It’s PIE time again, friends! In my opinion, it should pretty much always be pie time.
Summer is going by SO quickly! Berry season is already waning here in Georgia! But it’s not over yet. Local blueberries are still readily available and they’ve been sweet and delicious lately. It seemed like a perfect time to feature them!
This tart starts with a simple and delicious shortbread crust. The crust needs to be “blind baked”, meaning baked on its own without the filling inside. You can use dried beans to hold the crust’s shape for blind baking but this time mom decided to use rice. Pretty much you can use whatever you have.
Once the crust is baked and completely cooled, it gets filled with a sweet, silky cream cheese mixture.
Then a beautiful heap of fresh berries get glazed and poured right on top! Perfectly summery.
- Crust
- 2 1/4 c. sugar
- 1 c. butter, softened
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 1/4 t. salt
- 3 c. all purpose flour
- Filling
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 1/4 c. sour cream
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 5 c. fresh blueberries
- 1/3 c. water
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 2 T. cornstarch + 2 T. water, whisked together
- Cream the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed for a few minutes until the mixture is very well creamed.
- Scrape down the bowl and add the egg, vanilla, and salt.
- Add the flour and mix on low just until the mixture is combined and forms a dough.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for an hour.
- When the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- On a floured surface, roll the dough out into a circle large enough to fit over your 9″ tart pan.
- Press the dough into the pan, cutting away any excess dough that hangs over the edges.
- Poke the surface of the dough with a fork and cover with aluminum foil. Pour in enough dried beans or rice over the foil to fill to the rim.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Remove the foil and rice/beans from the crust.
- Let the crust cool completely to room temperature.
- Beat together the cream cheese, vanilla, sour cream, and 1/4 c. sugar with a mixer on high speed until it’s completely smooth and silky.
- Pour the cream filling into the cooled pie crust and smooth out with a spatula.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, bring 1 c. of the blueberries to a boil with the water, 1/4 c. sugar and cornstarch mixture. Simmer until the berries have burst and the mixture is thick and shiny, like a glaze.
- In a large bowl, stir together the glaze in the pot and the remaining 4 c. of blueberries until all the berries are coated.
- Pour the blueberry mixture over the cream filling in the tart crust. Spread with a spatula to even it out if necessary.
- Chill the tart until it is completely set then serve!
We’re having a lot of fun sharing all of these summer dessert recipes with you! It’s been great to have my mom and all her expertise involved in posts regularly. In case you missed them, here are the other pies we’ve done so far in the series:
We still have a couple more fruits (do I hear PEACHES, anyone??) and types of pies that we want to share that will be awesome. Also with the next installment I’m going to do an ‘Ask the Baker’ Q&A where ALL of you will have the chance to ask my mom any questions you might have about baking, food, working in professional kitchens, anything you like! So get your questions geared up! And thanks for reading!
-Lauren
9 Responses
Carrie Pacini
The blueberry tart looks wonderful!
Lauren @ Dash of Soul
Thank you so much Carrie!
dina
all the pies look amazing!
Lauren @ Dash of Soul
Thank you kindly! 🙂
Tessa @ Handle the Heat
Yes, it should always be pie time! This looks gorgeous! Gotta love a beautiful and fresh summer pie.
Lauren @ Dash of Soul
Thanks so much, Tessa!
Jamie @ At Home Baristas
I love a good tart, especially one with blueberries or strawberries! Thanks for the post!
Lauren @ Dash of Soul
I love them too! Thanks for reading! 🙂
Lauren
I had a piece of strawberry rhubarb pie last night and after taking my last bite I declared that “I LOVE PIE.” Like really and truly. I’ve been eating a lot of blueberries lately! Don’t tell me that berry season is coming to any end 🙁