Puff Pastry Cream Cheese Tarts
Servings: 24 tarts
Calories: 168kcal
Transform store-bought, frozen sheets of puff pastry into these delightful little tarts filled with fresh berries and a lemony cream cheese filling! Use your favourite berries or fruit and then try to eat just one - it's nearly an impossible feat!
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Ingredients
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package instructions
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved (you can add the halves or slice them very thin and lay them onto the cream cheese - see photographs)
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
- 1 cup blackberries
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper. Set aside.
- Using a hand-held mixer, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
- Unroll the puff pastry and gently roll it out with a rolling pin. We are not trying to make the puff pastry flatter or bigger, but simple leveling out the surface.
- Choose two round cookie cutters. The larger cookie cutter should be about 3 inches in diameter. The second cookie cutter should be about 1/4-1/2 inch smaller.
- Using the largest cookie cutter, cut circles out of the puff pastry. Place the circular puff pastry onto the prepared baking sheet at least 3 inches apart.
- Using the second cookie cutter, position it in the middle of each previously cut puff pastry and gently push down to make a small indent. DO NOT cut all the way through. We are basically scoring the pastry to prevent the filling from running out onto the crust when baking and to encourage the crust to puff up more than the center.
- Next, use a fork to gently poke the center of the prepared puff pastry. I tend to poke the pastry a total of 4 times and make an X or a cross-like pattern.
- Add a tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture to the center of the prepared puff pastry and spread it evenly, but do not spread it past the inner score. Keep the outer crust free of any toppings!
- Fill in the center of the tart with the berries, pushing them gently into the cream cheese mixture so that they stick.
- Next, whisk together the egg and the tablespoon of water. Brush the outer crusts of the prepared puff pasty with the egg mixture. Use a small pastry brush for best coverage.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the outer crusts are puffed and golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow the tarts to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer them to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Before serving, garnish with a gentle sprinkling of confectioner's sugar.
Nutrition
Calories: 168kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 85mg | Potassium: 69mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 155IU | Vitamin C: 10.3mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 0.7mg