Sunday, August 15, 2010

Blackberry Cheesecake Tart


Today I picked up my friend to hang out for the afternoon, and we were trying to come up with a cheap activity to amuse ourselves. We decided to experiment with a dessert! As we were bouncing ideas off each other, we were inspired by our mutual love of blackberries and cheesecake. Genius! A blackberry cheesecake in my under-used tart pan.

We set to work on our little project, Madison mixed the crust and filling, while I prepared the fresh blackberries.

Preheat oven to 325.

Start your sauce on the stove top, bring to boil, simmer for 10 min. Remove from heat, cool, put in blender. If you don't like seeds, then you can strain it.

Blackberry Sauce:
1 carton of blackberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

Crust:
3 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/8 cup Sugar
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (can be bought on the baking aisle)

Mix well and pat into a tart or pie pan, patting up sides until firmly pressed. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty, they're your best tool!

Filling:
1 pkg cream cheese, softened. (tip: unwrap and put in a bowl at least an hour before)
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Mix until ALL lumps are gone, pour into crust, gently spreading to edges.

Next step, drizzle and swirl blackberry sauce on top! Do just enough to cover about half of the surface. The extra sauce can be a delightful addition to anything you have in the cupboard, use your imagination!

Bake for 15 min, or until top doesn't stick to your finger when you touch it.

Let cool before slicing, and enjoy!

Tips:
Buy premade graham cracker crust
Use Blackberry or raspberry preserves heated in the microwave instead
Sprinkle some mini chocolate chips on top



Saturday, August 14, 2010

Strawberry Tart

I was at a picnic this spring where my friend Lisa DeBord brought a scrumptious fruit tart. I was amazed by the crust and asked how she made it. With a smirk and a roll of the eyes, she said it was soooo hard. . . it's sugar cookie dough! So this past week when my parents came to visit, I thought I'd try a little experiment. Sugar cookie crust, fruit dip filling, and topped off with my favorite fruit!

Beware, this is about to sound like a Pampered Chef ad! What can I say? I used to sell it and not only is my kitchen full, I love their products!

My sister-in-law Jame gave me the Mini Tart pan with the wooden plunger that shapes the tarts. This is something that takes a little practice to get right, but once you have the hang of it, it goes quickly. It makes it look like you are a gourmet chef!
Preheat the oven to 375. You won't need to grease the pan if it's non-stick since the cookie dough is very greasy itself (or as we say in the south, greazy). Pinch off enough dough to half-fill the tart cup, dip your dowel shaper in flour, tap off the excess, and gently form the crusts. Start checking it at 5 min.

I was slightly startled to see some of the crusts puffing up when I checked them! A simple pat with the dowel fixed the problem. I found that 7 min was about right, but the best way to know is when you see the edges get golden brown. For this crust, the crispier, the better!
Let the crusts cool before trying to pop them out with a icing spatula or spoon. Don't scratch your non-stick bake ware!

The roll of dough made almost two trays of crusts. To prevent soggy bottoms, fill them right before consumption.

Speaking of filling, this recipe is a variation of a fruit dip that Beth Clouse Claxton taught me years ago:
One box of cream cheese, room temp
1/2 carton of cool whip
1/2 box of powdered sugar
One tsp of vanilla

Mix with hand mixer, and enjoy!


Since I knew the crust was going to be super sweet, this is half the sugar and half the cool whip of the original recipe. A decorator's piping bag would be perfect, but since I didn't have mine handy, I took a gallon zip-lock, snipped of the tip, and put two big globs of filling inside. This is easier if you only put enough in that you can grasp with your hand. To refill, hold in left hand, peel the edges around your left hand until the bottom of the bag is accessible, and put another couple of scoops in. A gentle squeeze in a swirling motion should do the trick to fill the cups!

I then used my Pampered Chef slicer (good for mushrooms, olives and strawberries), to slice the capped berries. Place as many slices as you like on top, but I found that three was the magic number.


Caution: guests will come back for
seconds!