These strawberry cheesecake crumble tarts are a small batch bake that makes six individual tarts — ready-rolled puff pastry cut into squares, spread with a simple sweetened cream cheese, topped with sliced fresh strawberries and scattered with a three-ingredient crumble before being baked until golden. They are the fourteenth recipe in the Small Batch Bakes series and one of the most straightforwardly summery things on the blog — a celebration of British strawberry season that does not overcomplicate the fruit or bury it under other flavours. The pastry puffs around the edges into a golden, flaky border; the cream cheese melts into something rich and slightly tangy beneath the strawberries; the crumble adds a buttery, golden crunch on top. Best eaten warm from the oven, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a spoonful of crème fraîche or a pour of double cream (heavy cream) alongside.

Why I Created This Recipe

These tarts were inspired by British strawberry season and the extraordinary quality of the fruit it produces — sweet, fragrant and deeply flavoured in a way that only lasts for a few weeks each year. I wanted a bake that celebrated that flavour without overcomplicating it or adding a tonne of other things to compete with it, and these tarts are exactly that.

The combination of puff pastry, sweetened cream cheese and fresh strawberries is one of those ideas that sounds simple and then completely delivers — the pastry provides the buttery, flaky base; the cream cheese adds richness and a gentle tanginess that works beautifully with the sweetness of the fruit; and the crumble on top gives the kind of golden, buttery crunch that makes a good tart genuinely great. Three components, six tarts, one baking tray, twenty minutes in the oven. This is summer baking at its most effortless.

About the Small Batch Bakes Series

Small Batch Bakes is a series dedicated to baking in smaller, more manageable quantities — recipes that give you something genuinely special without the commitment of a full-sized batch. These strawberry cheesecake crumble tarts are the latest recipe in the series, making six individual tarts — enough for a generous pudding for the week, a small gathering or an afternoon of summer baking that does not leave you with more than you can eat.

British Strawberry Season

British strawberry season runs from late May through to early September, with June and July marking the peak — the point at which the berries are at their sweetest, most fragrant and most deeply flavoured. Modern growing techniques, including the widespread use of polytunnels, have extended the season considerably over the past few decades, meaning British-grown strawberries are now available for much more of the summer than they used to be.

If you are in the midst of British strawberry season and looking for more ways to use the fruit, the strawberry and feta salad with candied pecans, the strawberry top syrup and the sparkling strawberry iced green tea are all worth exploring.

Why You'll Want to Make This Recipe

A Celebration of British Strawberries

This is a bake built entirely around the flavour of a great British strawberry — no competing flavours, no unnecessary additions. The cream cheese, the pastry and the crumble are all there to support the fruit, not to distract from it. At peak season, the strawberries do most of the work.

Small Batch, Six Tarts

Six individual tarts from one sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry — the perfect small batch yield for a week of puddings, a small gathering or an afternoon bake that does not leave you overwhelmed. The Small Batch Bakes series exists precisely for moments like this.

Remarkably Simple

Ready-rolled puff pastry means no pastry-making; the cream cheese filling takes two minutes to mix; the crumble takes five minutes to rub together by hand. The oven does the rest in twenty minutes. This is one of the most achievable bakes on the blog, and one of the most impressive-looking results for the effort involved.

Three Textures in Every Bite

Flaky, golden pastry; rich, slightly tangy cream cheese; sweet, juicy strawberry; and a buttery, crunchy crumble on top — every element adds a different texture and flavour, and together they are genuinely extraordinary. This is a tart that rewards every component being present.

A Note on Ready-Rolled Puff Pastry

Ready-rolled puff pastry is one of the most useful things in a home baker's freezer — and using it here is not a shortcut so much as the right call. Making puff pastry from scratch is a lengthy, technical process that produces something genuinely magnificent, but for a quick summer tart where the filling is the star, a good quality ready-rolled sheet gives excellent results with a fraction of the effort.

A standard 320g sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry is exactly what this recipe uses — no weighing required, just unroll and cut. Most supermarkets stock it either chilled or frozen; the chilled version is ready to use immediately, while the frozen version needs defrosting in the fridge overnight. Both work equally well.

Look for an all-butter puff pastry if you can find one — the flavour is noticeably richer and more buttery than versions made with vegetable fat, and for a tart this simple, the quality of the pastry matters.

My Top Tips for the Perfect Strawberry Cheesecake Crumble Tarts

• Use full-fat cream cheese — not light or reduced-fat. Full-fat cream cheese has a richer, more stable consistency that holds up during baking without becoming watery or splitting. Light cream cheese contains more moisture and can make the base of the tart wet and soggy.
• Leave a 1cm border around the edge of each pastry square when spreading the cream cheese. This border is what puffs up into a golden, flaky frame around the filling during baking — covering it with filling prevents it from rising and you lose the characteristic puff pastry edge.
• Slice the strawberries lengthways into three to four slices rather than rounds. Lengthways slices lay flat against the cream cheese more evenly, fan out beautifully over the surface and overlap more naturally than rounds, which can roll and shift during baking.
• Overlap the strawberry slices slightly in two rows across each tart. This gives the most even coverage, prevents gaps in the filling and looks beautiful — the rows of overlapping strawberries are what gives these tarts their clean, considered appearance.
• Do not overload the tarts with strawberry. Two rows of three to four overlapping slices per tart is the right amount — too many strawberries release too much juice during baking, which can make the pastry base soggy and prevent the crumble from crisping properly.
• Scatter the crumble mixture evenly and generously across the tarts. It should cover the strawberries in a fairly even layer — uneven distribution means some areas will be golden and crisp while others remain pale and soft.
• Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for the most even heat distribution. If the tarts are too close to the top element they can colour too quickly before the pastry base has cooked through; too close to the bottom and the base can be underdone while the top is golden.
• Eat warm from the oven for the best experience — the pastry is at its flakiest, the cream cheese is soft and yielding, and the crumble is at its crispest. Serve with vanilla ice cream, crème fraîche or a pour of double cream (heavy cream) alongside.

