Strawberry Tart 1.12 Double Date

“Yeah. Hey Lorelai, remember when I decided to teach you how to make strawberry tarts, and the entire kitchen was stained red and I had to repaint that one wall red just to make it look normal? Do you remember? Wasn't it?” “Mmm, it was. Sookie, let's go powder our noses.”

Ingredients: 

For the crust:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs

• ⅓ cup brown sugar

• 8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For the cream filling:

• 16 oz cream cheese, softened

• 2 tbsp heavy cream

• ⅔ cup granulated sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

For the glaze: 

• ¼ cup strawberry jam

• 1 tbsp warm water

For the tart: 

• 2 cups strawberries, hulled (green tops removed) and thinly sliced

• 4-5 leaves of fresh mint. 

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13-inch springform pan. If you don’t have a springform, you can use a pie dish, just line with parchment paper to easily remove the tart. 

2. Prepare the graham cracker crust by combining the crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter in a medium mixing bowl. 

3. Transfer the crumb mixture to the prepared springform pan and pack to form a crust. 

4. Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes. Then remove from the oven and let cool. 

5. While the crust cools, prepare the filling by combining the cream cheese and heavy cream in a large mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer to combine until smooth. 

6. Mix in the sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice until smooth. 

7. Once the crust has cooled, use a spatula to add the filling to the crust. Be gentle while spreading out to an even layer. You don’t want to push up too many of the graham cracker crumbs. 

8. Prepare the glaze by combining the jam and water in a small bowl before setting aside. It should thin out significantly so you can brush it onto the strawberries later. If the jam is still too thick, you may need to add more warm water. 

9. Arrange the strawberry slices on top of the cream layer evenly. I went for a spiral pattern, but you can do any design you wish. 

10. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the glaze across the strawberries. 

11. Transfer the tart to the fridge for at least 3 hours to set. 

12. Before serving, remove the tart from the springform pan and add the mint leaves on top of the strawberries. 

I had Sookie’s strawberry tart on my list of encore dishes to make at some point. However, after listening to an episode of the Gilmore to Say podcast and hearing Tara mention that she really wanted a strawberries and cream dessert, I was inspired to make it the next day. I purchased some cute, little strawberry earrings recently, so I feel like I need to embrace having a strawberry summer!

In researching strawberry tarts, everyone used some sort of pastry crust, but I really wanted to make a graham cracker crust. To me, I thought it would just pair better with the strawberries. It was like when I decided to make a vanilla wafer crust for my banana cream pie for 7.18 Hay Bale Maze. I also saw a lot of recipes with pastry cream, but there’s something about strawberries and cream cheese that I love, so I went with that flavor profile instead. I thought adding fresh mint would also be the perfect way to top off this dessert!

Happy cooking from the Hollow!

If you missed my last encore dish, catch up here!