Hello Blissful readers! We hope you are all well and enjoying the first tastes of summer.
We are in full swing here at The Cook’s Atelier and the market is busting at the seams with the delights of the season. Here’s a recipe for an all-time favorite, a rustic strawberry tart. This is the perfect summer tart recipe and you can adapt it according to what looks good at the market. Sublime! We also love making these into individual tartlettes. By chance, if you have a little homemade strawberry confiture in your pantry, it would be a nice additional layer just under the pastry cream.
See our online shop, The French Larder at The Cook’s Atelier, for the perfect French tart tins.
Gariguette Strawberry Tart
Makes one 9-inch tart (or 8 individual tartelettes)
1/2 recipe Pâte Sucrée (recipe follows)
All-purpose flour, for work surface
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon sugar
Pastry Cream (recipe follows)
2 cups strawberries
confectioners sugar for dusting
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 12-inch round, about 1/4 inch thick. With a pastry brush, sweep off excess flour, fit dough into a 9-inch round fluted tart pan with a removable bottom (or you can uses 8 tartelette pans for individual servings), pressing into the edges and using thumb to remove excess dough. Chill tart shell until firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prick bottom of dough all over with a fork. Line with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fill with dried beans and bake until the edges are just beginning to turn golden. Remove parchment paper and weights; continue baking until golden all over, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool tart shell completely on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, whip the heavy cream and sugar in a bowl until soft peaks form. Working in batches, gently fold whipped cream into pastry cream; set aside.
Spoon pastry cream mixture into cooled tart shell and spread evenly. Top with strawberries; dust with confectioners sugar. Tart is best served the day it is made.
Pâte Sucrée
Makes enough for 2 tarts
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 large egg yolks
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound unsalted butter
Whisk the cream and egg yolks together in a small bowl.
Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces, about a half an inch. Add the butter to the flour mixture and, using your hands, begin to toss to coat the butter with the flour. Using your hands, combine the butter with the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Be careful not to overwork the dough as it will make the dough tough. Continue this process until it resembles a coarse meal. Add the heavy cream and egg yolk mixture and toss gently with a fork to incorporate. Feel free to use your hands to continue to combine the ingredients. But again, be sure to not overwork the dough. You can tell when the dough is ready by taking a small handful, squeezing it together. It if holds together, the dough is complete. If not, feel free to add more cream to reach the right consistency. When the dough is ready, divide the dough in two and place it on a sheet of plastic wrap. Gather the plastic wrap around the dough, forming a pouch, twist and push down to form a flat disk. Chill the dough for at least an hour or, ideally, overnight.
To make the tart shell, place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and roll until a 1/4 inch thick, flouring as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface. Be sure to maintain a circular shape while rolling out the dough. Beginning at one end, gather the dough at one end onto a rolling pin and gently lift it onto the tart pan. Unroll the dough over a 10-inch tart pan. Gently fit the dough loosely into the tart pan, being mindful not to stretch the dough as you fit it into the pan. To remove the excess dough, you use your thumb to gently scrape along the sides of the tart pan creating a nice, clean edge to the dough. Chill for 1 hour.
Pastry Cream
Makes about 1 3/4 cups
1 cup whole milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split
5 tablespoons sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Place milk, vanilla bean and 4 tablespoons sugar in a medium saucepan over high heat; cook until almost boiling.
In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks with remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar until thickened. Sprinkle in the cornstarch and flour and continue beating until well combined.
Remove vanilla bean from milk. While whisking constantly, slowly pour heated-milk mixture into egg yolk mixture. Pour mixture through a fine sieve back into saucepan, and cook, whisking constantly, over medium-high heat, until it thickens, about 2 minutes.
Transfer to a large bowl and whisk in butter until melted. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly on the surface of the pastry cream; refrigerate until completely cooled.
Happy tart making!
