Happy Pi day!

Today snuck up on me big time and I found myself in a position where I wanted to bake a pie with my family but I wasn’t really prepared to do so. I was missing a key ingredient for every single pie or tart recipe I know. Did I mention it was 6:30pm when I realized this? What was a girl to do?! I decided to do what I usually do when these things happen and wing it. I created a new tart with what I had on hand and I gotta say, the whole family was super happy with the results. The cream cheese gave it a nice tartness, the whipped cream made it feel light, the chocolate made it slightly decadent, the strawberries made it feel fresh and the 2/3 cup powdered sugar made it sweet, but not too sweet. All in all, just super enjoyable. All that said, the best part of this experience today is that I made it with my daughter. She’s shown a lot of interest in cooking lately and I’m only too happy to let her measure and mix and eat the filling in the name of having fun in the kitchen. The recipe breaks down into four sections, making the crust, making the filling, baking the dough and assembling the tart. It’s super simple so let’s get started.

Filling
1 cream cheese
1/3 cup chocolate powder
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 cup whipping cream (whipped)
1 1/2 cup diced strawberries

Dough
2.5 cups flour
1/3-1/2 cup ice cold water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 cup flour diced and frozen for a couple of minutes

Pre-heat oven to 450 (yes, that high)

Make Crust

1. Place flour, salt, sugar and butter in food processor and pulse until it’s the consistency of sand. Alternately you may cut the flour into the dough, but I don’t have the patience and I have the machine so why not use it.
2. Add a 1/3 cup of iced water and pulse a few times. Check the dough. It should come together when you pinch it and stay together. If it doesn’t, add the rest of the water. I usually need the whole 1/2 cup, but it all depends on the flour. It’s important to note that the dough will NOT look like dough, but rather like wetish sand.
3. Dump this mixture onto a board and smoosh it together to form a dough. Don’t overwork it, just mash it together enough that it makes a dough.
4. Wrap in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge while you make the filling. An hour is better but I never have the patience.

Adding in the Whipped Cream

Chocolate Cream Cheese Mix

Strawberries and Chocolate Cream Cheese Mix

The Combined Filling

Make Filling

1. Place 1 container of cream cheese, 2/3 cup powdered sugar and 1/3 cup cocoa powder into the food processor and mix until incorporated.
2. Whip the whipping cream into soft peaks
3. Fold the whipping cream into the chocolate cream cheese mixture and set aside.
4. Dice up the Strawberries and set aside.

Helping Mommy Shape the Dough

Pat Pat

Look mommy I made a hole

Bake Crust

1. Cut the dough you made in half and push half the dough into the tart dish. The other half can be frozen for up to a few months. I always like having some on hand for those last minute chicken or veggie pot pies.
2. Place crust in preheated oven and cook for 20 minutes. We want this to cook cully as we will not be putting it back in the oven once it’s filled.
3. Once browned, let cool. I put mine in the fridge for 20 minutes which works well for me.

Mommy’s Helper

The Finished Product

Assemble Tart

1. Once cooled, fill with the chocolate cream and top with the strawberries.
2. Place back in the fridge for a couple of hours until it’s nice and chilled.

Apply to Face