The holidays were a blur of time this year, at least partially owing to the fact that we spent a lot of time in the kitchen where time seems to pass so quickly. So we are still catching up on posting some of the recipes that starred on our table this year. This post is for the blueberry and vanilla cream cheese tart that is very simple. I did not make this, Quay Lo did.
You will need two medium sized mixing bowls, measuring cups & spoons, a blending fork, a 12 inch tart pan or, optionally, 4-5 individual shallow ramekins, very lightly buttered.
Optional: A food processor and electric mixer
Ingredients
Crust: (note: your favorite graham crust will do very well here, while we prefer the following sweetened crust for this tart)
1/2 cup (63 g) powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups (188 g) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (170 g) butter, softened
Filling:
6 ounces (170 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup (126 g) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
1/4 cup (56 g) castor sugar
1 can blueberry pie filling
Directions
Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
Combine powdered sugar, flour, and butter in a food processor, or combine in a mixing bowl with a blending fork until mixture is crumbly and less than pea sized and can easily be pressed into a ball between your hands. Roll out dough for an un-greased 12-inch tart pan or, cut dough ball into 4 equal parts and simply press each piece into individual, shallow, five inch ramekins, slightly buttered. Take care to press into indentations.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until lightly browned, using pie weights or dried beans to fill the crust, to prevent it from buckling. Allow to completely cool on a rack and remove the weights.
Filling:
In a large mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese with the powdered sugar using a fork or a mixer until thoroughly blended. Clean the mixer utensils for next step.
In a separate bowl, add the heavy cream and the caster sugar. Beat until soft peaks form.
Using a rubber spatula fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
Spoon this mixture into the cooled pie shell and top it with blueberry pie filling or blueberry preserves. Refrigerate until well chilled and firmed. Serve with a sprig of mint leaf, thinly sliced strawberries if available, sliced maraschino cherries, or a dollop of whipped cream on top.
