Friday, May 1, 2015

French Fridays with Dorie - Cheesecake Tart


Today´s recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie group is Cheesecake Tart. With a creamy top and buttery base, who can resist this classic dessert.




Dorie uses pâte sablée (sweet tart dough base) in her version of a cheesecake tart  – it is more fragile and delicate than pâte sucrée (sweet shortcrust pastry), but melts in the mouth like no other pastry.

When I make a pâte sablée I always heap the flour on my work surface and make a well in the center. Then I put the cold, unsalted butter, confectioners´ sugar and salt in the well. With my fingertips, I mix and cream the butter with the sugar and salt, then add the egg yolk and work it in delicately with my fingertips.  Then little by little, I draw the flour into the center and work the mix until I have an even dough. Using the palm of my hand, I push the dough away from me 3 or 4 times until it is completely smooth. I then roll it into a ball, wrap it into saran wrap and refrigerate until I am ready to proceed with my tart.




For this recipe I chose my French tart pan, my very favorite one, the tried and true, the no-fuss one, with a removable bottom and high sides. The one that makes a very simple tart like this, look like a very elegant tart, with its raised border and nice scalloped edges. This tart pan allows me to bake my tarts with a tart dough that is not too thick, yet sturdy enough to hold a creamy filling like this one.




For Dorie´s tart base you will have to roll out the pastry to a round and line your lightly greased tart pan Then you chill it again in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven, prick the base of your pastry case with a fork (docking), line with baking parchment and evenly fill with baking beans (either special ceramic ones or dried beans that you can use again for this purpose) to hold the pastry down. Bake the case in the oven (baking blind) for 30 minutes. Take the pastry out of the oven, remove the beans and paper and return to the oven for 5 minutes, then set aside to cool while you make the filling.




For the filling you finely grate the zest from half an organic lemon and then set aside. Whisk together cornstarch and milk (to thicken the filling). Also set aside. Mix together the fromage blanc, egg yolks, sugar, pure vanilla, zest, and a pinch of sea salt as well as the milk mixture. Scatter golden raisins over the bottom of the pastry. Pour the filling into the pastry case and bake for about 50 minutes. Place on a wire rack and leave for about 20 minutes before removing the tart pan. Either enjoy while still lukewarm or let the tart cool completely, then place in the least cool part of your fridge until you are ready to serve.




Cut the cheesecake into portions using a very sharp knife. And enjoy to the fullest as we did – no, no suprise there, we are Europeans and we love Dorie´s European desserts. Simple. Elegant. Clean flavors. Not overly sweet. No adornments required. None. Apart from my beloved flowers, of course.




Cheesecakes like Dorie´s are very popular around here, very popular. We loved this one to the very last crumb, as did all our guests. When we are invited, I often get requests for bringing along this type of „European“ cheesecake and I always happily oblige.




Today is not only the „day of the last Dorie dessert recipe from the book“ but also May Day. This is an ancient Northern Hemisphere spring festival and a public holiday around these parts. Flowers are always a big part of May Day celebrations.

May Day not only brings the image of collecting flowers but throughout its history, May Day has also always been a joyous celebration of spring and the coming summer. So, of course, there are a lot of flowers playing an important part in today´s post – come to think of it, they always do, I would not be me if I did otherwise! But those of you that have been kind enough to follow my blogging adventures for the last couple of years know that of course…




To see whether the other members of the French Fridays with Dorie group enjoyed this week´s recipe, please go here.




For copyright reasons, we do not publish the recipes from the book. But you can find the recipe for the Cheesecake Tart on page 469 in Dorie Greenspan´s cookbook "Around my French Table".



36 comments:

  1. Happy May Day! Your flowers are beautiful as is your tart. I really like the thickness of your tart. I wonder the diameter. I need a pan like yours!

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    1. Guyla, I will try and find that very same tart pan online and send you the link, so you can order it if you wish.
      Thank you kindly for your comment,
      Andrea

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  2. Cheesecake tart looks gorgeous from every angle.
    I wish you and your sweet family a wonderful w/end, my friend. Lots of love from California.

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    1. Colette, thank you, dear friend - I appreciate your comment!
      Have a nice and wonderful weeekend with your lovely family,
      Andrea

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  3. As a non-baker it is facisnating to read how you work with different pastries. It gives me a sense of the appeal baking has to some people. Your crust is perfection, truly a work of art. Happy May Day, I found out there used to be a May Day tradition in the US of hanging flowers in baskets on neighbors doors. I was thinking about surprising a few elderly folks next year.

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    1. Diane, what athoughtful idea - flowers are always and have always been such a big part of May Day celebrations around here and the month of May in general - I have always loved flowers and love them even more so today. And there is no greater joy on certain days than getting busy with a wonderful, delightful, buttery pastry dough - but then, we are all different...
      Thank you for your kind comment,
      Andrea

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  4. Happy May day, Andrea!! Such beautiful flowers…my Lilies of the Valley are not out yet…but by the end of May, they will be making their appearance! I love their fragrance….so lovely!
    Your tart is absolutely gorgeous! And I love, love the pan you used…mine all have low sides. I will now be searching for a new tart pan! OH NO!!!

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    1. Same to you, dear Kathy! Lily of the Valley are my favorite flowers - their smell is rather intoxicating. The tart pans with the higher sides are slowing replacing all my other tart pans - I much rather have this "look" to my tarts these days - just a very personal thing but I love this "border" above the filling...maybe I am just a bit particular that way..
      I appreciate your comment,
      Andrea

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  5. Your tart and all the flowers look gorgeous. I always enjoyed celebrating May Day when I was in Germany.

