This special spring recipe was featured in the 2003 edition of a newsletter produced by Park Stewardship (at the time called the Site Stewardship Program). This recipe was crafted by Ben Petersen, a former intern with a passion for baking. Enjoy!
Milagra Thimbleberry Tart
This is a nice tart to eat after a walk at Milagra Ridge. If, by chance, you have blackberries or raspberries (pictured) and/or yerba buena mint on hand, these will make a fine substitution for the thimbleberries and mint.
Ingredients:
- 1 8 or 9 inch pie crust (make your own if you can)
- 1 pint thimbleberries (or berries of your choice)
- 6 oz. of softened cream cheese
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons of fresh mint, very finely chopped (plus extra whole mint 1 leaves for garnish)
- Bake the pie crust until done. (If you are making your own pie crust you might want to add 1-2 tablespoons of fresh finely chopped mint to the dough.) Allow the crust to cool completely.
- Use a whisk or electric mixer and combine cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, mint, and 1 tablespoon of milk. Add more milk if needed to make a creamy, fluffy filling. Spread the filling in the cooled pie crust.
- Carefully arrange the berries on top of the cream cheese filling. Loosely cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Cut, garnish with the extra whole mint leaves, and serve.
June 29, 2014