Last week, what was originally intended to be cooking classes for the college students at my church turned into a sort of cook-off. Both teams ended up helping each other a lot, and one of the moms stepped in for Asian-dish instruction, so it wasn’t exactly Iron Chef style, but everyone had a really good time. This Strawberry Cream Cheese Tart was a very high-scoring dish – I think points were deducted from taste because I used semi-sweet chocolate in the ganache instead of bittersweet 😛
I was really bummed about having to use a pie plate, because the fluted edges of a tart pan are so much prettier. I tell myself that if I had one, I would make a lot more tarts. Maybe I should just shell out the ten bucks and get one…
There were some pieces left over that I took home, and I discovered the next day that when the cream cheese layer firmed up in the refrigerator overnight, the overall texture was so much better. The only problem with that is that I imagine the strawberries would bleed and run into the cream cheese layer, so I would recommend refrigerating for several hours and arranging the strawberries and drizzling with chocolate right before serving.
Recipe: Sweet Tart Dough
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar)
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 tablespoons) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg yolk
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender, food processor, or with two knives – until the mixture is crumbly. You should have some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas.
- Stir the yoke to break it up and blend it into the dough, which will look granular, and form clumps and curds.
- Turn the dough out onto a work surface and very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.
- Butter a 9-inch tart pan or pie plate, and press the dough into the bottom and sides so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking. While you wait, make the cream cheese mixture.
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. (No pie weights needed)
- Put the tart pan on a baking sheet to bake the crust for 30-35 minutes. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. or until it is firm and golden brown. (Keep a close eye on the crust’s progress–it can go from golden to way too dark in a flash). Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature before filling.
Quick notes
If you want to use this crust for a different recipe that calls for a partially baked crust, bake or just 25 minutes. If there are any cracks, patch with a small amount of unbaked tart dough.
Variations
For Sweet Tart Dough With Nuts – reduce the amount of flour to 1 1/4 cups and add 1/4 cup finely ground almonds (or walnuts, pecans, or pistachios)
Number of servings (yield): 1 tart crust
Recipe from Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
Recipe: Strawberry Cream Cheese Tart
Ingredients
For the cream cheese filling –
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp. milk or cream
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
For the ganache –
- 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
For the topping –
- Fresh strawberries, sliced (approximately 12 oz.)
- Melted bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, for drizzling (optional)
Instructions
For the cream cheese filling –
- Beat the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar on medium-high speed until smooth, and then blend in the vanilla and 2 tbs of milk or cream. In a separate bowl, whip the 1/4 cup of heavy cream until it holds soft peaks, and fold into the cream cheese mixture. Cover and refrigerate for about half an hour.
For the ganache –
- Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate (in a heatproof bowl) . Let the chocolate melt for 1-2 minutes, then whisk it until a smooth ganache forms.
- If there are still bits of unmelted chocolate, microwave in 10 second intervals, whisking in between, until the ganache is completely smooth. Whisk in the butter. Spread the ganache in a thin even layer over the bottom of the cooled tart shell. Allow the ganache to set before proceeding.
- Once the ganache has set, spread the cream cheese picture over the chocolate in an even layer. It may help to use a large piping bag to do this, so that the cream cheese doesn’t get mixed into the chocolate. Refrigerate the tart without the topping for a few hours if possible, or overnight.
For the topping –
- Starting from the outside and working toward the center, place the sliced strawberries in concentric circles slightly overlapping each other. Gently press the berries into the cream cheese mixture to help keep them in place. Drizzle with melted chocolate, if desired. Chill until ready to serve.
Number of servings (yield): 10 slices
Adapted from Baking Bites