My sister Julie visited me from Alabama recently, and brought me a jar of her homemade, low sugar blackberry jam. She has a large garden, which feeds her family for much of the year, by canning and freezing. It was such a treat to have a little piece of her hard work in my kitchen. I wanted to create something very special with this – and what is more special than a tart? (See bottom of this post for the recipe for low sugar blackberry jam).
I found some beautiful blackberries at my local grocery store. These, along with the homemade jam, and a cream cheese base, layered inside of my tart crust – perfect for Julie’s Blackberry Cream Cheese Tart!
The most time-consuming part of making a tart – is the tart shell. This will take about 2 – 2 1/2 hours. This includes time in the refrigerator and freezer, which is essential, and of course baking time. Once you have that made, this tart comes together in just a few minutes. You will need an 8″ tart pan with a removable bottom.
You will need: 2 pints of fresh blackberries, 1 small jar of blackberry jam, (or store bought seedless jam) and ingredients below for the cream cheese filling.
Here is my tart shell recipe for 1 8″ tart.
Ingredients:
1 large egg yolk
1 Tbsp heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 c all purpose flour
2/3 c confectioner’s sugar
1/4 tsp salt
8 Tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes
Whisk together the egg yolk, cream and vanilla. Set aside.
Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir together. Add cubed butter, and cut in with a pastry cutter, til you have a coarse mixture. Pour this into a stand mixer bowl, with a paddle attachment. (You can use a food processor if you prefer).
Pour the egg mixture over the flour mixture. Blend on med. just til the dough comes together. Turn out onto a cutting board, and press together into a 6″ disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
Now make the tart shell. Spray the tart pan with cooking spray. Remove the dough from refrigerator. Place on a floured surface, and roll out to a 13″ circle. Place the dough into the tart pan, making sure it is gently pressed into the corners. Cut off the excess dough – so it is level with the top of the pan. Freeze for about 20 min.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Remove the tart from the freezer. Line the dough with a piece of aluminum foil, and fill with pie weights, or dry beans.
Place tart on a baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, and take out the foil and pie weights or beans. Return to the oven for another 5 min, til lightly golden on the edges. Allow to cool completely.
Next, prepare the cream cheese filling.
Ingredients:
12 oz cream cheese, room temp
3/4 c confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp heavy cream
In a mixing bowl, using a paddle attachment. cream together the cream cheese, and sugar. Add the heavy cream and vanilla, and blend til smooth. Set aside.
Once the tart shell is cool, prepare to build your tart. Layer the cream cheese filling – spread to the edge of the tart.
Then the blackberry jam, spreading a light layer, to about 1″ from the edge of the crust. There is a lot of moisture in the jam – so you don’t want to make the crust soggy.
Arrange the blackberries starting in the center, working your way to the edge of the jam.
Refrigerate the tart. Garnish with a sprig of mint before serving. You can also sift a little powdered sugar over the top just before serving.
This tart is best served the same day, but will last covered in the refrigerator for about 3 days.
Recipe for Low Sugar Blackberry Jam (this will make 1 pint of jam)
Juice 2 cups of rinsed, fresh blackberries using a cone strainer, then push through a sieve to remove the seeds. Place 1 cup of juice into a saucepan, with 1/4 granulated sugar (or more depending on your taste). SLOWLY add 1/4 of a 1.75 oz Pectin package (“Ball”, or “Sure Jell” No sugar needed Pectin powder.
Bring to a slow boil, and stir for a few minutes, til thickened.
This will make about 1 pint of jam.
This is 1/4 of the original recipe, so feel free to multiple times 4 for 4 pints of jam. This also freezes well, in zip lock baggies. Will last in the coldest part of your refrigerator, for up to 6 mo.
