Strawberry Tart For The Win!

Here's another yummy spring treat, I made this for my mom for Mother's Day. It's a beautiful strawberry tart. I made this tart in steps just like I did with the mango and lemon tarts. I started by making a strawberry puree, then a strawberry curd and finally the tart. I added fresh strawberries, a dusting of powdered sugar and pistachios to the finished tart.

Strawberry Tart

so first you should start with making a strawberry puree

Strawberry Puree

• 1lb of strawberries
• 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup  of sugar
• 1/4  to 1/2 cup water

This is simple, you may not need all of the water and sugar, this is something that you just need to taste and see. It depends on the sweetness of your fruit. 

Now dice up your strawberries into smaller pieces, they don't have to look pretty or be uniformed sizes because they will just get blended. I also had a tiny bit of water, and some sugar handy (if you think your strawberries are sweet enough you don't need to use the sugar, so just taste it as you go)

Blend using a blender or food processor. I just use a little magic bullet or one of those little ninja blenders.

Run the blended strawberries through a fine mesh sieve.

Strain out those big chunks

2 cups of strawberry puree

1 lb of fresh strawberries makes about 2 cups of puree

Now on to the strawberry curd

• 1 Cup of Strawberry Puree
• 3 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice (1 large lemon or 2 small lemons)
• 4 large egg yolks (keep the egg whites for macarons)
• pinch of salt
• 3 teaspoons of corn starch
• 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)

Start by pouring your strawberry puree, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, and pinch of salt into your saucepan and whisk all together.

Whisk until everything is incorporated

Now add in your 4 egg yolks and whisk together

Take your saucepan and place it over medium/high heat. Whisk the mixture for 5-7 minutes, keep whisking so it will not burn. (I normally just stand there whisking with the oven timer on, I set I whisked for 6 minutes) The mixture will become thick, think like a pudding or custard thickness.

Now take it off the burner and whisk in your cold butter a little at a time

After all the butter is incorporated, I placed it in a jar with a lid and sat it on the counter, then after a few hours I placed it in the fridge. It taste so good ya'll. If you like lemon curd, or lime curd you will love this. Strawberry curd is a little tart, but not like lemon or lime, so it has a subtle tart taste and then that sweet mango flavor. 

pretty pink strawberry curd

Now for the pastry shell

Pastry Shell (makes enough for 9 inch pan)

• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup  powdered sugar (or ¼ cup granulated sugar)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 large egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

First for the pastry shell, add flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor for a few seconds and pulse until combined. If you don’t have a food processor, you can do this by using a pastry cutter. 

Add butter and pulse until mixture becomes crumbly and resembles coarse meal, about 15 pulses.

Add egg and vanilla extract and keep pulsing until the dough is no longer dry and starts to clump together, about 10-15 seconds. Do not process to the point that a large ball of dough is formed; rather the dough should be quite crumbly with large clumps. Another way to check if it’s done is to take a piece of dough and press it between your thumbs – the dough should stick without feeling dry or crumbly.

Turn dough to a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. It should come together easily without being sticky. Flatten ball slightly with your hands to form a thick disc. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. I made this dough two days before and just placed it in the fridge for 2 days.

*If you don’t want to use the dough right away, you can refrigerate it for up to 3 days, or freeze it for up to a month and then thaw overnight in the fridge.

Now take your dough out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes to soften slightly for easy rolling. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to fit your tart pan.

With a sharp knife, trim the edges of the pastry to fit the tart pan.

* Cover pan with plastic wrap and place in the freezer until firm, about 30 minutes. Frozen dough is less prone to shrinking while baking.

Preheat oven to 375F and place oven rack in the center.

Press parchment paper or aluminum foil tightly against the crust, covering the edges to prevent them from burning. Fill with pie weights/dried beans/uncooked rice, making sure they’re fully distributed over the entire surface.

Bake crust for 20 minutes, until foil no longer sticks to the dough. Transfer crust to a wire rack and remove weights and foil.

Bake for about 7-10 minutes longer until golden brown and dry. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Now add in your Strawberry Curd and with a offset spatula or butter knife just smooth out the surface

Yummy tart

I then placed the tart back in the fridge overnight, and then decorate however you like.

I added a dusting of powdered sugar and fresh strawberries to both sides. I also sprinkled pistachios in the center of the tart. It is a very springtime dessert, and I think people who enjoy slightly tart things will enjoy this tart. I am a huge fan of this tart. 

Everyone loved it

added fresh cream

so yummy