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These little upside down tarts look much fancier than they have any business looking. You build them directly on the parchment paper, with sugar, cinnamon, peaches, cream cheese, and puff pastry all stacked in that slightly backwards way. Then you bake them, flip them over, and suddenly there are glossy caramelized peach slices on top like you bought dessert from one of those tidy little bakery cases where nobody has flour in her hair.
Why You’ll Love It
- Quick assembly — about ten minutes with only a handful of ingredients.
- Caramelized peach topping — Demerara sugar turns golden and crunchy around the edges.
- Creamy surprise — cream cheese melts into the juicy peaches.
- Individual tarts — no pie slicing required.
Ingredient Notes
The peaches should be ripe—really ripe—but not so soft they collapse when you slice them. You want fragrant peaches that give a little when pressed.
Demerara sugar is important here. It has those larger golden crystals and a mild molasses taste that regular white sugar just doesn’t have. It gives the peach layer a deeper caramelized flavor and a little texture. Look by the specialty sugars at the grocery store.
Keep the cream cheese chilled until you’re ready to slice it. Cold cream cheese holds its shape better while you’re putting the tarts together. Use regular block cream cheese, not the whipped tub kind. That way lies sadness.
And let the puff pastry thaw completely before unrolling it. If it’s still stiff, it cracks; if it gets warm and floppy, it becomes sticky and aggravating.
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 ripe peaches, thinly sliced (peeling is optional)
- 1/4 cup Demerara sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 ounces cream cheese, chilled and sliced
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed completely
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then lightly grease the parchment with nonstick spray. Do not skip the parchment—caramelized sugar will humble you in a hurry.
If you’d like to peel the peaches, go ahead, but it isn’t required. Thinly slice 2 to 3 ripe peaches. Leave the skins on most of the time because they add pretty color.
Gently unroll the thawed puff pastry sheet and cut it into 6 even rectangles. They do not have to be mathematically identical.
On the prepared baking sheet, sprinkle the Demerara sugar into 6 separate little patches, each roughly the size of one puff pastry rectangle. Divide the 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon over the sugar patches. It will look like not quite enough cinnamon, but it is enough; peaches don’t need to be buried under spice.
Arrange the peach slices in overlapping layers on top of the sugared areas. Try to keep each little pile within its sugar patch, though a stray slice here and there is no catastrophe. One of mine always wanders off like it has plans elsewhere.
Slice the chilled cream cheese and place a couple of slices over the peaches on each tart. Cold cream cheese is easier to work with, so don’t leave it out while you hunt for the baking sheet.
Place one puff pastry rectangle over each peach-and-cream-cheese stack and gently press it down. The goal is not to mash everything flat; just help the pastry settle over the filling so it stays where it belongs.
Beat the egg and brush the tops of all six pastry rectangles with the egg wash. This is what gives them that deep golden, bakery-window finish.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until the pastry tops are puffed and golden brown. The kitchen will smell like warm peaches and butter.
Let the tarts sit for a minute or two, then carefully flip each one over onto a serving plate so the peaches are on top. Move with purpose here—the sugar is hot. If a peach slice sticks to the parchment, just tuck it back onto the tart. That’s not cheating; that’s home cooking.
Variations
These are especially good as written, though—the peach flavor stays front and center, and the cream cheese gives them that creamy little surprise underneath.
Very soft, overripe peaches will work, but the tarts may look less neat after flipping. They can become juicy to the point of slippery, with less tidy tops. Still edible, absolutely.
You can serve these warm on their own, or with whatever you normally like alongside peaches and pastry. Though honestly, after a heavy dinner, they’re plenty.
Storage & Reheating
These are best the day they’re made, preferably while the pastry is still crisp and the peach topping is warm. That’s just the truth. Puff pastry has many gifts, but longevity is not one of them.
If you have leftovers, store them covered in the refrigerator. They’ll keep for a couple of days, though the pastry will soften. Reheat them in the oven until warmed through rather than using the microwave, which makes puff pastry go a little limp and tired-looking.
Final Notes
There’s something about peaches that makes a kitchen feel like summer is still holding on. Not summer in the big, expensive vacation sense—just ordinary summer. The fan rattling in the window. A stack of dishes nobody has dealt with yet. Grass clippings across the floor.
A ripe peach doesn’t wait around forever. Neither does puff pastry, apparently.
Peaches and Cream Upside Down Tarts
Ingredients Â
- 2 to 3 ripe peaches thinly sliced; peeling optional
- 1/4 cup Demerara sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 ounces cream cheese chilled and sliced
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 sheet puff pastry thawed completely
- nonstick spray for lightly greasing the parchment
InstructionsÂ
- Preheat the oven to 400°F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and lightly grease the parchment with nonstick spray.
- Peel the peaches if desired, then thinly slice 2 to 3 ripe peaches.
- Gently unroll the thawed puff pastry sheet and cut it into 6 even rectangles.
- On the prepared baking sheet, sprinkle the Demerara sugar into 6 separate patches, each roughly the size of one puff pastry rectangle, then divide the cinnamon over the sugar patches.
- Arrange the peach slices in overlapping layers on top of the sugared areas, keeping each pile mostly within its sugar patch.
- Place a couple of slices of chilled cream cheese over the peaches on each tart.
- Place one puff pastry rectangle over each peach-and-cream-cheese stack and gently press it down just enough to help the pastry settle over the filling.
- Beat the egg and brush the tops of all six pastry rectangles with the egg wash.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, until the pastry tops are puffed and golden brown.
- Let the tarts sit for 1 to 2 minutes, then carefully flip each one over onto a serving plate so the peaches are on top, tucking back any peach slices that stick to the parchment.