FRESH FRUIT & CREAM CHEESE TARTLETS ...and I give up my throne of 'Substitution Queen'

Cream cheese was my dream cheese #1. We rarely got anything other than processed cheese in Kannur, so getting a good cheddar was a blessing! When I joined Daring Bakers last April, we had to bake a cheesecake and I was bent upon not substituting with storebought paneer instead I made it at home.

So in my first interaction with a US supermarket, I was in search for cream cheese. Needless to say, I was surprised & confused! There were SO many varieties! I didn't know which one to pick up. I kept asking Jobin which one is 'that' cream cheese I was dreaming about :) He was as confused as I was! Finally I just picked up one slab! That was the first time I ever touched a cream cheese! :D LOL! I might be sounding very childish...but I just cannot help it! :)

 Then the next day, we went shopping for fruits . That's when I touched fresh peaches in my life for the first time! Aaaannndd I grabbed a big box of them. Then strawberries, plums, mandarin oranges followed suit! :)

My niece's adore fresh fruits! And they were asking  me to make something out of them. So I thought of combining the cream cheese + fruits. And last night I bought a box of frozen pie crust too! I am on a spree to make my life a LOT easier...let me use those 'dream' ingredients without substituting it! I am tired of being a substitution queen! I give up my throne! ;)

Then the recipe hunt started and I finally I decided upon making some fresh fruit tartlets. They were seeing me cook & click at the same time and I must say, it is definately not an easy job handling kids+cream cheese+ cut up fruits+ a crackly crust! Oh yeah! And when it comes to clicking pics... I could see my bouncer falling into the tartlets and whatnot! :)


FRESH FRUIT & CREAM CHEESE TARTLETS

Ingredients:
Puff pastry sheet/Pie crust-1
Cut up fresh fruits - as needed
Cream cheese-6 oz [Hung yoghurt is a good substitute]
Orange rind-1/4 tsp
Powdered sugar-3-4 tbsp or to taste
Vanilla extract-1 tsp

Method:

• Thaw & roll out the pastry sheet slightly on a cookie sheet and perforate it with the tines of a fork. Bake it for 10-12 mins at 180 deg C.
•  Thaw the cream cheese for atleast 30 mins on the counter & mix it well with powdered sugar,orange rind and vanilla.
• Once the pastry has cooled down, spread a thin layer of cream cheese mixture and then arrange the fruits on it.
• Chill well. Slice and serve.

I will be back shortly with another new recipe, mostly with another set of new friends :)