I’m happy to say that Fake Food Free has transitioned to the Substack Newsletter called Every Corner of the World.
I hope to see you there.
I went blueberry picking last month. It’s a rare occurrence here as there really aren’t many u-pick farms in the area. And even with the few we do have, as much as I love fresh produce, I usually end up missing the season.
I’ve learned it must be a priority on my schedule in order for me to remember to go. So one Thursday morning in June, I wrote – Blueberry picking – on my calendar and stuck to it.
I headed out before it got hot and picked about 3 pounds of big San Joaquin berries, a variety I’d never had before.
Before eating almost all of them…I’m serious. I can put away the berries during the summer. I eat them by the handfuls. Anyway, before eating all of them, I ignored the summer heat and turned on the oven to make this tart.
I wanted something that resembled cheesecake, but I really didn’t want to go to the trouble of making a cheesecake or gathering up all the ingredients. So I improvised with a tart.
I won’t say laying out all these berries wasn’t trouble. It took a while and you don’t have to do it. Just lay berries all over the top, no pattern needed.
I had two varieties of berries – San Joaquin from the u-pick farm and Peach Sorbet blueberries (the small berries) from our backyard. We actually picked almost a pound this year!
So I thought it would be fun to spend too much time making a pattern. Promise it tastes good either way.
Blueberry Cheesecake Tart
Makes 1, 11-inch tart
Ingredients
Crust
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Filling
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
About 2 cups blueberries
Preparation
Preheat the oven 375 degrees F.
For the crust, add the butter and sugar to a stand mixer. Mix on medium, then medium-high, for 2 minutes, until combined and pale yellow. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
Mix in the egg. Then add the vanilla and salt.
With the mixer on low, add the flour a little at a time. Turn the mixer to medium and then medium-high. It will appear crumbly at first. Mix until a dough comes together in the center of the mixer, 1 to 2 minutes.
Transfer the dough to an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press it evenly along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. It should resemble a firm sugar cookie dough. Prick a few holes in the bottom of the crust with a fork. Set it aside.
Clean the mixing bowl, then make the filling by adding the cream cheese and sugar. Mix on medium, then medium-high for about 2 minutes, until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
Mix in the egg, vanilla, and salt. Mix on medium-high until a pourable batter forms, about 1 minute.
Place the tart pan on a baking sheet. Pour the cheesecake batter over the crust in the tart pan. And shake gently so it settles into all corners.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until the crust begins to brown on the edges and the center of the cheesecake filling is firm.
Let cool for 10 minutes.
Arrange the berries over the top, gently pressing them into the cheesecake. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours. Then slice to serve.
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