It's Strawberry Time & a Strawberry Tart Recipe

My strawberry picking this year consisted of driving 5 minutes down the road and carefully selecting eight gallons of pre-picked strawberries from a local berry stand.  The price wasn't that much more, and in my current pregnant condition, the husband forbade me to go to the strawberry patch with the kids this year.  I'm glad he put his foot down!  I spent most of one morning just hulling strawberries and freezing them for a year's worth of smoothies.  I also made two batches of strawberry freezer jam.

Then, I ventured out and tried three new strawberry recipes over the weekend.

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These scones were delicious.  They did take a bit longer to bake than the recipe said, but I loved the brown sugar crumble topping.

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I also tried the Strawberry Icebox Cake {minus the rosewater and chocolate on top} pictured above and it was wonderful.  I love that it wasn't too sweet and even our eight-year old neighbor boy next door enjoyed it.

The recipe I'm sharing with you today is from Faith Durand's new book, Bakeless Sweets, which is a great cookbook and especially wonderful at this time of year.  This cookbook is full of delicious recipes that are perfect for summer when backyard entertaining is in full swing and no one really wants to turn on the oven.

The crust has white chocolate in it, which is one of my favorites, as well as old-fashioned oats, so you could really say that it's a healthy crust....

The filling is somewhat of a cheesecake/lemon-gelatin combination with some chopped strawberries.  I only had strawberry slices for the garnish, but white chocolate shavings and almonds are recommended in the recipe.

This was super easy to make and was cool and light--the perfect summer dessert combination.

Strawberry Tart with White Chocolate and Oat Crust

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats, roughly chopped
4 oz. white chocolate, finely chopped, plus more for garnish
1 generous cup graham cracker crumbs
2 lemons, zested and juiced {I only did the juice part}
2 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 pound strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped, divided
1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted {I omitted these}

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, then stir in the chopped oats and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in the white chocolate and cook, stirring frequently, until it has melted.  Pour the mixture over the graham cracker crumbs in a large bowl and stir until it has a wet, sandy consistency.  Quickly press the warm mixture into a 9-inch pie pan and place in the refrigerator to begin chilling.

Put the lemon juice in a small saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin over the surface.  Let the gelatin soften for 5 minutes, then warm the pan over medium heat until the gelatin is fully dissolved.  Turn off the heat and set the pan aside.

In the blow of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the cream cheese until very light and fluffy.  Add the condensed milk, lemon zest {if using} and gelatin mixture and beat until well combined.  Gently fold in half of the strawberries and spread this mixture into the chilled pie crust.  Top with the toasted almonds {if using}.  Chill for a full 2 hours, or until quite firm.

Serve slices topped with the remaining strawberries and shavings of white chocolate.

source:  Bakeless Sweets, by Faith Durand