These Berry Cream Cheese Puff Pastry Tarts have a flaky crust with a cream cheese custard center and are topped with fresh berries. The sweet and tart flavors make a mouthwatering Summer dessert. Plus, the red and blue make this a fantastic recipe to serve for Memorial Day and July 4th.
These Berry Tarts are so delicious and a Summer favorite. When it comes to baking in the Summer, I'm always picking easy recipes and a lot of times I'm using store-bought puff pastry dough. It's super easy to work with and creates this puffy, flaky layered crust.
If you're big on puff pastry recipes, try this Peach Mango Pies, Strawberry Turnovers with Puff Pastry, Apple Strudel Puff Pastry Recipe, and Blueberry Puff Pastry Galette.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- Seasonal Ingredients. These tarts use fresh berries, which are even better tasting when they're in season in the Spring and Summer.
- Full of Color. The berries bring in vibrant red and blue colors, which are great for any Summer gathering, but especially perfect for celebrating Memorial Day and July 4th.
- Quick and Easy. No having to make homemade dough in these tarts, just pick up a store-bought puff pastry sheet. This easy dessert is ready in under an hour!
- Delicious. Flaky layered dough meets cream cheese custard and is topped with berries for incredible flavor.
For more Summer classic dessert recipes, try these Banana Pudding Cups, Blueberry Pound Cake with Glaze and Lemon Bars with Graham Cracker Crust.
Ingredients:
Puff Pastry Dough: For an easy short cut, this recipe uses store bought puff pastry. I prefer the refrigerated version, and really love the Jus-rol brand. Frozen is fine too, but make sure to completely thaw out the frozen dough before using.
Cream Cheese, Sugar, Vanilla and Egg Yolk: Create the creamy custard like filling. If you're big on custard filling, check out these Crescent Roll Cream Cheese Danishes too.
Egg whites and water: A simple egg white wash is brushed around the outside edges of these tarts for a golden finish.
Cinnamon & Sugar: Sprinkles around the outer edge for a hint of sugar and spice.
Strawberries & Blueberries: Fresh fruit is used for covering the tarts after baking, then it's topped with fresh lemon zest.
See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations:
I love the cinnamon and sugar around the outer edge, but you can certainly leave it off.
I prefer the strawberries and blueberries on these tarts because they don't leak a lot of juices onto the custard. However, you can use other fruits too, like cherries, blackberries, raspberries or peaches.
A large bowl and hand mixer can be used for the filling instead of a stand mixer.
Two half sized cookie sheets can be used in substitution for the full size and you can bake in two batches.
For more recipes with fresh berries, try this Raspberry Lemon Loaf, Strawberry Ricotta Toast and Strawberry Banana Smoothie Bowls.
How to Make Berry Cream Cheese Puff Pastry Tarts:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Separate the egg yolk and egg white into 2 bowls. Whisk a teaspoon of water into the egg white and set aside.
Step 2: Whisk 1 tablespoon of sugar with 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon in bowl until combined and set aside.
Step 3: Add the cream cheese into the bowl of the stand mixer with beater attachment and beat on medium speed for 90 seconds.
Step 4: Pour in remaining ¼ cup of sugar and beat on medium speed for 60 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl half way through. Add in vanilla and egg yolk. Beat again on medium speed for 60 seconds scraping half way down the bowl. Allow to sit on the counter while preparing the puff pastry.
Step 5: Roll out the puff pastry dough. Using a pizza cutter, slice halfway down the longest portion. Then, slice twice more the opposite way to create 6 rectangular pieces. As you can see in the photo above, they don't have to be perfect.
Step 6: Line a full size cookie sheet with parchment paper. Transfer the puff pastry rectangles onto the parchment paper spreading them out as much as possible. Note: They don't spread that much when baking, but you don't want any of them touching.
Step 7: Use a paring knife to score a rectangular border around the pastry. You want to slice about half way through the dough, not all the way. This will allow the outer portion to puff up the most while baking (see photo above). Use a fork to prick holes in the inner portion of the scored area to help that dough stay flatter when baking.
Step 8: Brush the egg white wash over the outer scored border. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the egg wash. Use a spoon to place about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese filling in the center portion of the tart and spread to cover the inner area. Bake for 13-17 minutes on middle rack in oven until the pastries are golden, and the cream cheese filling is slightly toasted, but not too brown.
