Thursday, February 11, 2016

Apple - Strawberry Tart

My first post of 2016.  A very Happy new year to all .
Let's start the year with something sweet ... A Tart.  This Tart fills the house with a delicious aroma. It has a short bread crust and a cream cheese filling and topped with the fruit mix. The garnishing is done with sliced almonds to give the tart a finished look.  
Every bite is filled with the flavor of apples and the special taste of strawberries.
This recipe is very simple. This is my first attempt with tart.  You can use almost any fruit and spice combo that you want. Here I used slices of cinnamon-sugared apples and strawberries, The combination is amazing.



Ingredients

Crust:
All-purpose flour -1 cup
Salt- ¼ teaspoon
Confectionery sugar 1/3 cup
Cold unsalted butter -1/2 cup

Filling:
Cream cheese – 200gms
Granulated white sugar- ¼ cup
Egg-1
vanilla extract-1/2 teaspoon

Topping:
Granulated white sugar- ¼ cups
Ground cinnamon- ½  teaspoon
Apples -3 ( peeled and cut into thin slices)
Strawberries- ½ cup sliced.
Sliced almonds- ½ cup

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C)
For the crust:-
Mix together the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the butter and mix it until dough just begins to come together.
Spread the dough onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
Cover and place in refrigerator for around 15 minutes.

For the Filling:-
Using a hand mixer or a food processor, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
Add the sugar and mix well.
Blend in the egg and vanilla extract and process until smooth.
Remove the crust from the fridge and pour in the filling.
Return to refrigerator again for another 10 mins.

For the topping:-
Combine the sugar and cinnamon. Mix it with the apple and strawberry slices. Spread evenly on top of the cheese filling.  Sprinkle the top with almond slices.

Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).  Then Reduce heat to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes or until the crust is brown.
Remove from oven and keep in wire rack to cool completely.