Easy blackberry puff pastry tarts
Sweet summer blackberries are tucked into lime-flecked cream cheese to make this simple, yet delicious blackberry puff pastry tart recipe. Made with store-bought puff pastry, these easy fruit tarts are ready in about 30 minutes.
I’ll give you variations and substitutions where I can, plus helpful tips and tricks for success. Read on for this info as well as the recipe. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.
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Blackberry puff pastry tart
Store-bought puff pastry means making these blackberry tarts is a breeze. This is the perfect summer dessert or treat when you want something flaky, buttery and delicious, but you don’t want to spend loads of time in the kitchen.
What you need to know
This recipe for blackberry puff pastry tarts is unbelievable easy, but there are a few helpful tips and tricks that you need to know before we start.
The most important tip is to keep the puff pastry as cold as you can. When puff pastry gets too warm, it becomes harder to work with. It will feel a bit “slack”, it will get sticky, and not as easy to cut and score. Keep it refrigerated until you are ready to use it.
You can make as many, or as few, of these tarts as needed. I get 6 good-sized tarts out of one sheet of pastry pastry. You can easily get 9 tarts out of one sheet, which is a great option if you want a smaller dessert.
Lastly, look for plump, juicy blackberries that don’t look wrinkled. Check them carefully near the stem end for mold, and discard any that aren’t good.
Ingredients
Common pantry ingredients are all you need to make these easy blackberry puff pastry tarts.
- Puff pastry – Pepperidge Farm brand is the most widely available, but it uses oil instead of butter.
- Substitutions: My favorite brand is DuFour Pastry Kitchen puff pastry. It’s what we use in restaurant kitchens, it is very good, and is made with butter. You can also look for a store brand, like I have here.
- Blackberries – Ripe, juicy blackberries are tossed with lime juice and vanilla bean paste.
- Cream cheese – Softened cream cheese is sweetened with a bit of powdered sugar, then I’ve added a bit of lime zest and juice for some zing.
How to make
Here’s a quick summary of how to make fruit tarts with puff pastry. Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full recipe.
Before you pull the puff pastry out of the fridge, make the sweetened cream cheese for the base of the tart, then toss the blackberries with lime juice and vanilla. This won’t take long to do, but you don’t want the puff pastry sitting out and getting warm while you’re doing this. The pastry needs to stay cold, so it’s best to do this first.
- Prep – Preheat oven to 400°F / 200°C. Remove the puff pastry from the fridge and unfold it. Use a rolling pin to gently roll over the pastry. We’re not trying to make it thinner, we want to even out the creases in the dough and make it more level. Then, cut the piece of puff pastry into 6 even pieces. Use a sharp paring knife to score a border along the edges. Finally, use a fork to dock the middle of the puff pastry.
- Add the sweetened cream cheese to the base of the pastry, staying within the border you made. I like about 1/8″ thick layer.
- Pile the blackberries on top of the cream cheese, gently pressing them into place. Brush the edges with an egg wash.
- Bake until the edges are golden and puffed, 16 – 18 minutes. Cool, then drizzle with glaze and top with a little lime zest, if desired.
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You can buy a blackberry Danish at the bakery, but when it’s this easy to make them at home, this is clearly the better option!
Blackberry puff pastry tarts FAQ’s
The blackberry tarts are best on the day they are made. They will be fine the next day, but by day 3, they won’t be quite as good.
Because these tarts have cream cheese, it is best to store them in the refrigerator, wrapped tightly.
Storage / Freezing Information
To store: Place leftover blackberry puff pastry tarts in the refrigerator, wrapped tightly, for up to 3 days.
To freeze: I do not recommend freezing the tarts.
Variations and substitutions
- Jam – If berries are out of season, you can use well-drained frozen berries, or your favorite jam to make jam puff pastry tarts.
- Dairy-free / vegan – Replace cream cheese with a non-dairy option. Look for a puff pastry, like Pepperidge Farms, that uses oil instead of butter. Read the labels carefully, as some products may not be vegan.
- Almonds – Add a sprinkling of sliced almonds to the tops of the puff pastry tarts for a little crunch.
Puff pastry tart recipes
Try some of my other puff pastry tart recipes:
Helpful tools and equipment
- Heavy duty sheet pans that hold up to high temps without warping.
- Parchment paper sheets are MUCH easier to use than tearing pieces off of a roll.
- Small offset spatula – I find this tool makes it easier to spread the cream cheese, plus I use this all the time for spreading icing on cookies, cupcakes, cakes, etc.
- Pastry brush – it’s perfect for brushing on egg wash, melted butter, cream glazes, etc.
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Blackberry Puff Pastry Tarts
Ingredients
- 1 sheet store-bought puff pastry chilled , *see note
- 5 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- 12 ounces blackberries *2 – 6 ounce packages
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste *Substitute with vanilla extract if you don't have paste
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 egg whisked with 1 tbsp. of water to make egg wash
Glaze
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons milk
Instructions
Make the puff pastry tarts
- Thaw frozen puff pastry in the refrigerator overnight, or if you're in a hurry – on the counter for about 30 minutes, uncovered.Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Make egg wash by whisking egg with 1 tablespoon of water, then set aside.
- Combine room temperature cream cheese with lime zest, a teaspoon of lime juice, and ¼ cup powdered sugar in a small mixing bowl. Whisk to thoroughly combine until it is smooth and uniform. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, toss blackberries with vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract) and remaining lime juice, then set aside.
- Remove puff pastry from fridge. It will be folded in thirds. Gently open it up, like a brochure, on a clean kitchen towel or lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, lightly roll over the dough, just to even it out and level the creases a bit – do not use much pressure, we don't want to make it thinner.
- Using a sharp Chefs knife or a pizza cutter, cut the sheet of dough into 6 equal pieces. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Then score a border along the edges with a paring knife. Use a fork to dock the middle of the puff pastry.
- Spread about 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture in the middle of each piece of puff pastry. (I use an offset spatula for this.)
- Pile the blackberries on top of the cream cheese mixture and lightly press them down to secure in place. Brush edges of puff pastry with egg wash.
- Bake for 16 – 18 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Let them cool on the sheet pan.
- While the tarts are cooling, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk for the glaze. When tarts have cooled completely, drizzle glaze over the tarts, and add additional lime zest, if desired.Store leftover tarts in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
- For the glaze: Start with 2 teaspoons of milk, and adjust to your desired consistency from there. I like the glaze thin enough to drizzle, but you may prefer your glaze thicker, or thinner.
- After using this particular brand of puff pastry, I was unimpressed. It did not “puff” much at all.
Nutrition
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Made this on Thursday for guests (and Dave and me)! Very simple recipe, easy to make, and really tasty! I made exactly as written BUT we did add a little Redi-Whip…delicious!!
Thank you, Deb!! I’m so happy they were a hit! 🙂