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This summer’s official kick off gets festive with the pairing of Johnson Estate Winery’s traditional sparkling May Wine with Jennifer Johnson’s favorite Strawberry Cheesecake Tart — a combination inspired by medieval German traditions for ringing in the good weather.

Let’s travel back in time and imagine it’s the Middle Ages. The winter was long. We’re tired of salted foods without anything fresh or green. As spring approaches, we are excited about May Day celebrations – a combination of warm weather, music, a May Pole, dancing, and a fresh feast.  One of the best-loved German traditions is “Mai Wein” – basically a white wine punch or “Mai Bowle.”   White wine is added to a large bowl of young strawberries and a small bouquet of fresh sweet woodruff. These flavors infuse into the wine for several hours.  Just before serving to guests, sparkling wine is added to the bowl.

At Johnson Estate, winemaker Jeff Murphy captures the flavors of a "Mai Bowle" in a bubby semi-dry Vidal Blanc wine called May Wine.  It is a fresh, delicious wine – easy to drink with a strawberry garnishing the glass – or to sip with along with a meal.

“I have been enamored with French tarts ever since I spent a summer working as an au pair with a French family. The tarts I learned to make there used a vanilla custard filling. They were delicious, albeit it somewhat fragile. This “skinny cheesecake” is a better dessert for a picnic, and it pairs well with our May Wine.” - Jennifer Johnson

You can take it a step further, and put some cheesecake under those berries! Today, we’re making a “skinny” cheesecake tart with strawberries on top.  This dessert is not too sweet, is easy to pack for a picnic, and pairs beautifully with the grassy fresh notes of Johnson Estate’s May Wine.

What is Sweet Woodruff?

In Germany, sweet woodruff is called “Waldmeister” or the “Master of the Woods.”  Known botanically as Gallium odoratum, it is a spring blooming perennial plant which thrives in moist woodland shade.  In the Middle Ages, it was known as an herbal medicine and infusions were used as a spring tonic – even an aphrodisiac, and as a treatment for various ailments. When dried, the herb has the long-lasting scent of freshly mown grass, with notes of vanilla. It has been used for centuries as a strewing herb, pot pourri or perfume ingredient, as a tonic in tea, and as an ingredient in German “Mai Wein.”

Strawberry Cheesecake Tart 

Serves eight

Filling 

½ cup sugar

1 large egg

1 ½ teaspoon natural vanilla or almond extract or lemon juice

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

Topping

1 pint of fresh strawberries, washed, with green tips cut off

1/3-1/2cup strawberry jelly or apricot jam, slightly heated

Ingredients

Pastry

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour (may substitute half with whole wheat flour)

¼ cup finely ground flax seeds or almonds (optional)

½ cup butter, chilled and cut into pieces

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon Sherry or cold water

Instructions

Combine sugar, flour, and ground flax seeds in a food processor; pulse until blended. Add butter and egg yolk; pulse until mixture is crumbly and starts to hold together. Add Sherry or water, pulsing until dough forms a ball.  Press into a disk in between two pieces of wax paper. Chill 30 to 60 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 400°.  Line bottom (not sides) of a 9-inch metal tart pan (or glass or ceramic baking dish) with parchment paper. 

Roll dough between wax paper until it is slightly large than tart pan. Peel off one side of wax paper. Flip dough into pan, peeling off second piece of paper. Press into tart pan, patching any holes. Trim edge. Dock pastry with a fork. Bake 10 minutes until just barely golden (do not over bake). Cool.

For the filling, combine sugar, egg, vanilla, and cream cheese in a food processor. Process until well blended. Pour into baked crust. Reduce heat to 325° and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until filling has puffed up slightly and lightly browned. Remove from oven; cool completely. 

Brush top of pie with a thin layer of jam.  If the strawberries are large cut in half sideways and place them on the tart, following the outline of the crust.  If the strawberries are smaller, you can remove the hulls and place the berries on the tart “tip-up”.  Brush lightly with the remaining jam and serve.

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