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    1. Liebe Gerlinde - wie schön! Das freut mich wirklich mich ganz außerordentlich!
      Liebe Grüße nach Santa Cruz,
      Andrea

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  6. Happy May Day! The tart with the flowers are beautiful--they were lovely to see on Facebook! As a musician, I always think of Schumann's lied, 'Im wunderschönen Monat Mai," for May Day flowers. I'm not surprised that everyone asks for the European cheesecake--it's a good one!

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    1. "Im wunderschönen Monat Mai, als alle Knospen sprangen, da ist in meinem Herzen die Liebe aufgegangen.
      Im wunderschönen Monat Mai, als alle Vögel sangen, da hab' ich ihr gestanden mein Sehnen und Verlangen" - "In the wonderfully fair month of May, as all the flower-buds burst, then in my heart love arose. In the wonderfully fair month of May, as all the birds were singing, then I confessed to her my yearning and longing."
      Just does not get much better than this...
      Andrea

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  7. What a beautiful way to start May! This tart looks quite wonderful, and I am always amazed at how different each one looks form the other FFWD bloggers. So much fun!

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    1. David, nice ot read that you always enjoy following the Doristas along their cooking adventures - btw have you been able to retrieve your River Cottage cookbook yet?
      Liebe Grüsse,
      Andrea

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  8. The tart looks delicious and the flowers are so dainty and pretty!

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    1. Pam, thank you very much - glad that you enjoy this post!

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  9. A few years ago Tricia and I went to Paris around May 1st. There was so much celebration, with people selling Lilli of the Valley flowers
    all around town, we had no idea what is was all about. We learned about the tradition when we returned home and thought how wonderful.
    In all of our travels in Europe over the years, my husband and I were always fascinated by the display of flowers from homes, especially in
    the small villages of France. Hanging baskets, huge displays at the markets, etc. I miss it all, but am pleased that I had the opportunity to experience it all. That said, your tart looks fantastic.

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    1. Nana, what a beautiful comment - makes me a bit proud that my post brings back some wonderful memories for you. The first of May is always a big thíng around here and many other countries, it is a time to celebrate spring and the coming summer and all the beauty that spring flowers bring. Flowers do seem to play a more important role here than in other parts of the world and that certainly makes me quite happy! Always loved them, always will.
      Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a lovely comment,
      Andrea

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  10. Andrea, your tart looks gorgeous, especially with all the flowers. You have a magic hand with pastry. My lily of the valley have barely started to come up from the ground. It will be weeks before they bloom. It's nice to see your lush bouquet. I'm always surprised how far ahead you are with your flowers and fresh vegetables. I hope you had a lovely May Day! enjoy the rest of your weekend.

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    1. Betsy, now that is quite the compliment! We did have a few days off, meaning between offices closed, no school and shops closed, we did have a great day, wonderful weather and delightful dessert. A fabulous beginning for the moth of May. Whod could ask for more?!
      Thank you for being so kind, dear friend,
      Andrea

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  11. Your tart looks so nice and thick, mine was rather flat. Yours looks yummy and I love the flowers with it. I am still awaiting my lily of the valley to bloom, they are barely rising from the ground

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    1. Lisa, the lily of the valley bouquet was a gift from my husband - he knows me well as these are my favorite fragrant flowers. As far as the tart pan is concerned, I did not use the flat one here as I was going for a different look this time.

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  12. Hmmm, I clearly need to use a smaller tart pan - mine was so very shallow :( Yours is gorgeous!

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    1. Merci beaucoup, Mardi - I have been getting rid of some of my tart pans lately - or rather I have been replacing them with these ones, so I can achieve "this look" for most of my tarts. This is presently my favorite one.
      Andrea

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  13. What a wonderful dessert - and the flowers are beautiful too! Gorgeous.

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    1. Beth, glad you enjoy this lovely Cheesecake Tart - unfortunately our last dessert for the French Fridays with Dorie group.

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  14. What a lovely May Day treat! I love how elegant your tart looks against the beautiful spring flowers. I thought this was a wonderful dessert and even prefer it to New York style cheesecake, which I often find too heavy and sweet.

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    1. Teresa, so do we - we would much rather eat this type of cheesecake than another one but ever yonce in a while I certainly would not kind a New York style cheesecake, which, by the way, is gaining in popularity in these parts - you know what they say "the grass is always greener on the other side".
      Thank you for the kind comment,
      Andrea

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  15. These are SERIOUSLY blowing my mind!

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  16. Your cheesecake is indeed beautiful! I love its high sides - mine was much more shallow.

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    1. Gaye, his happens to be my favorite tart pan - I really enjoy that I end up with a tart with high sides and a certain elegant look.

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  17. I know, I'm completely outnumbered here:-) My guests all raved about this dessert and went back for seconds.

    Hope you enjoyed a lovely 3-day weekend. We optimistically tried to grill on Sunday, but were chased indoors by the rain.

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    1. Rose, well, a very European-style cheesecake and we loved it quite a bit!
      Thanks for stopping by,
      Andrea

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  18. I like that you used white raisins in your tart, it looks much better than the dark. We really enjoyed this one too. I especially liked it better the second day cold.

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    1. Diane, these wonderful light-yellow raisins hail from the Netheralnds, they are plump and juicy and where just perfect in this lovely cheesecake.
      Thank you for the comment,
      Andrea

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