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Feb 21

Blueberry Cream Cheese Tarts

Blueberry Cream Cheese Tarts0

 

 

Hello everybody!

 

Today I am really really happy to announce the debut of these blueberry cream cheese tarts. They are very popular in Kuala Lumpur and of course everybody just buys them from their local bakery or market stall. I don’t have that luxury anymore. Lucky for me, I am quite handy and resourceful in the kitchen.

 

 

To be honest, I never really gave these tarts much thought (out of sight, out of mind) until a friend rang to place an order. She said she wanted blueberry cheesecake, so I automatically assumed she wanted a regular cheesecake with a biscuit base and fruit in the cream cheese. Not unlike this one …

 

 

 

Blueberry Cheesecake

 

 

Then she said she said she wanted them baked in a crust … only then did it click! Also, pretty simultaneously I realized I had no idea how that recipe went. I could guess what went into the filling (standard cream cheese + egg + flour mixture), but I had no clue what the crust was made of.

 

 

After months of searching I had come up with nothing. Many posted photos of their finished product online but none posted an accompanying recipe. The thing is, in Malaysia you can simply buy the crust pre-made, so I assume many don’t know how to make the crust from scratch either. I resigned myself to the fact that I will just have to come up with my own sweet crust version … until today, that is.

 

 

It relieved me to discover that I had been searching under the wrong keywords all along. DOH! And I was also pleased to discover that the crust recipe is no big trade secret, but a pretty basic shortbread recipe. Excellent. That’s all I needed to know. Now I can rest easy knowing that I can do this with confidence. Here is what you’ll need …

 

 

By Amy Beh of Kuali.com

Ingredients (makes 12)

 

 

Blueberry Cream Cheese Tarts1

 

 

Sweet crust pastry

  • 100g butter, soft
  • 100g icing sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 225g plain flour

 

 

Blueberry Cream Cheese Tarts2

 

 

Filling

  • 200g cream cheese
  • 40g castor sugar
  • 20g butter
  • 1 small egg
  • 20g whipping cream
  • 15g plain flour
  • 3 tbsp canned blueberry pie filling or fresh puree or smooth jam

 

 

Method:

To prepare the pastry

Combine flour, sugar, butter and egg in a food processor. Mix and blend until a smooth dough is formed. Roll out and put into a plastic bag or wrap in cling film. Chill in the refrigerator for 25 – 30 minutes.

 

 

Blueberry Cream Cheese Tarts5

 

 

When thoroughly chilled, roll out again on a lightly floured tabletop. Cut out circles to fit tart moulds, then carefully line the greased moulds with the pastry. Press and trim the edges. Prick the base with a fork. Bake the cases blind in a preheated oven at 190°C for 5 – 6 minutes. Allow to cool.

 

 

Blueberry Cream Cheese Tarts4

 

 

 

To prepare the filling

Beat cream cheese, butter and sugar until light and smooth, then add the egg. Continue to cream until well blended. Mix in whipping cream until combined. Lightly stir in flour and mix until well incorporated.

 

Spoon the mixture into the pre-baked tart shells. Add a little blueberry filling. Use a wooden skewer to swirl it to create a marble effect.

 

Bake the tarts at 200°C  160ºC for about 10 – 13 minutes, bottom heat only. Remove from the oven to cool then chill in the fridge a while before serving. Goes well with cream on the side. But I like mine as is.

 

 

 

*Personal Notes:

  • I found 20 mls of cream to be inadequate. The mixture was very thick and was not a nice consistency. So I quadrupled the amount to 80 mls in order to swirl the mixture properly with the blueberry puree.
  • I used a large egg in the filling as opposed to a small one called for in the original recipe.
  • The first baking of the crust took longer than the 5 – 6 mins. Not sure how long I left them in for eventually but you want to make sure the surface is dry and not tacky before removing, even if this means lowering your oven temp to avoid the edges from colouring too much.
  • Baking the tarts at 200ºC seemed to over cook the filling, but browned the crusts nicely. So I think lowering the heat to a gentle 160ºC would suit a cheesecake better. Or perhaps I had too little (shallow) filling in the cases?
  • A squeeze of lemon juice in the cream cheese filling would have made the flavour ‘pop’ a little more.

 

 

 

These tarts should be removed from the fridge and allowed to come up to room temperature before serving. These are really yummy, so you might want to make a lot of extras. I am aware I am using the “wrong” sort of tart mould for this recipe, but R. won’t let me buy more stuff this month as I have already ordered a ton for the upcoming St. Paddy’s Day and Easter holidays. The original recipe calls for a deeper tart tin, with a narrower top diameter; that way you’ll get a better cream cheese-to-crust ratio. Also, you’d get a creamier filling that is NOT over-cooked, like my first batch was. The cheese should be set but not a solid mass. So depending on the tart tin you have on hand, I’d adjust the heat accordingly.

 

 

Tart Mould 1x5

Mini fluted flan / tart tins. Picture source : http://ngpi.in

 

 

Something like the moulds above would be good, as the cheese tarts are designed to be small bite-sized treats. Or simply use a standard 12-hole cupcake tin … just be sure to spray it generously with cooking spray, even if the pan is non-stick.

 

 

~ ENJOY! ~

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