Honey-Glazed Apple Cream Cheese Tart

Sometimes, you can't argue with a classic

Honey-Glazed Apple Cream Cheese Tart

For the Pâte Sucrée (adapted from Joanne Chang)

½ cup (1 stick, 4 oz) room temperature unsalted butter cut into 8 pieces

¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar 

½ tsp kosher salt 

1 cup (120 g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 large egg yolk

For the Fillings

1 8oz block of room temperature cream cheese*

1 large egg

2 tbsp honey

½ cup (100g) granulated sugar

Zest of one lemon

2 large baking apples (granny smith, gala, or honey crisp will do), cut into ¼ inch slices

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

1 tbsp lemon juice

For the Glaze

4 tbsp unsalted butter

¼ cup honey

Kosher salt to taste

*Philadelphia cream cheese is the best cream cheese, and that is a hill I’m willing to die on. 

---

Equipment

9 inch tart pan with removable bottom

Stand mixer or hand mixer

Sheet tray

2 large mixing bowls

Small saucepan

---

Prepare Pâte Sucrée

Cream together butter, sugar, and salt on high speed until pale and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and beater every minute. Add flour and mix for another 30 seconds until mixture resembles wet sand. Add egg yolk and mix for another 30 seconds, or until dough comes together.

Press dough into tart shell and chill for 2 hours, up to overnight. Dough can also be wrapped in plastic and kept in the fridge for a week.  

Par-Bake Tart Shell

Preheat oven to 400F

Remove tart shell from fridge, place a sheet of parchment or aluminum inside the shell and fill completely with sugar, dried beans, or pie weights to weigh it down. Place tart shell on a sheet tray and bake in lower third of the oven with weights for 15 minutes. Remove weights and bake for an additional 4-5 minutes. 

Prepare Fillings and Bake

Beat together cream cheese, egg, ½ cup sugar, honey, and lemon zest until combined. In a separate bowl, toss apples in remaining sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice and set aside.

Fill the par-baked crust with cream cheese mixture (you may have excess based on how deep your tart pan is - do not overfill the tart) and lay apple slices concentrically on top. Bake at 400F in lower third of the oven until apples are cooked through, and cream cheese filling is set and lightly puffed, approximately 30 minutes. 

Glaze the Tart

While the tart is baking, combine butter and honey in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until combined. Remove heat and add salt to taste. 

Remove tart from pan and glaze the tart on a wire rack with a pastry brush while the tart is still warm. Allow to cool completely and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.