Easy Puff Pastry Strawberry Tarts

Name: Easy Puff Pastry Strawberry Tarts
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 sheet puff pastry; 1/2 cup cream cheese (, room temperature); 3 tbsp icing sugar; 1 cup fresh strawberries (, sliced); 1 tsp maple syrup (, optional)

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These Easy Puff Pastry Strawberry Tarts are perfect for you if you are looking for something sweet that you can munch on throughout the day.

Flaky and fluffy puff pastries topped with the tangy sweetness of cream cheese and the exploding rich delight of strawberries are enough to be the show-stealer at any elegant party that you host.

The fact that they can even be eaten cold makes sure that you are always ready for the unexpected guest that shows up once in a while. And unlike other desserts, these Puffs aren't even so sweet that not everybody likes them!

Who first made puff pastry?

Puff pastries have a long history. While no one is exactly sure where they originated, the consensus of the majority seems to credit the 17th-century French painter Claude Lorrain for the recipe. His father was ill when Claude decided to bake buttery bread for him. But mixing butter into the dough resulted in something resembling a croissant. And that was how puff pastries were born.

When something has been around for so long, people are bound to try new things with it. And out of these countless experiments that have been done to date, Strawberry Cream Cheese Puffs is an elegant delicacy. Now, without further ado, let's jump right into the nitty-gritty of the dish; after all, that is what brings you here today!

Why Does This Recipe Work?

In spite of being very easy to make, Strawberry Cream Cheese Puffs look and taste delightful! This makes them ideal for parties when you have to arrange snacks for a lot of people.
The Puffs are very light, which makes them an ideal all-time snack.
The familiar refreshing flavours of strawberries and cream make it excellent comfort food.
Unlike most other desserts, it is not an extremely sweet dish. Thus, Strawberry Cream Cheese Puffs can be enjoyed even by someone who does not have a sweet tooth!
It can be served warm or cold, both. No hassle of reheating the leftovers!
This recipe needs only 4 ingredients.

What Is In This Puff Pastry Strawberry Tarts Recipe?

Puff Pastry. It is the base ingredient for the recipe. This will give you a delightful puffy and flaky texture and a buttery flavour.

Cream Cheese. It will add a slight tanginess to your puffs.

Icing Sugar. It will moderate the tanginess of the cream cheese and make it sweeter and thicker.

Fresh strawberries. Use strawberries that are as fresh as you can find. Sliced fresh strawberries will act as the main filling for your strawberry puffs.

Maple syrup (optional). If you like the taste of sweetness and warmth, you might want to include maple syrup to drizzle on top of your puffs.

How To Make Puff Pastry Strawberry Tarts?

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment pepper.

Mix cream cheese with icing sugar and set the mixture aside.

Roll out the puff pastry sheet, use a cookie cutter to cut the sheet into 12-16 shapes (depending on the size of the shape). Transfer them to the baking sheet.

Use a sharp knife to make a half-inch border from the edges (don't cut through the pastry).

Now spread a tablespoon of cream cheese inside the board of each one.

Carefully place the chopped strawberries on top of the cream cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the Strawberry Cream Cheese Puffs turn golden brown, and the edges are puffed up.

Drizzle maple syrup on top and enjoy!

Top Tips!

Take care not to overstuff the puff pastries. They will end up exploding if there are too many fillings.
If you buy puff pastries from the store, make sure that you thaw them before using them.
Refrigerate the cream cheese mixture before adding it so that it is not runny.
If the cream cheese you will use in making this recipe is a bit runny, it is possible to try adding corn starch to the filling. It thickens the filling up and prevents it from becoming soggy.
Puff pastries lose their crispness over time, so they're better served fresh.

Recipe Variations

You can add spices like cardamom and nutmeg to the filling. This adds a hint of warm flavours to the Puffs.
Adding sour cream to the filling will make it taste like cheesecake which is another scrumptious flavour worth trying.
You can use sweetened condensed milk instead of icing.
If you would like to make your Strawberry Cream Cheese Puffs less sweet, you can make it in the form of a sandwich. Layer the cream cheese mixture and strawberries on a puff pastry, and lay another one on top of it.
Adding lemon zest to the cream cheese mixture will give it a citrus dash which makes for an amazing flavour profile.
You can substitute strawberries with any kind of berries. Just make sure that the fruit is not very wet; you will end up with soggy Puffs if it is.

Serving Suggestions

If you are eating them for breakfast, Strawberry Cream Cheese Puffs are best served cold alongside a steaming cup of coffee or tea.
Enjoy warm Strawberry Cream Cheese Puffs with a drizzle of honey or sweetened condensed milk as dessert after a full meal.
You can top the Puffs with powdered sugar if you like.

Recipe FAQs

What to do if fresh strawberries are not available?

You can use frozen strawberries. It is even possible to substitute it with jam!

Can I make these puffs in advance?

You can make the cream cheese mixture in advance and store it. If you want to make the finished product in advance or if you want to store leftovers, make sure that you store it in the freezer. Wrap the Puffs well and freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet. You shall be good to go for up to 2 weeks. However, if you store these puffs for too long, they end up becoming soggy.

My puff pastry is not rising. What can I do about this?

When rolling out the puff pastry sheet, make sure that you roll it enough just to flatten it. You may have rolled out the puff pastry sheet too thin, which may have caused the puff pastry not to rise.

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