Aah, summer ~ Strawberry Cheesecake Tart

I promised to share my recipe for our favorite strawberry cheesecake tart, and here it is! 🙂 I usually make at least a couple of these tarts in the summertime when strawberries are at their peak. It’s one of our very favorite recipes. It is also pretty enough to share with company. The original recipe is from MarthaStewart.com, but as usual, I changed it a little to make it a tad healthier.

Strawberry Cheesecake Tart

6 full graham cracker sheets

1/3 cup almonds

3/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted melted butter, or just enough until the crust is moistened

2 8-oz bars of Neufchatel cream cheese

1/2 cup fat free sour cream

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Pint of fresh strawberries

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, grind the graham crackers, almonds, and 1/4 cup of sugar until they are finely ground. Add the butter slowly, and process until moistened. (You may not need the full 4 tablespoons). Transfer to a 9-inch tart pan, preferably with a removable bottom. Press the mixture firmly into the pan, and up the sides. Freeze for 15 minutes.

If you have a second food processor bowl, I’d recommend using it now. Otherwise, just clean your bowl and blade very well. Then blend the cream cheese, sour cream, 1/2 cup sugar, egg, vanilla, and salt until the mixture is smooth.

Place your tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet, and fill with the cheesecake mixture. Bake until filling is set, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Cool completely. (The hardest part is waiting!)

I like to top it with fresh cut strawberries. After removing the green portion, slice each berry into 4 or 5 pieces, top to bottom. Then splay them from the center to the edges. (See picture above).

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! It’s a little bite of summer 🙂