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The Sweet Occasion » Recipes » Pies, Tarts & Crisps

Sour Cream Soufflé Tarts

Published: Nov 20, 2020 · Modified: Nov 20, 2020 by Maria Pagiotas · 2 Comments

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Sour Cream Soufflé Tarts are made with flaky pâte brisée, a layer of jam, and a light and airy baked cheesecake mixture.  It's the perfect blend of a tart and soufflé.  These French tarts are sure to be a bit hit at your next party.

Individual sour cream tart sliced in half showing flakey layer of pâte brisée, a layer of jam, and a light baked cheesecake mixture.

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Sour cream soufflé tarts, also known as tart au fromage blanc, are a cross between a baked cheesecake and a tart.  It's a beautiful and delicate pastry with a flaky, tender crust, a thin layer of jam, and sour cream soufflé filling.  Not only are these tarts a delicious afternoon treat with a cup of coffee or tea, but they make the perfect entertaining dessert that will have your guests wanting more.

Why this recipe works

  • Uses an easy-to-make buttery, flaky dough.
  • Bakes into beautiful souffle tarts.
  • It can be made with any flavor jam.
  • Pastry dough can be made ahead of time.

Before you begin

Take out the following baking equipment.

Digital kitchen scale
2 small bowls
Stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
Plastic wrap
Large baking sheet pan
Parchment paper
3-inch tart pans or rings
Fork
Pie weights
Medium bowl
Whisk attachment
Silicone spatula
Small offset spatula
Small sieve

Allow all of your ingredients to come to room temperature.
Read the recipe through from start to finish.

Understanding Ingredients for Sour Cream Soufflé Tarts

All-purpose flour is used for the pastry dough as it has just the right amount of flour to create a tender crust.  Cake flour has a lower protein content and would cause the shells to fall apart, and bread flour contains too much protein and lacks tenderness.

The cornstarch, all-purpose flour, and egg yolks are the thickening agents for the sour cream filling.  Using a combination of these three yields the best texture.  If only cornstarch were used, then the filling would become too starchy.  Using just flour would result in a rubbery texture, and extra egg yolks would give too powerful flavor to the tarts.

Egg whites are whipped with granulated sugar to create a stiff-peaked meringue which is added to the sour cream filling to lighten it and transform it into a souffle.

Sour cream tart with a flakey pâte brisée, a layer of jam, and a light baked cheesecake mixture on a plate with tarts in the background on a French wire rack.

What is Pâte Brisée

Pâte Brisée is a butter-based flaky dough used for either sweet or savory pies and tarts.  It’s made with four simple ingredients: salt, water, butter, and all-purpose flour.  It’s an excellent fundamental recipe to refer to often.

How to make Pâte Brisée

Combine salt and water.  In a small bowl, mix the salt and water until the salt has dissolved.

Mix butter and flour.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the softened butter and flour at low speed until evenly mixed.  Do not overmix the dough because the gluten will be activated, and the tart shells will not be tender.

Add the water.  Add the water to the flour mixture and continue to mix just until the dough comes together.  Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and flatten into a round disc.  Cover tightly and refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight.

How to roll out Pâte Brisée

When rolling out any pastry dough, it’s not about strength but rather a smooth and gentle motion.  Adding too much pressure to the dough will cause it to stick to your work surface or your rolling pin.

Line your work surface.  Place a piece of parchment paper or silpat on your work surface and lightly dust with flour.  Lining your surface is not required, but it’s easier to work with if the dough gets sticky.

Roll gently.  Begin at the edge nearest to you and gently roll in one direction to the edge furthest from you.  Repeat this motion twice.

Rotate.  Rotate the dough a quarter turn.  Check to see that the dough is not sticking to your surface, otherwise add a bit more flour.  You should always be able to slide the dough on your surface.

Repeat rolling. Roll the dough another 3 times and continue the process of rotating and rolling until the desired thickness is achieved.

What is a Soufflé?

A soufflé is a sweet or savory baked dish that has a flavored base mixed with beaten egg whites (meringue).  When it's baked, the air bubbles from the meringue expand and cause the soufflé to puff up.  Traditionally, a soufflé is baked in a dish, but these are baked straight into the pastry dough.

Individual sour cream tart sliced in half showing flakey layer of pâte brisée, a layer of jam, and a light baked cheesecake mixture.

How to make the perfect soufflé

Use a mixer.  Using a mixer will get air into the egg whites steady and fast, which creates a beautiful meringue.

Use room temperature eggs.  Allow your eggs to sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour.  Room temperature eggs will yield better peaks compared to cold eggs.

Keep all egg yolk out of the meringue.  It's so important to ensure the egg yolks do not get into the bowl of the egg whites.  Any little bit of yolk will prevent the whites from trapping air and creating the perfect meringue.

Mix the egg whites last. The egg whites and sugar should always be the last step of the process and baked immediately so that the soufflé doesn't deflate.

