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This little beauty was made for the special occasion of dinner and French Chef watching over at the Maestro’s. It. is. divine. The slight tartness of the fresh strawberries pairs perfectly with the sweet and nutty flavor of the almond cream and the slivered almonds in the crust. Plus I got to use my tart pan for the first time!

Read on for (lots) more pictures and the recipe…
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Ingredients (the original recipe was for a 9" tart pan but mine is 12" so I got to do some fun math...hey, it does help in real life!)

4 cups strawberries, hulled and cut in half.
Juice from 1/2 lemon (I actually forgot this bit and all was well)

CRUST:
about 19 graham crackers
3 1/2 tbsp sugar
7 tbsp water
7 tbsp melted butter
1 cup slivered almonds


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FILLING:
8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
about 4 oz. skim Greek yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/3 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp or more of almond extract (depends on your tastes)

BERRY SAUCE:

3 cups strawberries
1 1/4 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup sugar (don’t overdo this!)



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Directions

CRUST:

  • Using the bag method, crush the graham crackers.


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  • Pour in the sugar.

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  • Pour in the water.

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  • Pour in the melted butter.

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  • Mix all ingredients together and press into tart pan using your fingers to spread out the mixture up the sides of the pan. The bottom of a measuring cup can work well for the edges, but make sure it’s greased, otherwise the crust sticks to it and pulls up from the pan!
  • Bake for 8 minutes at 350F.
  • Crush almonds using bag method then sprinkle over crust and bake 3 – 4 more minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

FILLING:
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BERRY SAUCE:





  • Rinse and stem strawberries then place in food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

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  • Place in saucepan with cornstarch and sugar.
  • Heat over medium high until it boils.
  • Turn heat to low and cook one more minute.
  • Let cool, stirring occasionally to avoid any skin forming.

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Assembly:
Now comes the fun part. Assembling!


  • Pour the almond cream into the cooled crust and spread with a spatula.

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  • Cover the tart in lovely strawberries!

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  • Pour the sauce over the tart.

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  • Admire your tart before chilling 3 hour or overnight!

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Check out that amazing/awesome tart crust! This is after chilling overnight…Enjoy with a light Rosé or white wine. Yum!!



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