You just need to increase the acid and salt so the tartlets remain balanced (the creaminess of the cream cheese will overwhelm the nutty, fruity and herbaceous flavours of the other ingredients). I suggest adding the zest of a small lemon and a pinch of salt to the cream cheese before you whip it. You will still need the milk to lighten it up so don’t skip that part. The oils in the zest will permeate the cream cheese and you will end up with a tangy, creamy mixture.

I can’t find the tartlet shells anywhere. What can I use instead? Pikelets would work well and you can make them ahead. My recipe for Smoked Salmon Pikelets has the basic pikelet recipe you will need.