Blueberry-Nectarine Cream Cheese Tart

 

This dessert just screams summer to me.  It is a variation on a long-time family recipe for a raspberry cream cheese tart given to my mom by a friend.  Every year as soon as the local raspberries come out, I try to make this dessert as many times as I can before they run out.  I have recently tried some variations on the plain raspberry, including strawberry-kiwi, strawberry-mango, and this blueberry-nectarine tart that I made for a family dinner the other night.

It begins with a fantastically simple shortbread crust, which is baked on its own.  Then, you beat together a cream cheese layer, top it with fruit and then with a fruity glaze.  Once it has chilled down for a few hours, it's ready to cut and serve with homemade whipped cream, if you're into that (and who isn’t?). In the end you have a fruity, creamy, refreshing dessert that is an instant favorite. 

This can be made either in one 9”x13” pan, as I did here, or in two tart pans.  There are a couple of advantages to using tart pans: 1) The desserts will look a lot prettier with the scalloped edge on most tart pans, and 2) Tart pans have removable bottoms so you won’t ruin the first piece when trying to get it out of the pan.  Here's a great option for some tart pans if you don't have any:

       

So here’s the recipe!

Blueberry-Nectarine Cream Cheese Tart

Yield: 12 servings

Crust:

1 c. butter, softened

2 c. all-purpose flour

½ c. powdered sugar

Cream the ingredients together in a bowl using a spatula until well-mixed.  It helps to mix the powdered sugar and butter together first, and then add the flour so the gluten doesn’t get overdeveloped, leading to a tough dough.  Once everything is mixed well, press into the bottom of either a 9”x13” pan or two tart pans.  Bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes.  The crust will be very light, with nearly undetectable browning around the edges.  Just watch for it to lose a certain glossiness and for the crust to have puffed up just slightly. Let cool all the way before spreading on the next layer!  I sometimes make the crust the night before so I’m not tempted to try and spread the cream cheese onto a still-warm crust.  I’ve done it before, and the crust starts pulling up and mixing with the cream cheese, which is just not very appetizing!

Cream cheese layer:

2 – 8 oz. packages of cream cheese

½ c. powdered sugar

Beat together until smooth and spread on prepared and cooled crust.

On top of the cream cheese layer, evenly distribute about 2 ½ c. fresh fruit and/or berries.

Glaze:

½ c. nectarines, crushed

1 c. water

1 ½ c. sugar

Bring the above ingredients to a low boil in a saucepan.  While the fruit mixture is coming up to temperature, mix together the following in a small bowl:

2/3 c. cold water

4 ½ Tbsp. cornstarch

When fruit mixture is at a low boil, add the cornstarch mixture to the pot (you may need to stir it up again as cornstarch likes to settle to the bottom of the bowl).  As the mixture comes back up to a boil, it will become thick and turn clear.  Once this happens, turn off the heat and add:

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Carefully pour the glaze over the fruit, making sure all the fruit and is covered.  Place uncovered in the fridge until well-chilled, about 4 hours.  Once chilled, it can be covered with plastic wrap tightly, so the plastic wrap doesn’t touch the glaze.  Cut and serve with whipped cream.