Fresh Berry and Cream Cheese Mousse Phyllo Tartlets

Fresh Berry and Cream Cheese Mousse Phyllo Tartlets
Fresh Berry and Cream Cheese Mousse Phyllo Tartlets

Ingredients

For the shells:
  • ¼ cup pistachio nuts
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 6 phyllo sheets
  • 4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
  • ¼ cup lemon curd
  • ¼ cup wild blackberry jam (or use your favorite jam)
  • ½ cup cold whipping cream
  • 8 oz vanilla cheesecake leftovers, at room temperature
  • Zest of 1 small lemon
  • Fresh raspberries and blackberries (about half pint each)
  • Finely chopped pistachios for sprinkling
  • Mint leaves for garnish

Instructions

Make the tartlet shells:
  1. Center an oven rack and preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly spray 24 mini-muffin molds with oil spray. Set aside.
  2. In a bowl of the food processor, combine the pistachios and sugar. Process until finely ground.
  3. Cover a working surface with a large sheet of parchment paper. 
  4. Place 1 sheet of phyllo on the parchment paper, with one long side parallel to the edge of the work surface. Brush the phyllo sheet with the melted butter, and sprinkle with about 2 tablespoons of nut-sugar mixture. 
  5. Cover the rest of the phyllo with plastic wrap first and then with a damp dish towel (avoid direct contact of the phyllo with the wet towel to prevent the phyllo from getting soggy). 
  6. Repeat with one more phyllo sheet. Do not brush the top of the last (3rd) sheet with the butter and don’t sprinkle it with nut mixture. Using a large cookie or biscuit cutter cut out 3-inch circles (you should be able to get 12 of them). Alternatively, you can cut the phyllo stack into 3-inch squares instead. 
  7. Carefully, fit the circles (or squares) into the prepared muffin molds. Slide into the oven and bake for about 12 minutes until the phyllo shells are crisp and golden brown. Cool completely on a cooling rack before unmolding.
  8. Repeat #3 to #7 with the remaining 3 phyllo sheets.
  9. The baked phyllo shells can be baked several days in advance and kept, unfilled, in an air-tight container at room temperature. Fill the shells close to the serving time.

Make the filling, fill the tartlets:
  1. Spoon about 1 tsp of lemon curd into 12 baked phyllo shells. Spoon about 1 tsp of jam into another 12 shells. Set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer, whip the cream until it holds medium peaks. Set aside for a moment.
  3. In another small bowl, using the same hand-held electric mixer with the same attachment (to minimize a cleanup), whip the cheesecake with the lemon zest until smooth and light. 
  4. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake mixture in two additions until incorporated. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a large tip. Pipe the mousse over the curd/jam. 
  5. Arrange the berries over the top, sprinkle some pistachios, garnish with the mint leaves and serve. The tartlets will remain perfectly crispy for a couple of hours, then they will soften slightly.