Classic Strawberry Tart Food

STRAWBERRY TARTS

Steps:

• Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a small bowl and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Put the flour mixture in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and shortening and pulse about 10 times, or until the butter is in the size of peas. Add the ice water and process until the dough comes together. Dump on a well-floured board and form into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Roll out the dough and fit into 4 (4 1/2-inch) tart pans with removable sides. Don't stretch the dough when placing it in the pans or it will shrink during baking. Cut off the excess by rolling the pin across the top of each pan. Line the tart shells with a piece of buttered aluminum foil, butter side down, and fill them with dried beans or rice. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and foil, prick the bottom of the shells all over with a fork, and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
• Before serving, fill the tart shells with the pastry cream. Arrange the berries decoratively on top of the cream. Melt the apricot jelly with 1 teaspoon of water and brush the top of the tarts. Sprinkle with pistachios, if using, and serve.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks and sugar on medium-high speed for 4 minutes, or until very thick. Reduce to low speed, and add the cornstarch.
• With the mixer still on low, slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture. Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens, 5 to 7 minutes. Don't be alarmed when the custard comes to a boil and appears to curdle; switch to a whisk and beat vigorously. Cook, whisking constantly, for another 2 minutes; the custard will come together and become very thick, like pudding. Stir in the vanilla, Cognac, butter, and heavy cream. Pour the custard through a sieve into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the custard and refrigerate until cold.

STRAWBERRY TARTS

Steps:

• To Make Glaze: Blend the sugar, cornstarch, and salt; stir into apple juice. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth and thick. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
• Spread a small quantity of the glaze over the bottoms of the shells. Arrange washed and hulled fresh berries over the glaze, slicing if necessary to fit into the tarts. Spoon remaining glaze carefully over the berries, covering them well. Chill for 2 to 4 hours. Serve garnished with whipped cream if desired.

CLASSIC STRAWBERRY TART

Steps:

• Prepare the pastry cream, and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours, until cold.
• While the pastry cream is chilling, prepare and bake the tart pastry, setting it aside, at room temperature, to cool completely.
• Sort the strawberries. You will need about 1 1/2 pints, or 20 ounces, to cover the tart. Rinse the berries, remove the hulls, then place them, cut-side down and not touching, on a layer of paper towel on a tray so they can dry completely. If needed, use a hair dryer on a gentle cool setting to make sure the berries are dry.
• Whip the heavy cream until stiff. When the pastry cream is thoroughly chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and fold in the whipped cream until completely incorporated. Spread this mixture over the bottom of the baked tart shell.
• Place the berries on the cream in concentric circles as close to each other as possible. The berries should sit on top of the cream, so don't push them down into it. Refrigerate the tart.
• Place the jelly and the kirsch in a small saucepan, and cook over medium heat until the jelly has melted and starts to bubble. Remove from the heat.
• Remove the tart from the refrigerator, and using a pastry brush, glaze the berries with the warm jelly mixture, giving them a thin but complete coating. Serve at once, or refrigerate -- but not more than a couple of hours, to prevent the pastry from becoming soggy -- until ready to serve. Remove the ring from the pan before serving.

STRAWBERRY TART

Steps:

• Special Equipment: 1 pound dried beans, 10-inch tart pan
• For the crust:
• In the food processor combine the butter flour, almonds and salt and pulse, pulse, pulse until it looks like grated cheese, as I like to call the Parmigiano stage. Add the egg yolk and half the water and pulse; the dough should start to come together. If it does not, add the remaining water and pulse until the dough forms into a ball. Dump the "doughball" onto a floured work surface and using the heel of your hand, "schmear" it across the work surface. Repeat this process 1 to 2 more times, then form the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 to 45 minutes.
• *TIP- this can be done up to a week in advance or frozen for a longer time.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• To roll the crust:
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 10 minutes before rolling to let it soften. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Lay the dough in the tart pan. Make a small "doughball" with a little of the dough that is hanging over the edge of the tart pan. Dip the dough ball in flour and use is to carefully push the dough into the corners of the tart pan. Once the dough has been pushed into the corners of the tart pan, use the rolling pin to roll over the top edge of the tart pan to cut a clean crisp edge. Line the tart with aluminum foil, be sure to push it into the corners. This will keep the sides of the tart tall and straight and able to hold the filling. Fill the tart with the dried beans. Place in the preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes. Remove the beans and foil and bake for another 4 to 5 minutes. The dough should be cooked through and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool.
• For the pastry cream:
• Place the heavy cream, 1/2 cup of the sugar and the vanilla bean seeds and pod in a saucepan. Whisk to combine and bring to a boil over low heat. While the cream is coming to a boil, combine the eggs and remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in a bowl and the cornstarch and milk in another bowl. Beat with a whisk to a homogeneous mixture, no big lumps of egg white! When the cream comes to a boil, remove it from the heat and discard the vanilla bean pod. *Whisk half of the cream into the egg/sugar mixture and then IMMEDIATELY whisk it back into the pan with the hot cream.
• *This is called tempering and will allow you to combine boiling cream and eggs without making scrambled eggs.
• Return the pan to a medium heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch/milk mixture. Bring this to a boil to thicken the pastry cream. Stir frequently to prevent scorching. It is necessary to bring this mixture to a boil to cook the starch. If the mixture is not brought to a boil the mixture will feel starchy and gritty. The desired outcome is the consistency of vanilla pudding. YUM! Transfer the mixture to a bowl and chill. This can be done really quickly over an ice bath.
• To assemble the tart:
• Fill the tart shell with the chilled pastry cream. Top with the sliced strawberries. You can arrange the strawberries in circles or in lines; it's up to you! Just make it look pretty. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.
• Berry delicious!

