Fresh fruit custard cheesecake tart

Some meals deserve to have a sweet ending and this weekend, we just had one such. A bunch of friends were coming home for lunch and the menu was in a desperate need of something sweet. With a bunch of random ingredients at hand, here is what i concocted ! Presenting a rich, gooey and super simple Fresh fruit custard cheesecake tart 🙂

So, the story goes like this. My husband planned on calling some colleagues home for a Saturday brunch and i was planning the menu. Since i feel most comfortable making Indian food, i decided to go that route and prepared my favorite recipes Shahi Paneer (recipe to come soon), Mixed vegetable stir fry, Samosas, Mint chutney and Kulchas. With a well composed menu, i was looking at various desserts and with that intention i opened the fridge to find that i had some ingredients which were seeking my love and attention for sometime. I knew instantly that it was time for a tart 🙂

This dessert was an after thought and an attempt to finish some of my gorgeous fresh berries and cream cheese.

With less than a few hours for my guests to arrive, the dessert had to be a quick fix and something which would probably create an impressive look yet be simple to prepare and with elegant, bold yet known flavours so that the kids would enjoy it too. Without much of a thought, i gathered all my ingredients and started churning out ideas. My blogger friend Shailja (from Sweet and Savory by Shailja) helped me gather my thoughts and come up with the idea for this dish. Thanks Shailja !

With no baking involved, this dessert is perfect for brunches as it makes for a beautiful, edible center piece and is definitely a conversation starter.

The best part is that it falls partially in the “fancy dessert” category without you having to slog on making it look good. What else can one ask for?

Fresh fruit custard cheesecake tart

fresh fruit custard cheesecake tart

Servings: 8
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

For the tart base

graham cracker-1.5 packets or 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
unsalted butter-100 gms , melted
cinnamon powder- 1 tsp
cocoa powder- 2 tsp

For the filling

cream cheese-8 oz , softened at room temperature
sugar- 1/2 cup
lemon juice- 1 tsp
vanilla essence- 1/2 tsp
custard – 1 cup

For topping

7-8 strawberries, cut into thin slices, cut vertically
10-12 blueberries
orange juice- 1/3 cup
lemon juice- 1 tsp
sugar- 2 tablespoons
corn starch- 2 tsp

Method

Begin with crushing the graham crackers into crumbs. Add in butter, cocoa powder and cinnamon powder. Mix well. Check if the base has enough butter. It should come together into lumps when pressed between fingers.
Spread the base mixture evenly on the pre-greased tart pan. Place this inside the refrigerator for half an hour to chill. The butter will become cold again and the crumbly mixture will form a nice, solid base.
While the base is inside the refrigerator, whip the cream cheese with sugar, vanilla essence and lemon juice till it is whipped well and forms peaks- approximately 5-7 minutes.
Prepare Custard as per instructions provided on the pack. The custard i prepared required no cooking but if your pack does, let the custard cool down completely before proceeding.
Pour the whipped cream cheese on top of the graham cracker base. Spread evenly and let it cool for about half an hour.
After 1/2 hour, pour in the custard on top of the whipped cream cheese layer and spread evenly. Let it cool down for atleast 1/2 hour. The custard will firm up.
Now, we will prepare the fruit glaze. Mix orange juice, lemon juice, sugar and corn starch together. Bring this to boil and after it boils, shut the flame. The glaze will thickness in no time due to presence of corn starch. Let it cool down.
Arrange the fruits on top of the tart and gently brush the fruit topping with the fruit glaze. The tart is ready. Best served cold.

Note: Feel free to deck up the tart with fruits of your choice. If you plan to make this tart ahead of time, arrange the fruits just before serving or the fruits will wilt. You can also add fruits to the cream cheese base for a variation.

Can life get any better? This quick, fuss free cheesecake tart was perfect for the luncheon with my husband’s office colleagues. The families came with their young girls and even the young girls feasted on the tart. My backup plan for an ice cream for the kids never got a chance and i am not complaining 🙂

If you like to include some chocolate love into these quick tarts, take some ideas from my Cinnamon oats tart with dark chocolate Ganache