Apple cheesecake tart

  

I've just realised that I forgot my blog's 8th birthday a week or so back. This apple cheesecake tart more than makes up for it.  I have been trying to think of a three word combination better than that.  Bank holiday weekend? Winning lottery ticket? Tiny fluffy puppy? I’m sure there are others!

This tart is glorious mainly because of the combination of textures.  The flavours obviously work, but it’s the crispy pastry with the creamy cheesecake layer topped with the soft, juicy apples and spice.  The apple juices bake down into the cheesecake giving it a delicate fruity tang; the apple slices hold their shape but retain a little bite but still yield to gentle pressure from a spoon or fork.

This would work beautifully served warm as a dessert with vanilla ice cream.  I served it at room temperature with thick cream.  I think you could also make smaller, individual tarts which would look very pretty served for dessert with a ball of ice cream on top (or on the side).

Normally I photograph my bakes as I serve them for eating.  This one wasn’t going to be served until the evening so I decided to photograph it in the afternoon.  Tip: If you serve desserts in the kitchen and bring them through to the dining room no one notices if there’s a slice missing!  Just call me ‘Two Desserts’......(aka The Very Thoughtful Lady Who Wanted To Ensure Dessert Was OK Before Inflicting It On Anyone Else).

Ingredients

For the pastry:
175g plain flour
85g unsalted butter, cold
30g caster sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon cold water

For the filling:

250g cream cheese – I used Philadelphia
2 eggs
60g caster sugar

For the apples:

4 Cox’s apples, peeled, cored and sliced
70g caster sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method

Start by making the pastry: place the flour and butter into a food processor and blitz until you have fine breadcrumbs (you can do this by hand using the rubbing in method if you prefer).

Add the sugar and cinnamon and blitz again.

Add the egg yolk and water and blitz until a ball of pastry just starts to form.

Tip the dough out onto a sheet of clingfilm and bring together, using your hands, to form a ball of pastry.  Handle as little as possible.

Flatten into a disc and roll out between two sheets of clingfilm so that you can line a 23cm round, loose bottomed flan tin.

Prick the base with a fork.

Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 200C/fan oven 180C/400F/gas mark 6.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and line the pastry case with either baking paper or non stick foil.

Weight the paper/foil with baking beans.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the beans and paper/foil and bake uncovered for a further 5 minutes.

Leave to pastry case to cool.

Reduce the oven to 190C/fan oven 170C/375F/gas mark 5.

Now make the filling: place the cream cheese, eggs and caster sugar into a food processor and blitz until you have a smooth, well combined mixture.  You can do this in a stand mixer, or by hand if you prefer.

Pour into the part baked pastry case.

Now attend to the apples: toss the sliced apples in sugar and cinnamon.

Layer over the top of the cream cheese mixture.

Bake for 35 minutes or until golden and set.

Leave to cool in the tin.

Serve in generous slices with thick cream.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.