Tea Party Tarts

This Friday FOODBUZZ is hosting the Top 9 Tea Party Takeover in an effort to help raise awareness for Ovarian Cancer Research.

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among American women and the most common gynecologic cancer in the United States. Donations toward the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund will help to find better methods for early detection and improve treatment options. Most cases of ovarian cancer are not detected early, so take initiative to seek medical advice if gynecologic cancer runs in your family.

You can take part in the Tea Party Takeover by stopping over at Kelly Confidential and creating your own virtual tea party to help raise money for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Then throw on your cutest aprons & get to baking some of my Tea Party Tarts. Choose from a fresh Blueberry-Strawberry Tart, a Blueberry Tart, or the Baked Apple Tart!

Don’t forget to checkout Foodbuzz on Friday, March 25^th to see the Top 9 recipes from the Tea Party Takeover :) XOXO....little j Y

Tea Party Tarts

Blueberry-Strawberry Tart & Blueberry Tart

Blueberry-Strawberry Tart

Crust: {makes 8 4-inch tarts or 1 9-inch tart}

Recipe from: Smitten Kitchen

1-½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup confectioner’s powdered sugar

¼ tsp kosher salt

9 Tbsp {1 stick + 1 Tbsp} unsalted butter, cold & cut into small pieces

1 egg, lightly beaten

Filling:

1 (8oz) package cream cheese, at room temperature

½ cup confectioner’s powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Glaze:

¼ cup apricot jelly or jam

1 Tbsp water

To prepare the pastry dough, place the flour, sugar, and salt into a food processor. Pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add cold butter and pulse 12-15 times, or until the butter forms small pea-sized bits. With the motor running, add the beaten egg. Continue to pulse until the dough starts to come together into a mass. Quickly dump dough onto a floured surface and shape into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or a few days in advance. {*Note: If you do not have a food processor, you can use a pastry cutter to mix the butter in with the flour mixture. Then gradually add the egg and mix until the dough forms.}

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll dough out into large circular or rectangular shape. Use the 4-inch tart pan to measure out smaller circles. Cut ½ inch larger than the tart pan. Lightly press dough into tart mold. Use the rolling pin to roll over top of pan & cut off any excess dough hanging over. Prick dough with fork. Store in freezer for 30+ minutes before baking. {*Note: Tart dough tends to shrink when it's either not cold enough or if it's been stretched too much. Cut out as many tart circles as you can after rolling out the dough to avoid working the dough too much. Also make sure you either refrigerate the dough in the tart pan for at least 1 hour or pop it in the freezer for 30 minutes. I went through many junky & shrunken tart crusts before I figured this out!}

When ready, tightly cover dough with buttered foil {shiny side down}. Place on cookie sheet & bake for 15 minutes with the foil. Take off the foil & continue baking an additional 3-5 minutes until lightly golden brown. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn! Let cool.

For the filling, mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl using a hand mixer. Whip until creamy. Set aside.

To make the glaze, heat the apricot jelly and water in a small saucepan. If you are using jam or preserves rather than a jelly, sieve the mixture after it is heated. This will get rid of any apricot clumps and leave you with a nice glaze.

When the tart crusts have cooled, brush the bottoms & rims of the crust with the apricot glaze. Scoop in cream cheese filling. Top with blueberries and sliced fresh strawberries. Lightly brush fruit with apricot glaze to finish it off.

Blueberry Tart

Baked Apple Tart

Baked Apple Tart

Crust: {makes 8 4-inch tarts or 1 9-inch tart}

Recipe from: Smitten Kitchen

1-½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup confectioner’s powdered sugar

¼ tsp kosher salt

9 Tbsp {1 stick + 1 Tbsp} unsalted butter, cold & cut into small pieces

1 egg, lightly beaten

Filling:

1 apple {I used Fiji-You’ll need a few apples if you make the 9-inch tart}

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

½ Tbsp unsalted butter, cold & cut into small pieces

Glaze:

¼ cup apricot jelly or jam

1 Tbsp water

See instructions above for making tart crust & apricot glaze. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

When ready, cover tart dough with buttered foil {shiny side down} and bake on cookie sheet for 15 minutes to pre-bake the crust. Remove from oven and add apple slices in a circular fashion. Sprinkle on sugar and dot with butter. Bake an additional 30-40 minutes or until lightly golden. Brush with apricot glaze and let cool.