Step 9: While the pastries are baking, wash and dry blueberries and strawberries. Remove stems. Place the strawberries with the base where the stem was on the cutting board, and cut into about 6-8 thin slices. These fan out nicely onto the pastries.
Step 10: Remove the tarts from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes on a baking rack. Top with about 6 strawberry slices, 8 blueberries and a sprinkle of lemon zest. Serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- Allow the cream cheese to soften on the countertop for at least an hour before making the filling or you will end up with a lot of chunks in the filling. A few lumps are no big deal and will smooth out when baking.
- Leave the puff pastry in the fridge until right before using. It gets sticky and harder to work with as it warms up to room temperature.
- Dry the fruit really well to avoid water over the custard tops.
On Memorial Day and July 4th, pair these Berry Tarts with Blackstone Smashburgers, Dill Pickle Potato Salad, and Baked Beans with Ground Beef.
Recipe FAQs:
It isn't necessary in this recipe because the cream cheese keeps the filling thicker and it doesn't result in soggy puff pastry, like a fruit filling might do.
Usually 425 degrees is recommended. However, in this recipe, I like to bake at 400 degrees in the middle rack to avoid burning the custard.
Make sure to allow the tarts to come to room temperature before storing to prevent moisture in the container. You can store in a sealed container or even wrap individually in tin foil in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, place them on a cookie sheet and heat in the oven at 350 degrees just until warm. They honestly taste great cold too.
Yes! You can prep up to a day ahead, but wait to add the fresh fruit until right before serving.
Recipe
Berry Cream Cheese Puff Pastry Tarts
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 large tarts 1x
Description
These Berry Cream Cheese Puff Pastry Tarts have a flaky crust with a cream cheese custard center and are topped with fresh berries. The sweet and tart flavors make a mouthwatering Summer dessert.
Ingredients
- 1 (13 ounce) Puff Pastry Dough, fresh or completely thawed from freezer
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1 (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup strawberries, washed and dried
- 1 cup blueberries, washed and dried
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest, grated on microplane
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Separate the egg yolk and egg white into 2 bowls. Whisk a teaspoon of water into the egg white and set aside.
- Whisk 1 tablespoon of sugar with 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon in bowl until combined and set aside.
- Add the cream cheese into the bowl of the stand mixer with beater attachment and beat on medium speed for 90 seconds.
- Pour in remaining ¼ cup of sugar and beat on medium speed for 60 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl half way through. Add in vanilla and egg yolk. Beat again on medium speed for 60 seconds scraping half way down the bowl. Allow to sit on the counter while preparing the puff pastry.
- Roll out the puff pastry dough. Using a pizza cutter, slice halfway down the longest portion. Then, slice twice more the opposite way to create 6 rectangular pieces. (See step 5 in post above).
- Line a full size cookie sheet with parchment paper. Transfer the puff pastry rectangles onto the parchment paper spreading them out as much as possible. Note: They don't spread that much when baking, but you don't want any of them touching.
- Use a paring knife to score a rectangular border around the pastry. You want to slice about half way through the dough, not all the way. This will allow the outer portion to puff up the most while baking (see photo above). Use a fork to prick holes in the inner portion of the scored area to help that dough stay flatter when baking.
- Brush the egg white wash over the outer scored border. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the egg wash. Use a spoon to place about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese filling in the center portion of the tart and spread to cover the inner area. Bake for 13-16 minutes on middle rack in oven until the pastries are golden, and the cream cheese filling is slightly toasted, but not too brown.
- While the pastries are baking, wash and dry blueberries and strawberries. Remove stems. Place the strawberries with the base where the stem was, on the cutting board and cut into about 6-8 thin slices. These fan out nicely onto the pastries.
- Remove the tarts from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes on a baking rack. Top with about 6 strawberry slices, 8 blueberries and a sprinkle of lemon zest. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Allow the cream cheese to soften on the countertop for at least an hour before making the filling or you will end up with a lot of chunks in the filling. A few lumps are no big deal and will smooth out when baking.
- Leave the puff pastry in the fridge until right before using. It gets sticky and harder to work with as it warms up to room temperature.
- Dry the fruit really well to avoid water over the custard tops.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cooling Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: dessert
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Payton
These are so good! I made them for the 4th and everyone loved them. Thanks for the recipe.
Tara Smithson
Yay!!! So happy to hear that. Thanks for the review.