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sweet grape tart on a plate
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5 from 2 votes

Puff Pastry Grape Tarts

Puff pastry grape tarts topped with jammy roasted grapes can be sweet with muscovado cream or savory with lemony goat cheese and prosciutto. Choose one style and use the whole quantity indicated for each filling, or make both and halve the amounts. You will need half a batch of our roasted grapes, with their juices simmered down into a syrup for finishing.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Savory Tarts
Cuisine: American
Keyword: grape tart
Servings: 4
Calories: 519kcal
Author: Carolyn Gratzer Cope

Ingredients

For the tart shells

  • 1 14- ounce 397-gram package puff pastry
  • 1 tablespoon (14 grams) butter
  • 1 tablespoon (21 grams) honey

For sweet tarts

  • 4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese
  • ¼ cup (60 grams) sour cream
  • ¼ cup (50 grams) light muscovado sugar

For savory tarts

  • 8 ounces (225 grams) fresh goat cheese
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 thin slices prosciutto

To top both tart types

Instructions

  • Make the tart shells
  • Preheat oven to 400°F.
  • On a lightly floured surface, unfold, flour, and roll out the puff pastry to a square of at least 12 inches. Use a 5-inch round cutter or an overturned bowl and a paring knife to cut out four 5-inch circles.
  • Using a 3-inch round cutter, make a smaller circle inside each round. Press down so that the cutter goes most of the way through the layers of pastry, but not all the way through, leaving the centers attached.
  • Transfer the rounds to a parchment- or silpat-lined baking sheet.
  • Generously prick the inner circles with a fork to discourage rising.
  • Melt the butter in a small bowl. Stir in the honey until smooth.
  • Brush the honey butter over the surface of the shells.
  • Bake for 25 minutes, covering loosely with foil when the shells have browned to your liking. You can roast the grapes at the same time. Remove from oven and let cool. If centers have risen too much, you can gently press them down a bit to compress the layers and make more room for the filling.

  • Prepare the tart filling(s)
  • To make the sweet tart filling, place cream cheese, sour cream, and muscovado sugar into a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle. Beat until smooth, light, and creamy.
  • To make the savory tart filling, place goat cheese, lemon juice, salt, and pepper into a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle. You can use a fork to blend until smooth and creamy or beat with an electric mixer (or stand mixer paddle). If you use a fork and the mixture is a bit stiff, you can pop it into the microwave for a few seconds to warm it and make it perfectly spreadable.
  • Assemble the tarts
  • Spoon ¼ of the creamy filling into the center of each tart shell and spread evenly over the inner section.
  • For savory tarts, drape two pieces of prosciutto over the center of each tart.
  • Spoon some of the roasted grapes over each tart.
  • Drizzle with a bit of the syrup and serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

  1. Dufour is my favorite brand of puff pastry by far, but it’s more expensive and sometimes less available than supermarket brands. You can use whatever brand you like. Dufour comes in a 14-ounce package that's a single sheet. If you're working with a 17-ounce package that contains two sheets, you can use just one sheet for this recipe.
  2. Any honey will do. I like to use good old supermarket honey, which has a nice, mild flavor and easy consistency.
  3. Don't waste the puff pastry scraps. Cut them into three-bite pieces of whatever shape you like, give them a couple of twists, and brush them with honey butter. Bake and snack!
  4. Muscovado sugar is a less-refined brown sugar that retains a lot if its molasses character. It has a beautiful caramelly, earthy vibe. I like to use light muscovado, which is less intense than dark. You can use regular light brown sugar if that's what you've got.
  5. If you like, you can make these tarts with a regular pastry crust, either in individual serving sizes or as a single 10-inch tart. Use a fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Here's my favorite savory tart dough, and here's a great crust for sweet tarts.
  6. These tarts are great served at room temperature, so it's fine to make them anytime during the day you plan to serve them. You can assemble them at the last minute for peak freshness, but they'll hold well if you assemble them in advance, too.
  7. Leftovers will not be in optimal form, but you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for a day or two.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 519kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 504mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g