Herbed Citrus Cream Cheese Fruit Tarts

 
It has been a while since my last blog post, however- I have a delightful recipe to share with you today, that I hope was worth the wait!  I happened to come across the most perfectly ripe and sweet mangoes the other day, as well as some incredibly flavorful blueberries.  I felt inspired to create a new dessert using these delightful ingredients, and am quite pleased with the delicious results!  A light and flaky Butter Lime crust topped with smooth and creamy Thyme Citrus Cream Cheese filling, and a layer of flavorful mangoes and blueberries...DELICIOUS! This dessert would be just perfect for your next Summer evening grill with friends, just be sure to make plenty, as most of your guests will likely want a second helping!  I felt inspired to add the thyme in to this recipe as a new change in herb for sweet dishes.  It adds just the right note of "herb-i-ness" and rounds out the sweetness of the dish, providing for an interesting taste combination that may be new to most people, but is completely wonderful, particularly paired with the citrus notes.  Please enjoy these delightful little tarts, and let me know if you do try them, and how they turned out for you!

Herbed Citrus Cream Cheese Fruit Tarts:
Prep Time: about 10-15 minutes
Bake Time: about 25 minutes
Serves: makes about 18 individual tarts

Ingredients:

For the Butter Lime Crust:
2 cups unbleached white flour
3/4 cup butter, softened (I used salted sweet cream butter)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup lime juice, chilled
1/4 cup cold water, plus more by tablespoon as needed

For the Thyme Citrus Cream Cheese Filling:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons citrus zest (I used orange and lime zest)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, very finely minced

For the Mango and Blueberry layer:
2 ripe mangoes
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 Tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons orange juice


To Prepare:
1. First, in a medium bowl- combine the flour and butter for the crust, using a fork to cut the butter in until the texture is like corn meal. Add in the sugar and salt, stirring just till combined.  Sprinkle the lime juice over the crust ingredients and lightly stir.  Add in the cold water, a tablespoons at a time, until crust is like a pie crust consistency, being careful not to over mix, as this will cause the crust to become tough.  Place the combined crust into a large zip type storage bag, and place in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the rest of the tarts.
2. Prepare the cream cheese filling by combing all ingredients (cream cheese, egg, flour,sugar, zests and thyme) well in a medium size bowl. Set aside.
3. Cut mangoes into thin slices (after removing the skin), and place into a medium bowl with the blueberries, agave nectar, and citrus juice. Stir well. Set aside.
4. Preheat oven to 355 degrees Fahrenheit while you assemble the tarts.  Roll the chilled dough out very thinly (about 1/8th-1/4 of an inch), and cut into 4 inch rounds.  Place one round into the cup of a large cup size muffin tin (my tins hold about 1 cup muffin batter per cup). Repeat with remaining rounds, pressing down into each cup to create the tart shells. Place 1 tablespoon of thyme citrus cream cheese into each cup, spreading evenly across the bottom. Fill with sliced mangoes, and place a spoon of blueberries on the top of each tart.
5. Place into the preheated oven and bake about 25 minutes, till fruit is bubbly, cheese has puffed up, and crusts are slightly golden. Remove from oven, and run a knife around the edge of each tart. Allow to cool in pans about 10 minutes, then gently remove tarts, placing on a wire rack to cool.
6. Serve and thoroughly enjoy!!