Blueberry Cheese Tarts

Happy New Year everyone! I still remember the taste of my favorite blueberry cheese tarts. It’s made by my colleague’s sister. It was so gorgeously yummy. We used to order from her every few weeks. Ahh the good old days (remember Has and Fid?). And then there sit a pastry book in my cabinet with this blueberry cheese tarts recipe. I’ve been wanting to make it for a very long time but I keep pushing the recipe aside until one fine day I told myself “Amy, you must try the recipe no matter what! You’ve been putting this recipe away for over 5 years! (or maybe longer)”. So here I am today, sharing this recipe with you all. 🙂

Yummyyyyyyyyyyyy

Let’s bake!

First thing first we need to make the tart shell which uses sweet pastry.

Place butter, icing sugar and vanilla essence into mixing bowl. Cream until light. Then, add an egg and cream until smooth.

Then, add flour and milk powder and mix until well blended.

Sweet pastry is done. This recipe will yield 780g. However the blueberry cheese tarts will use only 300g. You can actually make 2 batch of blueberry cheese tarts with this sweet pastry and still have some leftovers.

Divide 300g sweet pastry into 10 round balls (30g each).

Place a sweet pastry ball on a tart mould. The tart mould is 3″ in diameter. Using both hands, turn the mould while pressing down the pastry ball and spread it to the side. If you’ve seen people making egg tarts in the kitchen shop, then you will know how to do it. I’m showing one hand here because I need to hold the camera.

Press until the edges and make it flat around the edge. Repeat for the remaining tart moulds.

Prick some holes with a fork onto the pastry shell. Bake at 190^oC for 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Note: I baked mine for 11 minutes only.

Baked pastry shell. Leave it to cool.

Now let’s prepare the filling.

Place sugar, butter and cream cheese in mixing bowl. Cream until light and smooth.

Add in egg and cream until well blended. Then add whipping cream and mix until combined (I cheated and use milk powder+water). Finally, add flour and mix until combined.

Place cheese filling into baked pastry shell. The filling is just nice for 10 pieces of 3″ tart moulds.

Place a teaspoon of blueberry into the cheese filling.

Use a toothpick to swirl the blueberry to create beautiful marbling effect.

Aren’t they pretty? Bake these beauties at 200^oC for 10-12 minutes. Note: I baked mine at 180^oC for 10 minutes but it’s slightly overbaked (dry on the surface but moist inside). Might adjust the time to 8 minutes next time.

Once the blueberry cheese tarts cool down, glaze with apricot gel to make it looks more attractive.

My parents love these tarts. It’s creamy and nice. The sweetness is just right. Truthfully my sis thinks it’s okay only. As for me, I think it’s below par compared to my colleague’s sister’s one (taste is subjective, remember?). Still… it’s as good as any blueberry cheese tart you can buy out there. Don’t be blown away by the many steps. It’s actually very straight forward and easy.

Update: A day later after keeping in the fridge, the blueberry cheese tarts taste even better!

Blueberry Cheese Tarts
Adapted from Irresistible Pastry by Alex Goh
Yields 10 tarts

To make sweet pastry (total weight of pastry is about 780g):
200g butter, cubed
100g icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 egg
420g flour
1 tablespoon milk powder

To make blueberry cheese tarts:
300g sweet pastry

Filing:
250g cream cheese
50g sugar
25g butter
1 egg
25g whipping cream
20g flour

Topping:
Canned blueberry jam
Apricot gel for glazing (optional)

Method:
To make sweet pastry:
1. Cream butter, icing sugar and vanilla essence lightly and add in egg. Cream until smooth.

2. Add in flour and milk powder and mix until well blended.

This recipe will yield 780g sweet pastry.

To make blueberry cheese tarts:
1. Divide 300g sweet pastry into 10 balls (30g each).

2. Press the sweet pastry ball into the 3″ diameter tart mould. Repeat for the remaining tart mould.

3. Prick some holes onto the pastry shell and bake at 190^oC for 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Leave it to cool. Note: I baked mine for 11 minutes only.

4. To make the filling, cream sugar, butter and cream cheese until light and smooth.

5. Add in egg and cream until well blended.

6. Add in whipping cream and mix until well combined. Note: I too a short cut and use milk power+water instead.

7. Lastly add in flour and mix until well incorporated.

8. Place the cheese filling into the baked pastry shells. Place a teaspoon blueberry jam onto it and swirl with toothpick into a marbling effect.

9. Bake at 200^oC for 10-12 minutes. Note: I baked mine at 180^oC for 10 minutes but it’s slightly overbaked (dry on the surface). Might adjust the time to 8 minutes next time. Note: Over baking will cause cheese surface to crack.

10. Once the tarts are cool, brush the surface with apricot gel to make it look attractive.

Enjoy!