Crave cheesecake in the middle of summer? Want to celebrate national cheesecake day on July 30th? But it’s too hot to bother with baking a full cheesecake, messing with a water bath and then waiting hours for the cheesecake to chill before you can enjoy? Make this almost no-bake Cream Cheese Fruit Tart instead!
This recipe is one of my go-tos during the summer- it just requires a short bake of the crust, an easy mixing of a cream cheese and fruit plus some fresh fruit on top to create an impressive and tasty fruit dessert. I’ve made this for a 4th of July party and just for a weeknight dessert.
I call it an “almost no-bake” recipe because you do have to bake the crust, but it’s a quick 20 minutes so it shouldn’t heat up your house too much. The cream cheese filling then sets up in the fridge quickly. This is much easier to make than a full cheesecake but it has a similar creamy cream cheese flavor brighten with summer berries.
Equipment Needed
- 2 Mini Tart Pans: My mini tart pans as cuisinart mini fluted tartlet pans available here I got mine on sale at TJ Maxx. Check out other recipes that use this pan here
- Food Processor: the crust dough comes together quickly in a food processor to make it nice and smooth. Alternatively you can use a mixer.
- Fridge: You will need to chill the dough in the pan for 15 mins, and then after completing the tart, chill again to set the cream cheese mixer.
Ingredients Needed
- Butter: Use unsalted butter since we want the crust to be simple and sweet
- Cream Cheese: Use full fat cream cheese, this recipe has cream cheese in both the crust and the filling, since this is the main component of the recipe you want to use the good stuff.
- Flour: All-purpose flour helps bind the crust together
- Strawberries for the filling: To flavor the cream cheese filling you can use either fresh or frozen strawberries. If they’re frozen either let them defrost first or cook them over medium heat for about 5 minutes- this will start to break down the fruit into a juicy mix as it softens them, you want it to be evenly softened so you don’t have frozen chunks left in the filling. Let it cool to room temperature before mixing into the cream cheese.
- Sugar: A little white sugar adds extra sweetness to the filling.
- Fresh Fruit: Top the tart with fresh fruit for color and flavor, I’ve used strawberries and blackberries but any fruit works- try raspberries or blueberries.
How to Make Cream Cheese Fruit Tart
- Start with making the crust. Use the food processor to get everything blended together smoothly.
- Put all the crust ingredients into the food processor at the same time: softened unsalted butter, cream cheese, and flour. Pulse the food processor until the mixture is smooth- it should look like a dough and you should not see any streaks of butter or cream cheese, look for it to all be the same color.
- Take the dough split it into two blobs, drop one ball into the center of each of the mini tart pans, use your fingers to smooth the dough out from the center towards the edges of the pan. Work it with your fingers to try to get an even layer of dough across the tart pan. If you want you could roll out the dough with a rolling pin and then place it into the pan, but I find this thicker dough works well to just press the dough into the pan.
- Put the crust in the pans into the fridge and chill for 15 minutes. This helps the crust maintain its shape in the oven. While it chills turn on your oven to preheat to 350 F. This is also a great time to wash your food processor as you’ll need it later for the filling.
- If the strawberries for your filling are still frozen- then while the crust chills, cook the frozen strawberries over medium heat for about 5 minutes- this will start to break down the fruit into a juicy mix as it softens them, you want it to be evenly softened so you don’t have frozen chunks left in the filling. Let it cool to room temperature before moving to mixing the filling.
- After 15 minutes take the chilled crust right out of the fridge and into the pre-heated oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. Turn off the oven- you’re all done with the baking portion!
- To make the filling- use the food processor again, it helps to get the filling super smooth and creamy: this is important since we’re just chilling the filling, it doesn’t bake or anything so the texture you get in mixing is what you’ll taste when eating.
- Put your strawberries, softened cream cheese and sugar into the food processor. Blend it until you have a creamy, consistent looking mixture.
- Take your room temperature baked crusts, pour half of the cream cheese mixture into each crust.
- Cut your fresh fruit and arrange on the top of the cream cheese mixture.
- Chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes
- Enjoy!
Almost No-Bake Cream Cheese Fruit Tart
An easy yet impressive cream cheese and fruit tart
Ingredients
Crust
- 20 g Unsalted Butter (room temperature, ¼ cup)
- 44 g Cream Cheese (room temperature, 1.5oz)
- 70 g Flour (½ cup)
Filling
- 140 g Strawberries (about 7 strawberries- see how to for instructions if you use frozen fruit)
- 90 g Cream Cheese (room temperature, ⅓ of a standard block of cream cheese)
- 50 g Granulated Sugar (¼ cup)
- 1 handful Fresh Fruit (ex: strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries) (3 strawberries + 6 blackberries)
Instructions
For the Crust
- Put all the crust ingredients into the food processor at the same time. Pulse the food processor until the mixture is smooth.
- Split the crust dough, drop one ball into the center of each of the mini tart pans, use your fingers to smooth the dough out from the center towards the edges of the pan until you have an even layer.
- Chill the crust in the pans for 15 minutes, preheat oven to 350 °F
- After 15 minutes take the chilled crust right out of the fridge and into the pre-heated oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
For the Filling & Assembly
- Put your strawberries, softened cream cheese and sugar into the food processor. Blend it until you have a creamy, consistent looking mixture.
- Take your room temperature baked crusts, pour half of the cream cheese mixture into each crust.
- Cut your fresh fruit and arrange on the top of the cream cheese mixture.
- Chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes
- Enjoy!
