Mini Strawberry Cream Cheese Tarts

Well, this heat continues to have me pretty unmotivated to cook. Yesterday was the day of my friend's parents' annual pig roast, and it was about 98 degrees out I think. In my head, and in my home with central AC, I thought to myself "I can at least work on my tan today". But it just wasn't so. I sat in the shade for the majority of the day until the sun began to set. Then around 9, after all of the children had left, the adults took over the pool. Thankfully many people brought cold pasta salads, because with the heat and the beer, I had to force myself to eat something other than the pig (no amount of heat will stop me from eating a freshly roasted pig...).

I said I would bring dessert, so I pondered all week on what to make. Should I make something cold/frozen because of the heat? Will they have room to keep it in a freezer? I decided on a Strawberry Cream Cheese Tart.

Yes, I said "a" tart. It was supposed to be one big tart, but that didn't happen. Tart crust failed it's blind baking test.

Mini Strawberry Cream Cheese Tarts
heavily adapted from from Annie's Eats

for the ganache:
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened


for the cream cheese filling:
12 oz. strawberry, sliced into quarters
20 oz. cream cheese, room temp
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp. heavy cream

15 mini graham cracker pie crusts

Optional:
Chocolate for melting and drizzling over the top


1. Start by making the ganache. Simmer heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just comes to a boil. Pour over chopped chocolate and let sit for 1 minute before whisking until smooth. Let cool for 2 minutes, then add the butter and whisk until combined. To thicken the ganache, either let it sit at room temp for 1-2 hours or put in the refrigerator or freezer for 20-30 minutes. If cooling by fridge or freezer, be sure to mix every 10 minutes to avoid lumps and uneven thickening. Freezing takes less time, but watch it carefully!
2. Once the ganache has thickened, spread a small spoonful over the bottoms of each graham cracker crust.
3. To prepare the cream cheese filling, start by beating together the cream cheese and confectioners sugar in an electric mixer over medium high speed for 3 minutes. Blend in the vanilla and heavy cream. Spread the filling over the ganache in the pie shells.
4. Top with sliced strawberries and refrigerate until ready to serve.
5. Optional: Melt chocolate and drizzle over the tops before refrigerating.


I have an abundance of candy melts left over from attempts at making chocolate candies for decorating cupcakes. I melted some milk chocolate pieces in a squeeze bottle and drizzled the chocolate over the tarts in a circular swirly pattern. I thought I took a picture of the finished product...but I didn't. I am not good at photographing food that I make in a hurry.

Bad lighting. Good tarts.