Puff Pastry Asparagus Tart
The most delicious and easy puff pastry tart with a cream cheese base, lemony asparagus, sharp parmesan cheese and salty prosciutto topped with a drizzle of sweet honey. It’s pretty much perfect! This tart is great as an appetizer, for a party, for brunch or anytime you want something extra delicious. And you can serve it hot or cold!
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I have to admit, I was intimidated by puff pastry for the longest time. I’ve tried to use it and failed so many times that I almost gave up on eating the deliciously puffed, flaky dough. Eventually I gave it another go and finally I figured it out. The key is for it to be thawed but still very cold. This makes the puff pastry the easiest to work with. When it gets too warm, that’s when you get into trouble.
This puff pastry asparagus tart is the absolute best!
It starts with thawed, but cold, puff pastry. It’s rolled out to fit on a sheet pan. I like to put down some parchment paper first. Then you score it all the way around giving the tart a crust. Basically, you’re taking a sharp knife and making a smaller rectangle about an inch inside but not cutting all the way through.
The outside will will puff up making your “crust”. Then a layer of soft cream cheese, then a layer of asparagus spears that have been tossed in olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Next freshly shredded parmesan cheese. It’s baked until golden brown and delicious looking, topped with pieces of salty prosciutto, and a drizzle of honey. It really is the most delicious combination!
Puff Pastry Tips
- Puff pastry comes frozen, usually there’s 2 sheets per box. You’ll want to thaw it first but keep it cold. Thawing over night in the refrigerator is the best way. But if you’re short on time leave it on the counter top for 15 minutes. You want it to be pliable but not too soft.
- Only unfold it when it’s thawed. I’ve made this mistake so many times (Insert face palm). If you try to unroll it while it’s still frozen it will break into pieces. So if it’s not unfolding fairly easily, it’s not ready. If it starts to crack when you are unfolding, just wait a few minutes and try again.
- Roll it out on a floured work surface with a floured rolling pin. Think of puff pastry like pie crust. I’ve also found, at least for this recipe, if you spread the softened cream cheese on the puff pastry with an offset spatula you can stretch it more with the offset spatula as you spread it from the inside towards the edges.
- Make sure to prick it many times with a fork before adding any toppings. The fork holes prevents it from puffing up where you don’t want it to puff up, like in the middle. In this recipe we’ll only pierce the middle part and not the edges because we want the edges to puff up like a pizza crust.
What you’ll need to make puff pastry asparagus tart:
- sheet pan
- parchment paper
- offset spatula
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- lemon juice
- 1 pound of asparagus spears, trimmed
- cream cheese- 3 ounces, room temperature
- 1 egg for an egg wash around the sides
- prosciutto- 3 slices torn into pieces
- honey for drizzling
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Puff Pastry Asparagus Tart
Ingredients
- 1 package puff pastry thawed but cold
- 1 lb asparagus ends cut
- 3 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1/2 lemon- zest and juice
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- 3 slices prosciutto chopped
- Honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- On a floured surface roll out the puff pastry. Place the puff pastry on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
- Score all sides 1 inch in, so there’s a crust all the way around. Poke the inside rectangle of the puff pastry all over with a fork. Spread the cream cheese inside the rectangle, leaving the crust plain.
- Toss the asparagus with the olive oil, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Add the asparagus on top of the cream cheese in a single layer. I like to alternate the way the spears face. Squeeze the lemon juice over the asparagus. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over top of the asparagus.
- In a small bowl whisk the egg and brush over the 1 inch crust, all the way around.
- Bake 22-25 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and add the chopped prosciutto and drizzle the entire tart with honey.
- Cut into squares and serve warm or room temperature.
