Ready, Set, Weekend with Simply Beautiful Eating
Okay guys. You know that I’m all about celebrating birthdays and other people’s holidays. Any reason to eat sweets is fine by me.
I have so many friends and family members who live in the USA that it would be a crying shame not to have joined in on the 4th of July festivities. I know this post is going live after the fact but to be honest you can serve this tart any time of the year! It's absolutely perfect for a warm summer night barbecue. I mean really? This is a "wowee" dessert.
Not only is this delicious, I literally whipped this up in just a few minutes. A basic tart crust recipe, some whipped cream cheese with sugar and a toppling tower of berries. My kinda sweet treat.
Here’s what you’re thinking. Can I use any fruit or berry on this tart? Well, of course you can! Go wild.
And it happens to be a classic old school recipe that I pulled out of my files from a Good Housekeeping Magazine circa 1979. I’m not joking here. I keep all my recipes in a binder with page protectors. LOVE THAT BINDER. Just love it.
Excuse me while have my “piece of summer” and eat it too…..or three. Also, notice this "Care for Seconds?" coaster... It is so fabulous I could die.
Double Berry Firecracker Tart
For the Crust -½ cups all purpose flour -⅛ teaspoon salt -½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature -¼ cup granulated white sugar -1 large egg, lightly beaten
For the Filling -1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened -¼ cup sugar -½ tsp. vanilla -4 cups fresh berries or fruit
For the glaze -¼ cup seedless strawberry preserves -1 tablespoon water
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour with the salt. Place the butter in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, and beat until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten egg, beating just until incorporated. Add the flour mixture all at once and mix just until it forms a ball. Flatten the pastry into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes or just until firm or if you're in a hurry like I always am, you can place in freezer for about 15 minutes. I use coconut or avocado oil non stick and an 8 - 9 inch (20 - 23 cm) tart pan with a removable bottom. Once the pastry has chilled, remove from fridge and evenly pat onto the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Lightly prick bottom of pastry crust with the tines of a fork (this will prevent the dough from puffing up as it bakes and you can also use pie weights and parchment paper to weight down the crust). Place tart pan on a larger baking pan and bake crust for 5 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to bake the crust for about 15 minutes or until crust is dry and lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Can be covered and stored for a few days.
Make your filling by beating softened cream cheese with sugar and vanilla. Spread over cooled crust and top with berries or fruit. Chill for at least one hour.
For the glaze, heat preserves in microwave with water for 30 seconds. Pour over fruit and chill again for another 15 minutes or longer. Serve cold.
See ya next week!