Ingredients and Tools You'll Need

For the Crumble

• 45g butter – cold and diced; cold butter is essential for the right crumbly texture
• 60g plain flour (all-purpose flour) – the base of the crumble
• 30g caster sugar (superfine sugar) – sweetens the crumble and helps it caramelise to a golden colour in the oven

For the Tarts

• 320g ready-rolled puff pastry – one standard sheet, all-butter if possible; no weighing required
• 165g full-fat cream cheese – at room temperature; do not substitute with light or reduced-fat
• 30g caster sugar (superfine sugar) – for sweetening the cream cheese filling
• 1 punnet of fresh strawberries – British, at peak season; hulled and sliced lengthways into 3–4 slices per berry

To Serve

• Vanilla ice cream — a scoop alongside a warm tart is an outstanding combination
• Crème fraîche — tangy and cool against the warm, sweet tart
• Double cream (heavy cream) — poured generously over the top

Essential Tools

• 1 large baking tray (baking sheet) — lined with baking paper (parchment paper)
• 1 mixing bowl — for the crumble
• 1 smaller bowl — for the cream cheese filling
• Sharp knife and ruler — for cutting the pastry into even squares
• Spoon or small palette knife — for spreading the cream cheese

Storage

These tarts are at their absolute best eaten warm from the oven on the day they are made — the pastry is flakiest and the crumble crispest immediately after baking. They will keep in the fridge for up to two days in a sealed container, though the pastry will soften slightly as it sits. Reheat in the oven at 180°C for 5–8 minutes to restore some of the crispness — avoid the microwave, which will make the pastry soggy.

These tarts are not suitable for freezing once assembled and baked.

Dietary Variations

Gluten-Free

Standard puff pastry contains wheat flour and is not gluten-free — look for a gluten-free puff pastry, which several brands now produce. Replace the plain flour (all-purpose flour) in the crumble with a gluten-free plain flour blend. All other ingredients are naturally gluten-free.

Dairy-Free

The cream cheese and butter are both dairy-based — replace with good quality dairy-free alternatives. A dairy-free cream cheese works reasonably well here; use a dairy-free block butter rather than a spread for the crumble, as spreads contain too much water and will not produce the right crumbly texture. Look for an all-butter puff pastry alternative made with dairy-free fat.

Different Fruit

The crumble tart format works beautifully with other summer fruit. Raspberries work particularly well — scatter them whole rather than slicing. Sliced peaches or nectarines are an excellent alternative later in the summer. Blueberries scattered over the cream cheese before the crumble give a wonderful jammy result as they burst during baking. Mixed berries are also excellent — use whatever is ripest and most fragrant.

Adding Flavour to the Cream Cheese

The cream cheese filling here is deliberately simple — just cream cheese and sugar — so that the strawberry flavour is the focus. But if you want to add a little extra depth, a quarter teaspoon of vanilla extract stirred through the cream cheese is a lovely addition. A small amount of lemon zest adds brightness and a gentle citrus note that works beautifully with strawberries.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use homemade pastry instead of ready-rolled?

You can — a homemade rough puff or shortcrust pastry will give an excellent result. Roll it to around 3mm thickness and cut into six even squares of approximately the same size as the ready-rolled version would give. That said, ready-rolled puff pastry is specifically recommended here because it is consistent in thickness, quick to use and gives a reliable, beautiful result — for a simple summer tart, it is absolutely the right call.

How do I cut the pastry into even squares?

Unroll the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface or directly on its baking paper. Use a sharp knife and a ruler to cut it into six even squares — a standard 320g sheet is typically around 23x35cm, which gives six squares of approximately 11x11cm each. Even squares mean even baking times across all six tarts. Cut in half lengthways then cut each half into 3.

Why is my pastry base soggy?

The most likely cause is too much moisture from the strawberries during baking. Make sure you are not overloading the tarts — two rows of overlapping slices per tart is the right amount. Slicing the strawberries lengthways rather than into rounds also helps, as it reduces the surface area releasing juice. A very ripe, very juicy strawberry will always release more liquid than a firmer one — if your strawberries are very ripe, err on the side of fewer slices per tart.

Can I make these ahead of time?

The components can be prepared in advance — the crumble mixture made and stored in the fridge, the cream cheese filling mixed and refrigerated, and the strawberries hulled and sliced. Assemble and bake just before serving for the best result. The assembled, unbaked tarts can be refrigerated for up to an hour before baking if needed.

What is the best way to reheat these tarts?

In the oven at 180°C for 5–8 minutes on a lined baking tray (baking sheet) — this restores some of the crispness to the pastry and the crumble that the microwave cannot achieve. They will not be quite as good as fresh from the oven, but they are still very enjoyable on day two.

Are these tarts part of a series?

Yes — these strawberry cheesecake crumble tarts are part of the Small Batch Bakes series, which is dedicated to baking in smaller, more manageable quantities. Other recipes in the series include the perfect apple crumble, the homemade vanilla custard and the 2 ingredient ice cream.