EASY STRAWBERRY TART

Steps:

• Beat butter and sugar in electric mixer bowl on medium speed until smooth.
• Add flour and continue beating until mixture is crumbly.
• Press mixture up sides and on bottom of 9 inch flan pan.
• Bake at 375°F for 12-15 minutes; cool 20 minutes before filling.
• Prepare pudding as directed on package; mixture will be thick.
• Fold gently in orange rind and topping.
• Spread crust with prepared filling.
• Working from the outside edge of tart to center, place berries on filling, cut side of berry facing out.
• Place whole berry in center of tart.
• Gently spoon glaze over tart.
• Chill 30 minutes before serving.

STRAWBERRY TART

Steps:

• Beat the butter and sugar together until smooth, but not fluffy. Mix in the egg until combined, then add the flour. Bring together with your hands to form a dough. Wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 mins.
• Dust a surface with flour and roll out the pastry to a 26cm circle (or 3cm bigger than your tin). Line a 23cm fluted tart tin with the pastry, leaving an overhang. Prick the base with a fork to stop any air bubbles forming. Chill for 30 mins.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line the pastry case with a scrunched up sheet of baking parchment and baking beans, then bake for 15 mins. Remove the parchment and beans and bake for 15-20 mins more until crisp and golden. Leave in the tin to cool.
• To make the crème pâtissière, heat the milk, cream and vanilla in a pan over a medium heat, stirring occasionally. Bring up to a simmer. Meanwhile, whisk the yolks and sugar in a bowl for 3 mins until pale, then stir in the cornflour until combined. Pour a quarter of the hot cream over the egg mix, whisking continuously, then pour the warm egg mix into the pan with the rest of the cream. Stir over a low-medium heat for 5-8 mins until the crème pâtissière thickens. Transfer to a large bowl and cool for 15 mins, whisking occasionally. Gradually whisk in the butter until smooth, cover and put in the fridge until needed.
• Beat the strawberry jam to loosen it, then spread over the bottom of the pastry case. Put the crème pâtissière into a piping bag and pipe in a spiral on top of the jam. Arrange the strawberries on top in a pattern. Heat the apricot jam in a small pan with 1 tbsp water until warm. Whisk to loosen the jam, then leave to cool slightly. Brush over the top of the strawberries.

STRAWBERRY TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend flour, butter, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt until moist crumbs form (this may take up to 1 minute). Transfer dough to a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom.
• With floured fingers, press dough evenly into pan and up sides. Dip a dry-measuring cup in flour, and use it to press dough firmly into bottom and against sides of pan. Freeze crust until firm, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Using a fork, prick crust all over. Bake until golden, 25 to 30 minutes, pressing down gently once or twice with a spoon during baking if crust puffs up. Cool completely in pan.
• Make the filling: In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese and remaining 1/4 cup sugar until smooth; spread mixture evenly in bottom of baked crust (still in tart pan).
• Starting from outside edge, arrange strawberry halves, stemmed side down, in tight concentric circles on cream cheese.
• In a small saucepan, heat jelly on medium-low until liquefied. Gently brush strawberries with jelly; let set at least 20 minutes. Chill in pan at least 1 hour (and up to 6 hours); remove from pan just before serving.

EASY STRAWBERRY TARTS

Steps:

• Boil together corn starch, salt, and water until clear, stirring constantly.
• Add Jello; cool the mixture while you wash and slice strawberries into quarters (use halves if you're making one large pie).
• Pile strawberries into tart shells; carefully top strawberries with jello mix. Try to cover the strawberries without having jello oozing off the tart shell. This can be a delicate procedure!
• Cool until jello sets; serve topped with whipped cream, if desired.