Valentine's Strawberry Puff Pastry Hearts
Servings: 6 tartlets
Ingredients
- 1 puff pastry sheet
- 2 ounces (60g) cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest from 1/2 lemon optional
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup (150g) strawberries
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
Instructions
- First prepare all the ingredients. Take puff pastry out of the fridge only when you have everything ready (when it gets too warm it will be too hard to work with).
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Make the cheese layer: in a medium bowl, whisk together cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and egg yolk until smooth.2 ounces (60g) cream cheese, 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, zest from 1/2 lemon, 1 egg yolk
- Wash strawberries, dry with paper towels, and cut into small cubes.1 cup (150g) strawberries
- Make egg wash: whisk together the egg with 1 tablespoon of water.1 egg
- Take the puff pastry sheet out of the fridge and cut out hearts. They should be about 5 inches (12 cm) long. You can use heart-shaped cutters or cut them out by hand (this is what I did). See photos in the body of the post for reference.1 puff pastry sheet
- If at any point the dough becomes too soft and hard to work with, transfer it to a fridge for 5-10 minutes to allow it to harden.
- Remove the scraps of the dough (you can use them to make cinnamon cookies, see notes). Transfer the pastry hearts to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Score 1/2 inch (1 cm) border (don't cut all the way through), prick the middle of the tartlets with a fork.
- Spoon the cheese filling in the middle of the tartlets, omitting the borders.
- Place strawberries on top of the cheese filling.
- Brush the borders of the pastries with the egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar.1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- How to make cinnamon cookies from leftover puff pastry dough: cut off really thin pieces of dough. Divide the dough into uniformly sized pieces (more or less, see photo below). Brush the pieces on both sides with the remaining egg wash then sprinkle generously with cinnamon and granulated sugar. Bake for 20 minutes at 375°F (190°C) or until golden brown.
- Enjoy these pastries at their best right after baking. Although they may lose their crunch over time, you can reheat them in the oven to restore crispiness. Please note that after a couple of hours, the strawberries may not look as appetizing. It's best to bake them right before serving. You can prepare all the ingredients ahead and assemble before you plan on baking them.
- Calories = 1 pastry (1/6 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
Nutrition
Calories: 168kcal