Creamy Peanut Butter Tart

Lourdes's pre-trip preparation has reached fever pitch. She's made six hundred lumpia for San Diego. Six hundred. I said, "Mama, you're going for two weeks, not two months." She said, "There are two babies, Grace. Babies eat lumpia." I said, "They're three months old." She said, "They'll grow." The logic is Lourdes logic — unassailable, absurd, entirely correct. The babies will grow. The babies will eat lumpia. The lumpia will be there when they're ready. Lourdes plans on timescales that exceed normal human planning because Lourdes thinks in generations, not in weeks.

Angela is thriving. Seven months pregnant, the baby kicking, the pregnancy entering its final trimester with the momentum of something that is going to happen regardless of anyone's readiness, the baby arriving on the baby's schedule, not Angela's, not James's, not Lourdes's (though Lourdes has opinions about the schedule and has communicated them to God through the prayer group). Angela looks like Lourdes looked in photos from 1994 when she was pregnant with Angela — the same face, the same belly, the same Santos woman determination to carry the baby and the world and the expectations without complaint.

I made kare-kare for the family dinner — the oxtail peanut stew, the elaborate dish, the three-hour project that I brought to Lourdes's house for what might be the last full family dinner before Lourdes leaves for San Diego. The oxtail braised. The peanut sauce thickened. The bagoong waited on the side. We ate together — Lourdes, Angela, James, and me — four people at a table that will soon be three, temporarily, while Lourdes is in San Diego cooking for Mark's family the way she cooks for everyone: excessively, lovingly, with more lumpia than any household needs and exactly the amount of love that every household deserves.

Kare-kare is already a three-hour act of love, and by the time I’d ladled the last of the peanut sauce over the oxtail and set the bagoong on the table, I wanted dessert to carry that same peanut warmth without asking anything more of me — or of Lourdes, who was already mentally packing lumpia for San Diego. This creamy peanut butter tart was exactly that: the flavor that ran through the whole evening, held together in something cool, simple, and generous enough for a table that was savoring what it had before the weeks ahead pulled us apart.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes (includes chilling) | Servings: 10

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup creamy peanut butter
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
1/4 cup chopped salted peanuts, for garnish
2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips or a drizzle of melted chocolate, optional

Instructions

Make the crust. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar, and melted butter. Stir until the mixture resembles wet sand. Press firmly and evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan or pie dish. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
Beat the peanut butter base. In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with a hand mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat until fully combined and creamy, scraping down the sides as needed.
Whip the cream. In a separate chilled bowl, whip the heavy cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 2—3 minutes. Take care not to overwhip.
Fold and fill. Gently fold half the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining whipped cream until no streaks remain. Spoon the filling into the chilled crust and spread into an even layer.
Chill the tart. Cover loosely and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until the filling is set and sliceable. For cleaner slices, chill overnight.
Garnish and serve. Before serving, scatter chopped salted peanuts over the top. Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired. Slice with a sharp knife wiped clean between cuts.

Nutrition (per serving)

Creamy Peanut Butter Tart — The Peanut That Anchors Every Santos Table