This Strawberry Almond Cream Tart recipe is from Cooking Light Cookbook: Cooking Through the Seasons. The graham cracker crust is perfect with the light cream-cheese filling. Fresh strawberries and slivered almonds complete this summery dessert.
Strawberry-Almond Cream Tarts
This recipe is re-printed with permission from Cooking Light Cooking Through the Seasons: An Everyday Guide to Enjoying the Freshest Food.
For this recipe, you’ll need:
- honey graham crackers
- sugar
- butter
- cream cheese
- vanilla and almond extract
- fresh strawberries
- cornstarch
- lemon juice
- sliced almonds
- tart pan with removable bottom
Best tart pans for this recipe
The best pans for tart recipes is one with a removable bottom. The short, crumbly crust will be difficult to remove from a pan in one piece if the bottom is not removable. Trust me, I’ve ruined a couple otherwise beautiful tarts from having the wrong pan!
You can bake these tarts in a 9″ round tart pan with removable bottom, or in individual tart pans.
We used four 4-inch individual tart pans. They are so cute! These babies are on sale at Amazon for $14.99 for a set of 6.
If you are looking for a larger, 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom, here’s one we recommend, with over 1,000 4.5-star reviews for less than $20.
Strawberry-Almond Cream Tart
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 36 honey graham crackers 9 sheets
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 4 teaspoons water
For the Filling:
- 2/3 cup 1/3 less fat cream cheese about 5 ounces
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
For the Topping:
- 6 cups fresh strawberries hulled
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds toasted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- To prepare crust, place crackers in a food processor; process until crumbly. Add 2 tablespoons sugar, butter, and 4 teaspoons water; pulse just until moist. Place cracker mixture in a 9-inch round removable-bottom tart pan or 4 individual tart pans, lightly coated with cooking spray, pressing into bottom and up sides of pan to 3/4 inch. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- To prepare filling, combine cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and extracts in a medium bowl; stir until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over bottom of tart shell.
- To prepare topping, place 2 cups strawberries in food processor, and process until smooth. Combine strawberry puree, 2/3 cup sugar, and cornstarch in a small saucepan over medium heat; stir with a whisk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; cook 1 minute. Remove glaze from heat. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
- Combine the remaining 4 cups strawberries and juice; toss to coat. Arrange berries, bottoms up, in a circular pattern over filling. Spoon half of glaze evenly over berries (reserve remaining glaze for another use). Sprinkle nuts around edge. Cover and chill 3 hours.