Tips and takeaways

  • When rolling your pastry dough, work briskly so that the dough doesn’t warm and become sticky.  If this happens, pop your dough into the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes to cool down and then continue the process.
  • Once your tart shells are pre-baked and cooled, use a Microplane to shave the shells’ tops to smooth any uneven edges and create a uniform height all around.
  • For the chocolate lover, substitute the jam with Nutella.

If you love tarts, then try these other recipes...

  • Asian Pear Tarts
  • Fig Tart
  • Raspberry Almond Tart
  • Apple Tart

Make sure to tag me @thesweetoccasion on Instagram and leave me a review below if you make these Sour Cream Soufflé Tarts. I’d love to see your creations and read your feedback.  And if you would like to make this recipe later, be sure to pin this recipe using the button on any of these images. Let’s make every occasion a sweet occasion!

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Individual sour cream tart sliced in half showing flakey layer of pâte brisée, a layer of jam, and a light baked cheesecake mixture.

Sour Cream Soufflé Tarts


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  • Author: Adapted from the Art of French Pastry
  • Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
  • Yield: 12 3-inch tarts 1x
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Description

Sour Cream Soufflé Tarts are made with flaky pâte brisée, a layer of jam, and a light and airy baked cheesecake mixture.  It's the perfect combination of a tart and soufflé.  These French tarts are sure to be a big hit at your next party.


Ingredients

Scale

For the Pâte Brisée

  • 4 g (1 teaspoon) salt
  • 85 g (6 tablespoons) water
  • 226 g (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
  • 370 g (2 ⅔ cups) all-purpose flour

For the filling

  • 3 g (1 teaspoon) cornstarch
  • 2 g (1 teaspoon) all-purpose flour
  • 28 g (2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
  • 4 g (1 teaspoon) whole milk
  • 4 g (1 teaspoon) pure vanilla extract
  • 20 g (1 large) egg yolk
  • 8 g (2 teaspoons) heavy cream
  • 100 g (⅓ cup) sour cream, at room temperature
  • 40 g (1 ⅓ large) egg whites, at room temperature
  • 40 g (3 tablespoons) granulated sugar
  • 170 (¾ cup) your favorite jam
  • Powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

For the Pâte Brisée

  1. In a small bowl, mix the salt and water until the salt has dissolved.  Set aside.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the softened butter and flour.  Mix on low speed until well combined.  Add the water to the mixture and continue to mix just until the dough comes together.  Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and flatten into a round disc.  Cover tightly and refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight.
  3. Line a baking sheet pan with parchment paper and place twelve 3-inch tart pans or rings on the pan.  Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll into a ⅛-inch (3 mm) thickness.  Cut out twelve circles to fit the tart pans or rings.  Allow the dough to fall into place into your pan so that there are no gaps in the corner of the pan or where the tart ring meets the sheet pan.  Refrigerate the dough uncovered for at least 1 hour.
  4. Preheat oven to 325°F/163°C with the rack positioned in the middle of the oven.  Remove the tart shells from the refrigerator.  Using a fork, perforate the bottom of each shell.  Line your tart shells with parchment paper and pie weights, dried beans, or rice.
  5. Bake your tart shell in your preheated oven for 15 minutes.  Remove the parchment and pie weights and return you tart shells to the oven for an additional 15-18 minutes or until light golden brown.  Allow shells to cool.

For the filling

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F/190°.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, flour, and 28 g (2 tablespoons) of sugar.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla, egg yolk, and heavy cream.  Add the flour mixture to the milk mixture and whisk together.  Add the sour cream and whisk to combine.  Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the egg whites and whip on high speed for 10 seconds.  Add half of the 40 g (1 ½ tablespoons) of sugar and whip on high for 2 minutes.  Add the remaining sugar and whip on high for an additional 2 minutes, or until the meringue has stiff peaks.
  4. Gently fold the meringue into the sour cream mixture until evenly combined.
  5. Spread 14 g (1 tablespoon) of jam on the bottom of each pre-baked tart shell.  Divide the sour cream mixture evenly between each tart shell, filling the tarts to the rim.  Use a small offset spatula or knife to carefully level each tart.  Dust with powdered sugar.
  6. Place the tarts in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes or until puffed and light brown.  Serve immediately.

Notes

Make-Ahead:  You can make the Pâte Brisée up to 3 days in advance.  Cover tightly and keep refrigerated.

  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Category: Tarts

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    Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

  1. Jesse-Gabriel says

    November 23, 2020 at 7:38 pm

    Sieht himmlisch aus, einfach lecker, da kann keiner widerstehen, yummi!
    Viele Grüße sendet,
    Jesse-Gabriel aus Berlin

    Reply
    • Maria says

      November 24, 2020 at 1:23 am

      Thank you so much!!

      Reply

Hello! I'm Maria, a professionally trained pastry chef, blogger, and photographer. Here at The Sweet Occasion, you'll find easy and impressive baking recipes for everyday occasions that save you time. My goal is to inspire home bakers to bake from scratch.

More about me →

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