Equipment
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Dough
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 115 g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 115 g cream cheese, cold and cubed
- 15 g granulated sugar
- 3 g kosher salt
Berry Filling
- 120 g berry preserves
- 5 g cornstarch
Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 15 ml whole milk
Vanilla Glaze
- 120 g confectioners' sugar
- 30 ml whole milk
- 5 ml vanilla extract
Nutrition (per serving)
Method
Combine the flour, granulated sugar, and kosher salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse briefly to mix.
Add the cold, cubed butter and cream cheese to the flour mixture. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining.
Turn the mixture out onto a clean work surface. Gently knead it just until it comes together into a cohesive dough. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a flat rectangle.
Wrap each dough rectangle tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
In a small bowl, mix the berry preserves with the cornstarch. In a separate small bowl, whisk the egg and milk together to create the egg wash.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the chilled dough rectangles to a 3mm thickness. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 equal rectangles. Repeat the process with the second piece of dough to yield 16 rectangles total.
Place 8 dough rectangles onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spoon about 15g of the berry filling into the center of each rectangle, leaving a clean border around the edges. Lightly brush the clean borders with the egg wash.
Top each filled rectangle with a second piece of dough. Use the tines of a fork to crimp and firmly seal the edges all the way around. Prick the top of each pastry a few times with the fork to allow steam to escape.
Place the baking sheet with the assembled pastries in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes to firm up the butter before baking.
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius or 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Lightly brush the tops of the chilled pastries with the remaining egg wash. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and flaky.
Remove the pastries from the oven and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.
In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. The glaze should be thick but spreadable.
Spoon the glaze over the completely cooled pastries, spreading it evenly but leaving a small border around the edges. Let the glaze set for 20 minutes before serving.
Chef's Notes
- Keeping the cream cheese and butter ice-cold is the secret to a beautifully flaky, tender crust. If your kitchen is warm, chill your equipment beforehand.
- Mixing cornstarch into the jam acts as an insurance policy against the filling boiling out and ruining your careful crimping.
- If the dough becomes too soft or sticky while rolling or assembling, immediately transfer it to the freezer for 5 minutes before continuing.
- These are highly customizable. Try filling them with brown sugar cinnamon paste, apple butter, or chocolate ganache, adjusting your glaze to match.
- Do not skip the second chill before baking. Resting the assembled tarts relaxes the gluten and ensures the fats are solid when they hit the hot oven, maximizing flakiness.
Storage
Refrigerator: 1 week — Store in an airtight container.
Freezer: 3 months — Freeze unglazed or glazed in a single layer before transferring to a freezer bag.
Reheating: Reheat unglazed pastries in a toaster on the lowest setting. For glazed tarts, warm in a 150C/300F oven for 5 to 10 minutes to prevent the glaze from burning.
