Crust:
1/2 cup of confectioner sugar (aka powdered sugar)1-1/2 cups of all purpose flour 1-1/2 sticks of butter. Take it straight out of the refrigerator so it’s plenty cold. Cut into quarter-inch slices Filling: 1, 8 oz bar of Neufchatel (or regular cream cheese). Neufchatel is less fat/calories. Soften the cream cheese by leaving it out on your counter for an hour. Or if in a hurry you can microwave it 10 seconds on high and the middle will be smooth enough to proceed. 1/2 cup of confectioner sugar2 tsp of vanilla. If you have clear vanilla use it, but regular will work too. Topping: 2 pints of blackberries. You can wash them if you feel a need. I prefer not to wet them unless necessary. Water can make them gummy. Rinse carefully and dry immediately if you rinse them. 2 kiwis, fairly ripe, peeled and cut into 1/8” wide slices. Then cut the slices in half to make half moons. 2 Tbl of apricot jelly 4 Tbl of water or orange-flavored liqueur (like Triple Sec)
Crust instructions: Take the flour, sugar and butter and toss it into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse and run the processor until the crust dough bunches up and becomes a ball. Turn off and take out the crust. (If you do not have a processor you can use a pastry cutter or fork to blend the mixture. It will take longer but you can do it and have good results). Take out your 11-inch tart pan with fluted edges, and a removable bottom. (If you don’t have one you can use a cheesecake pan). You want to spread the dough across the bottom of the tart pan and up the sides about a half inch. To keep clean and not stick to the dough, I spread a sheet of plastic wrap over the dough and press on the wrap and the dough cooperates and squishes in the right directions. Try to get your dough squished fairly evenly and have the amount going up the sides about a quarter inch thick or even a bit more so you get a nice edge. Bake the crust at 350 degrees for about ten minutes. This is very much like baking a sugar cookie. I like mine very light brown (even beige). If you like yours a bit crispier, you can leave it in a couple of minutes more. Let the crust cool while you work on your filling. In a medium bowl add your cream cheese, the confectioner sugar and vanilla. Blend with your mixture until smooth. Take your cooled crust and spread this mixture across the bottom. The coating will be thin. That’s part of the goal to keep calories down. It doesn’t take a lot. Use a spatula or the back of a spoon to spread it pretty evenly. When this is accomplished you can add your berries and kiwi. I’ve got a picture here to give you an example of what I did for a design. You can vary the design or even the fruit at your choice. I just wanted something dramatic and different. Melt the apricot jelly and water or liqueur in a small sauce pan. Mix often. With a pastry brush you are going to lightly paint your berries. This gives them the bakery-like shine. Don’t pile on too much and avoid the bits of apricot that are left in the bottom or you’ll have jelly lumps between your berries. You just want the juicy “paint” and not the other. You might end up seeing a bit in the berry gaps, so either place them close together or be happy with the result. You can see a few shadows of jelly in my picture.
Cool the tart in the refrigerator to preserve the cream cheese. I take it out about 2 hours before I want to serve it so it comes almost to room temperature. That way it tastes more dreamy.
Cool the leftovers in the refrigerator and even for the next day or two it will still hold up really well.
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