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The Cream Tart is a delicious cake with a truly spectacular appearance, created by Israeli pastry chef Adi Klinghofer, which became extremely popular on social media in 2018, especially on Instagram. Made with Shortcrust Pastry and Mascarpone Cream, the Cream Tart Cake is unique because it can be shaped into any form you desire, although the most popular versions are Number Cream Tarts, Letter Cream Tarts, and Heart-shaped Cream Tarts. And it’s this last version that we’re going to make today!
At first glance, the Cream Tart Cake might seem extremely difficult to make: in reality, it’s quite easy, as it’s simply a Shortcrust Pastry Cake filled with Mascarpone Cream. Moreover, you can decorate it with any ingredients you prefer! In our recipe, we’ll show you two different ways to decorate the Heart-shaped Cream Tart, a dessert we’ve chosen to make for Valentine’s Day!
If you’re looking for other Heart-shaped Valentine’s Day Desserts, don’t miss out on our Chocolate Cupcakes with Pink Hearts, Valentine’s Day Cookies, and Red Velvet Hearts! And now, let’s discover together the original Cream Tart Cake recipe!
Note: Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese that can be found in most supermarkets’ specialty cheese sections. If unavailable, you can substitute with a mixture of cream cheese and heavy cream (2:1 ratio).
Ingredients
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Instructions
To prepare the Cream Tart, start by making the shortcrust pastry. Cut the butter into cubes and place it in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add sugar, grated lemon zest, and a pinch of salt.
Attach the paddle or leaf attachment and mix until all ingredients are well combined. Add egg yolks and mix to incorporate them into the mixture. Gradually add the flour and mix until you achieve the typical shortcrust pastry consistency.
Transfer the dough to your work surface, knead it briefly with your hands and form it into a disk. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for about two hours.
While the pastry is chilling, print or draw a heart shape of your desired size on an A4 paper, then cut it out to create your template.
Take out the chilled dough and roll it out to about half a centimeter thickness. Cut out two hearts using your template, then bake them one at a time in a conventional oven at 180°C (350°F) for about 10 minutes.
While the hearts are baking, prepare the mascarpone cream. Using an electric mixer, whip together the heavy cream, mascarpone cheese, and powdered sugar until you get a thick and fluffy mixture.
As each heart is done baking, remove from the oven and let them cool completely before filling. Once cooled, place the first heart on a serving platter.
Transfer the mascarpone cream to a piping bag fitted with a plain round tip. Pipe uniform dollops of cream next to each other on the first heart, making sure they are as similar in size as possible.
Place the second shortcrust heart on top of the mascarpone cream layer and repeat the piping process with the cream.
Decorate the top layer of mascarpone cream with your preferred toppings – in this case, we used blueberries, red currants, raspberries, and mint leaves. Once decorated, refrigerate the cake for at least 2 hours.
After the resting time, remove from the refrigerator and serve your Cream Tart immediately!
