This strawberry cream cheese tart is a buttery crust with a creamy filling topped with fresh strawberries. A simple yet elegant dessert.
My 5-year old Nutmeg says the darnedest things. This kid cracks us up with her attempts at using grown up words and phrases. We recently went out for Indian, a family favorite, and the owner stopped by our table. The kids raved about the rice, saying it was the best they’d ever had. Little Nutmeg looks at me and says, “Not a fence, Mommy.” That is Nutmeg for “No offense.” She has dozens of these little Nutmeg-isms that I hope she never outgrows. It did challenge me to try to improve my own rice-cooking skills, stealing a top from the restaurant owner for next time I make Basmati. But regardless of how it turns out, I’m “not a fence”. In fact, I love to hear my kids compare my food to others.
Anyway, I digress. But that Nutmeg is one funny kid. Now, back to this dessert. One unseasonably warm day and I’m ready for Spring. And for me, Spring means strawberries. I bought a ridiculous amount of strawberries last week because they looked and smelled amazing and they were on sale. So a dessert was required in order to use up those beauties before they spoiled. This tart is a simple butter dough filled with a just-sweet-enough cream cheese filling and then piled high with fresh strawberries kissed with sugar. It’s not too heavy and not too sweet and tastes just like Spring. Looking for more ways to use those strawberries? Try my fresh strawberry cake!
- ½ c. butter
- ⅓ c. sugar
- ¼ tsp. vanilla
- 1 c. flour
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- ¼ c. sugar
- 1 egg
- ¼ tsp. vanilla
- 1 quart strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 2 tsp. sugar
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- To make the crust, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla. Slowly add the flour and mix until just combined.
- Press into bottom and up sides of a round tart pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until just golden. Remove from oven and cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, cream together the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla. Spread into the cooled crust. Bake for 12 minutes or until set.
- Remove from oven and cool completely.
- While tart cools, combine strawberries and sugar in a bowl and let sit for about 15 minutes. Pile berries on top of cooled tart.
- Serve immediately.
Leave a Reply