It was a scorching hot day, I was short on time, and just the thought of turning on the oven felt like trying to eat soup out of a spaghetti strainer, but I had forgotten to make a dessert for the party, so now what?!
I needed an easy dessert recipe that’s NO FUSS, NO BAKE, and will confirm everyone’s suspicion that I am, in fact, Martha Stewart’s carbon copy.
DISCLOSURE: Life Tastes Good is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. Please note: This post may contain affiliate links to products I use and love. I earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you, to help with blog expenses when you make a purchase through an affiliate link. Thank you for your support!I needed an easy dessert recipe that’s NO FUSS, NO BAKE, and will confirm everyone’s suspicion that I am, in fact, Martha Stewart’s carbon copy.
What Ingredients Do I Have On Hand?
Rifling through my pantry, I could feel the minutes on the clock ticking away when I spotted the graham crackers! YES, I thought to myself and ran to the fridge to see if the cream cheese, I knew was in there, was still edible. It was! Whew! Now I have a plan...- Graham crackers, sugar, & butter for a crust
- Cream cheese, brown sugar, & vanilla to make my favorite fruit dip
- Fresh strawberries & blueberries to top it all off
The Secret to My Graham Cracker Crust
These mini fruit tarts start with destroying a bunch of graham crackers to make buttered graham cracker crumbs, which already seems like it can’t get any better, but trust me, it gets WAY better.My graham cracker crust recipe is NO BAKE (see, I told you it gets better) so it keeps you cool in the kitchen, the taste and texture don’t change, and the impossible task of turning on the oven is averted!
The Mini Fruit Tart Filling You Can’t Resist
Mini fruit tarts filled with a brown sugar and cream cheese fruit dip and decorated with juicy, colorful fruit in a festive star pattern, because somehow mini fruit tarts taste better with fruit shaped like a pretty star.I know what you're thinking, 'ain't nobody got time for festive star patterns' when you have 15 hungry people headed your way!' I get it. You still have to shower, dress, and shove all the dirty dishes in the oven, but hear me out…
How to Decorate Mini Fruit Tarts Like a Boss
Decorating mini fruit tarts is as easy as falling off a log. You simply put a few strawberry slices around the border, fill the middle with blueberries, and now that you’re feeling like the Cake Boss, you plop a few blueberries between the strawberries. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!Party Time
These easy, no bake mini fruit tarts helped me keep my cool and saved the day! All that’s left to do is sit back and watch everyone enjoy the party, while shoveling bites of delectable mini fruit tart in my pie hole, of course.You’ll savor every spoonful of crunchy graham cracker crust mixed with creamy cheesecake filling, relieved you pulled off a delicious summer dessert, and you’ll smile confidently all the while because no one will ever guess how easy these fruit tarts were to make!
Expert Recipe Tips
- Leftover graham cracker crumbs? No worries. Freeze leftover crumbs for future use, or use them to whip up my recipe for Lime Cheesecake Parfait to have another dessert option on hand. You can't have too many desserts, amIright?
- To mix the cream cheese filling I use my Smart Stick, but a hand or stand mixer works just as well.
- You can use any combination of fruit. I used strawberries and blueberries to stick with a patriotic, red white and blue dessert for holidays such as Memorial Day, the 4th of July, and Labor Day.
- For Christmas you might try cranberries and kiwi and Thanksgiving could be caramel apples or apples and cranberries, just to give you a few ideas.
- Glaze the fruit with apricot preserves for a shiny look. Melt apricot preserves in a microwavable safe dish and use a pastry brush to lightly brush the fruit with the apricot preserves.
More Red White and Blue Desserts
- Red White and Blue Parfaits are a low carb-ish treat for a quilt free holiday.
- Independence Day Cupcakes taste as good as they look!
I hope you have a safe and happy holiday weekend full of lots of fun, family, and delicious food! Be sure to watch my quick video below if you'd like to see How to Make Mini Fruit Tarts. Enjoy!
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Yield: 4
How to Make Mini Fruit Tarts in 3 Easy Steps
It's EASY to decorate your dessert table with MINI FRUIT TARTS. I show you how to make my cream cheese fruit tarts in 3 easy steps that only takes a few minutes to prepare!
prep time: 5 Mcook time: total time: 5 M
ingredients:
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 sleeve graham crackers
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted, melted butter
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Fresh Fruit Topping
- Fresh strawberries, tops cut off and then sliced
- Fresh blueberries
- 2 Tbsp Apricot preserves (optional)
instructions:
How to Make Mini Fruit Tarts in 3 Easy Steps
Graham Cracker Crust
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse a sleeve of graham crackers with 1/3 cup sugar until you make fine crumbs. Add 6 tablespoons melted butter and pulse until combined. Spoon graham cracker crumb mixture into a 4 cup mini tart pan with removable bottoms. I use a small bottomed cup to tamp down the graham crackers as seen in the video above.
Cream Cheese Filling
- In a medium bowl, add 8 ounces softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Cream mixture until well combined and smooth. I used my Smart Stick, but a hand or stand mixer works just as well.
Assembly
- Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly into the graham cracker crust and top with strawberries and blueberries. Refrigerate until the cream cheese mixture is cold and set enough to remove the tarts. About 30 minutes to an hour. When ready to serve, remove the tarts from the fridge, serve and enjoy.
- Optional - brush fruit lightly with melted apricot preserves to give the fruit a shiny appearance.
NOTES:
Chill 30 minutes to an hour before serving
Calories
179.36
179.36
Fat (grams)
1.55
1.55
Sat. Fat (grams)
0.74
0.74
Carbs (grams)
42.06
42.06
Fiber (grams)
0.14
0.14
Net carbs
41.93
41.93
Sugar (grams)
39.73
39.73
Protein (grams)
0.48
0.48
Sodium (milligrams)
34.29
34.29
Cholesterol (grams)
3.38
3.38
COPYRIGHT © 2018 Life Tastes Good
NOTE: This recipe was originally published on July 3, 2016. I recently added the 3 step process with additional information to share this recipe with you once again by republishing on May 25, 2019.
What beautiful berry topped mini desserts! Just my style!!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful dessert. Gorgeous photos. They made me want to reach over and take one!
ReplyDeleteThis is an amazing fruit tart recipe which I can make all year round. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete