Cream Cheese Tart Recipe: Savory Easy Elegant Starter
Cream Cheese Tart Recipe – Last Wednesday, I found myself staring into my refrigerator at 5:30 pm with that familiar panic that only comes when you’ve invited friends for dinner and completely forgotten to plan anything impressive.
Cream Cheese Tart
Ingredients
- 250g flour (mix of plain and wholegrain spelt flour)
- 125g butter
- 1 egg (for crust)
- Pinch of salt
- 300g cream cheese
- 100ml milk
- 3 eggs (for filling)
- 100g grated parmesan cheese
- 350g mini tomatoes
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- Fresh basil leaves for topping
Instructions
- Make a dough from 250g flour (mix of plain and wholegrain spelt flour), 125g butter, 1 egg and a pinch of salt, press it into a tart form and place it in the fridge.
- Stir 300g cream cheese and 100ml milk until smooth, add in 3 eggs, 100g grated parmesan cheese and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
- Take the crust out of the fridge and prick the bottom with a fork. Pour in the filling.
- Bake at 175 degrees C for about 25 minutes. Cover the tart with some aluminium foil after half the time.
- Slice about 350g mini tomatoes. In a small pan heat 3tbsp olive oil, 3tbsp white vinegar, 1 tbsp honey, salt and pepper and combine well. Pour over the tomato slices and mix well.
- With a spoon, place the tomato slices on the tart, avoiding too much liquid on it. Decorate with basil leaves and enjoy.
Nutrition
There sat a lonely brick of cream cheese, some eggs threatening to expire, and a pint of multi-colored cherry tomatoes I’d impulse-purchased at the farmers market (they were just so pretty, how could I not?).
My brain, helpful as ever in moments of culinary crisis, whispered “quiche?”
But that felt too… expected. Then I remembered this tart—the one that had saved me countless times before—the perfect intersection of “looks like I planned this all week” and “actually took less effort than ordering takeout.”
The Beauty of a Savory Tart
There’s something about serving a tart that makes people think you’ve suddenly transformed into some sort of sophisticated entertainer who has their life together.
I am absolutely not that person—my smoke detector serves as my most reliable kitchen timer—but this cream cheese tart lets me fake it convincingly.
Also read:
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- Breakfast Potato Recipe
- Mbuzi Choma Recipe
- Kapsalon Recipe
- Bean & Sausage Hotpot Recipe
- Chilli Prawn Linguine Recipe
- Sweet Potato BBQ Pork Sloppy Joes Recipe
- Boulangère Potatoes Recipe
The magic happens in that moment when you pull it from the oven, topped with those glistening, slightly jammy tomatoes, and everyone makes that little involuntary “ooh” sound. Nobody needs to know you were still in pajama pants twenty minutes before they arrived.
A Crust That Forgives Your Impatience
I have a complicated relationship with pie crusts. They sense fear and they know when you’re in a hurry. This one, however, is remarkably forgiving.
The Crust Ingredients
- 250g flour (I use a mix of all-purpose and wholegrain spelt)
- 125g butter, cold and cubed
- 1 egg
- Pinch of salt
Here’s where I admit something that would make pastry purists clutch their pearls: I don’t really do the whole “cutting butter into flour until it resembles coarse sand” dance that most recipes insist upon.
Life is short, and my food processor is right there. Ten quick pulses, add the egg, pulse a few more times until it clumps together, and you’re done.
The dough goes straight into your tart pan—no chilling first, no rolling out (I just press it in with my fingers like it’s play-dough), and then into the fridge it goes while you make the filling. Is this proper technique? Absolutely not. Does it work? Every single time.
The Creamy Heart of the Matter
The filling here is what makes this tart special. It’s like a cheesecake that decided to go savory and never looked back.
The Filling Ingredients
- 300g cream cheese, softened
- 100ml milk
- 3 eggs
- 100g grated parmesan cheese
- Salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste
I beat the cream cheese and milk together first—a little tip I learned after one too many lumpy disasters. If your cream cheese isn’t quite at room temperature (because who actually remembers to take it out ahead of time?), zap it in the microwave for 15 seconds. We’re not telling anyone.
The parmesan adds a salty depth that keeps the filling from being too one-note, and the nutmeg—just a tiny pinch—is that secret background player that makes people say “what is that lovely flavor I can’t quite place?” Let them wonder. Kitchen mysteries keep dinner conversations lively.
Tomato Topping: The Crown Jewel
After your tart has baked for about 25 minutes (and yes, that foil tent halfway through baking is non-negotiable unless you enjoy burnt cheese—which, honestly, sometimes I do), it’s time for the tomato topping that makes this dish Instagram-worthy.
The Topping Ingredients
- 350g mini tomatoes, sliced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh basil leaves for garnish
The quick marinated tomatoes are the perfect sweet-acidic counterpoint to the rich filling. I like to use a mix of yellow, red, and purple cherry tomatoes if I can find them, because eating should be as much a feast for the eyes as for the stomach.
The honey in the marinade helps the tomatoes almost jam slightly, intensifying their flavor in a way that makes you wonder why you ever ate raw tomatoes any other way.
When arranging the tomatoes on top, use a slotted spoon—too much liquid will make your beautifully set tart weep sad, soggy tears. Nobody wants that.
Putting It All Together
Here’s the step-by-step process that turns these simple ingredients into something worthy of center stage at your table:
- Make your dough by combining flour, butter, egg, and salt. Press into a tart pan and refrigerate.
- Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F).
- Mix cream cheese and milk until smooth, then beat in eggs, parmesan, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
- Take the crust from the fridge, prick the bottom with a fork (skip this step at your peril—we’ve all witnessed the Great Puff Disaster of 2018).
- Pour in the filling and bake for about 25 minutes, covering with foil halfway through.
- While the tart bakes, slice your tomatoes and mix the marinade ingredients.
- When the tart is set but not browned, remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
- Spoon the marinated tomatoes over the top, scatter with fresh basil leaves, and serve.
I’ve found this tart is just as delicious slightly warm as it is at room temperature, which makes it perfect for those times when dinner coordination feels like air traffic control.
When Life Calls for Variations
The beauty of this recipe is how easily it bends to your whims—or more realistically, to whatever is threatening to wilt in your produce drawer.
In place of tomatoes, I’ve topped this tart with:
- Roasted red peppers and feta
- Caramelized onions and thyme
- Sautéed mushrooms with a whisper of truffle oil (when I’m feeling particularly fancy)
- Roasted asparagus spears arranged like the hands of a clock (which was admittedly a bit much, but my mother-in-law was visiting)
The filling itself can be tweaked too—swap half the parmesan for gruyère, add a handful of chopped herbs, or stir in some caramelized garlic if you’re not planning on kissing anyone later.
The Final Slice
What I love most about this tart is how it bridges the gap between special occasion food and “it’s Tuesday and I’m tired” food.
It feels like something you’d order at a bistro for $18, yet it’s made from ingredients most of us have on hand, or can grab in a quick store run.
Will your cream cheese tart look exactly like the photo? Perhaps not. Mine rarely does. Will someone still ask for the recipe? Almost certainly.
And isn’t that the true measure of success in our home kitchens—not perfection, but the moment someone loves what you’ve made enough to want to recreate it themselves?
So the next time you find yourself staring blankly into the refrigerator as dinner hour approaches, remember this humble yet impressive tart. It’s helped me fake culinary competence more times than I can count, and I’m not above admitting that sometimes, that’s exactly what we need.
