Last Wednesday (7/14/10), the day of our dinner date, I was reading the Milwaukee Journal Food Section and suddenly remembered that I had a commitment to bring a dessert. Luckily, on the back of the food section I noticed a blurb about a Strawberry Cream Cheese Tart that sounded like just what I needed - fast and easy since I was going to have to make it after work. It also involved hardly any oven time, which is what I needed for this weather and my no air conditioning, poorly ventilated/windowed condo. So, I copied down the basics of the recipe and planned to change/make additions to what I was feeling, which I often like to do.
I bought a pre-made crust (shh! I was in hurry, remember?), pressed it into my tart pan, trimmed the edges off and cooked it on 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
While the crust cooled, I mixed the cream cheese (1 8oz. container, room temperature), a couple teaspoons lemon juice and a couple teaspoons of my homemade vanilla (which I made this time with Mount Gay silver rum and Mexican vanilla beans - yum!). The original recipe called for orange juice, but I used lemon because of my plans for the next step.Note: if you have a really warm house, and you are in a hurry, do not try to cool the crust in the pan or even in the kitchen. I took it out of the pan and put it in the living room by the patio door so it could catch the breeze and cool faster. I always wondered why you see pies in window sills in old shows and movies - I guess that is why!
Next, I spread the cream cheese mixture and some lemon curd into the crust. The original recipe suggested spreading the jam out, or pouring it inbetween the berries after assembling the tart, but I thought the lemon curd sounded good, and I needed to use it up.
I then arranged berries (strawberries and raspberries) on top of the lemon curd. The recipe called for 4 cups of berries, but I don't think I used that many. After assembling, I chilled the assembled tart for 2 hours before serving (per recipe instruction).
Doesn't that look lovely?! This turned out being a wonderful, refreshing dessert - perfect for a warm night. And, it only took 30 minutes total to make. Can't get much easier than that!
This looks beautiful Sheri! The arrangement of the strawberries is so artful. I'm sure the lemon curd was a huge improvement over the original recipe.
ReplyDeleteAs a gratefull recipient of this awesome treat, I will assure everyone that it tasted as good as it looks....and that the lemon curd was a great addition!
ReplyDeleteOoohhh, aaahhh ... it looks so yummy! I have never used lemon curd. Is it like custard? How else do you cook with it?
ReplyDeleteLemon curd is thick lemony goodness (almost like jam). The English, so I've heard, spread it on toast or pound cake. I have tried both and think they are good options.
ReplyDeleteIt is used a lot in baking for a thicker lemon addition than juice. I used some in the pear tart I made a while back too, to thicken up the sauce the fruit was in, and give it a little flavor, rather than using lemon juice. I have also heard of people spreading it between layers of cake.
It is kind of expensive, so I try not to use too much of it, but then it goes bad. That is why I used almost a whole jar in this recipe ;)
Claire - beleive it or not, I laid out all the strawberries and grouped them together by size, so I could purposely have them in this design. I then put the raspberries only around the outer edge as "trim". I can be a perfectionist if I want to be. Ha Ha.
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