Cheese

Cheese Strudel Breakfast Tarts

by:
January 21, 2016
4.7
3 Ratings
  • Makes ~16
Author Notes

With all the baked items on a brunch buffet, it's fun to have the crunchy filo texture with a creamy filling . —LeBec Fin

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Cheese Strudel Filling
  • Have all Ingredients at room temp:
  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • 12 ounces farmer's cheese
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 2 teaspoons orange zest or lemon zest, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/3 cup toasted whole almonds, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup currants, soaked in hot water ~ 20 minutes,til soft, drained
  • Making, Filling and Forming Tarts
  • 1 lb. filo
  • 1/2 lb. melted unsalted butter
  • confectioner's sugar
Directions
  1. Cheese Strudel Filling
  2. In standing mixer with a paddle, cream the cream cheese til smooth. Add the farmers cheese and mix well. Add sugar and beat in each yolk , beating well after each addition. Transfer to a smaller bowl and add zest through currants.
  1. Making, Filling and Forming Tarts
  2. Remove filo from package, lay flat on the counter; cover with a well dampened kitchen towel. Remove four filo sheets and place the stack in front of yourself, replacing the towel on the other filo.
  3. Like opening a book, fold over the left side of the three top filo sheets, leaving the bottom sheet exposed. Lightly brush this bottom sheet with melted butter, starting with its three edges, and ending with some swipes in the middle. Repeat with the second and third sheets. Fold back the last open sheet.Leave it unbuttered. Now fold back the right side and butter each sheet, like you did on the left side.
  4. Cut the stack into six 6 x 6 inch squares, and gently push down each 6 inch square into a 1/2 cup muffin tin cup.
  5. Fill each cup with ~ 1/4 cup of cheese strudel filling. Butter and cut more filo stacks as needed. Cut circles or squares out of extra 4-layer buttered filo stacks and place one on each tart to cover the filling.
  6. Brush the tops of all the tarts with melted butter. Bake at 375 degrees F for ~ 25 minutes til browned and the filling is firm and cooked through. Let sit til room temp. , then pop out and serve with a light dusting of confectioner's sugar.
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My eating passions are Japanese, Indian, Mexican; with Italian and French following close behind. Turkish/Arabic/Mediterranean cuisines are my latest culinary fascination. My desert island ABCs are actually 4 Cs: citrus, cumin, cilantro, cardamom, and GARLIC! I am so excited by the level of sophistication that I see on Food52 and hope to contribute recipes that will inspire you like yours do me. I would like to ask a favor of all who do try a recipe of mine > Would you plse review it and tell me truthfully how it worked for you and/or how you think it would be better? I know many times we feel that we don't want to hurt someone's feelings, but. i really do want your honest feedback because it can only help me improve the recipe.Thanks so much.

1 Review

inpatskitchen January 22, 2016
YUM! This sounds fabulous!