The STRAWBERRY TART WITH PASTRY CREAM is a cheerful and very indulgent dessert, perfect for spring, that brightens our tables and makes the dessert special. It can be served, in fact, at the end of a meal for its freshness, or become a dessert for a substantial family snack.
Making this strawberry tart is really very simple and does not require particular pastry skills, especially if you follow the step-by-step photo recipe I have included below. You will see that preparing the crunchy shortcrust pastry, the soft lemon pastry cream and finally decorating, according to your taste, with plenty of sweet and fragrant strawberries will be a piece of cake. Do not skimp on the strawberries: besides their vivid color, they give the dessert that spring freshness and goodness that makes this dessert really delicious, both to the eye and the palate.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Budget-friendly
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
- Energy 342.21 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 56.72 (g) of which sugars 36.02 (g)
- Proteins 6.41 (g)
- Fat 11.63 (g) of which saturated 6.80 (g)of which unsaturated 4.63 (g)
- Fibers 2.03 (g)
- Sodium 72.62 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 125 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1 egg (medium at room temperature)
- 1 1/6 cups all-purpose flour (or 00 flour)
- 4 tbsp butter (cold, cut into pieces (about 60 g))
- 5 tbsp granulated sugar (for the dough (about 60 g))
- 1 pinch salt
- lemon zest
- 1 cup milk (about 250 ml)
- lemon zest (unsprayed / organic)
- 2 egg yolks (medium at room temperature)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (for the cream (about 100 g))
- 3 tbsp cornstarch (about 25 g)
- 1 lb 2 oz lb strawberries (about 3 1/3 cups (500 g))
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar (for the glaze (about 30 g))
- 1 sheet gelatin sheets (about 3 g)
YOU’LL NEED FOR THE STRAWBERRY TART
- 1 Tart pan 8 in (20 cm)
- 2 Bowls
- 1 Small saucepan
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Rolling pin
PREPARATION: STRAWBERRY TART WITH PASTRY CREAM
In a large bowl put the flour, sugar, cold butter cut into pieces, a pinch of salt and the lemon zest. With your fingertips start working everything until you obtain a sandy mixture.
Add the egg and incorporate it with the other ingredients.
Form a dough disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to firm up for at least 1 hour.
Place the milk with the lemon zest (being careful not to include the white pith, which would make it bitter) and bring to a simmer.
In a large bowl beat the egg yolks with the sugar, mix well and then gradually add the cornstarch.
Once combined, set the mixture aside.
As soon as the milk reaches a simmer, remove the lemon zest and pour it little by little into the egg mixture, whisking quickly with a hand whisk to temper the eggs and avoid lumps forming.
Return the mixture to the heat over low flame and continue cooking, stirring with the whisk or a wooden spoon, until it thickens.
Once cooked place it in a bowl, cover it directly with plastic wrap to prevent that annoying skin from forming on the surface and let it cool completely.
Take the shortcrust pastry out of the fridge and roll it to a thickness of about 1/8 inch (3 mm).
Line a removable-bottom pan about 8 in (20 cm) in diameter, preferably with a removable base; prick the base with a fork and cover it with a sheet of parchment paper and dried chickpeas. With the leftover pastry you can make some cookies or wrap it in plastic and freeze it.
Bake in a preheated conventional oven at 356°F for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, discard the chickpeas and parchment and bake again for another 10 minutes.
Once the shortcrust base has cooled, remove it from the pan and place it on a serving plate.
Whisk the pastry cream with a hand whisk until smooth and velvety again, and fill the tart shell, leveling the cream.
Wash, hull and slice the strawberries into rounds. Then decorate the entire surface of the tart.
Transfer to the refrigerator.
Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water for 10 minutes. In a small saucepan put the water with the sugar and bring to a boil. Squeeze out the gelatin, dissolve it in the syrup and let it cool slightly.
Arrange the strawberry slices in a slightly overlapping radial pattern, covering the whole surface of the tart.
Use the gelatin glaze to coat all the strawberries so they don’t oxidize and remain glossy.
Decorate with mint leaves and chill the strawberry tart in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
