I’ve gotten some great feedback about the strawberry cake I posted last week. Lots of you have printed out the recipe and some have already made it and fallen in love with it! This is why I blog. I love sharing recipes that become successful for others; there truly is nothing that bring people together more than food.
The strawberries are still around at our Lancaster Central Market and for me, they are irresistible. Since they have such a short season and taste so incredibly compared to the year-round California strawberries you can always find overpriced at the grocery store, I feel like I must eat as many as possible so that I can last until next year. As I walked through rows of stands at market last week, eyeing up the pretty produce and the first ears of corn I found myself buying another quart of those sweet red berries, with no clue what I was going to make with them. The answer ended up being an deliciously elegant strawberry tart!
I’ve mentioned my love for Paris and all things French before but I’ll mention it again; I’m a francophile. I spent a Summer semester in Paris in college and began taking French lessons in the 3rd grade. Eric and I have been fortunate enough to go back to Paris 2 times since we’ve been married and we just booked are 3rd trip this November! We’ve also spent time in Toulouse and Provence and fell in love with each region. This upcoming trip will take us to Normandy for a few days and back to Paris to enjoy the city. All of these things have been fresh on my mind lately with the trip planning and so when I found those strawberries immediately this image and more like it popped into my mind:
I thought of French pastries and how much I miss them sometimes, even just walking by the colorful windows on my way to somewhere else. They are so beautiful with so many colors and creations but most specifically I thought of these:
The gorgeous little strawberry tarts that can be found in pastry windows all over Paris. They’re light and rich at the same time with the perfect balance of custard and fruit. I’ve always wanted to make one but thought they looked complicated. This time I decided to go for it.
I was right, they are complicated but if you break down all the steps and do a few ahead of time, the process seems much more manageable. I used Julia Child’s Strawberry tart recipe and mixed up the tart crust dough and the custard the day before we were to eat the tart.
The following day, about 2 hours before I wanted to eat the tart (because you don’t want it to get soggy) I rolled out and baked the tart shell completely. When it was cool, I brushed it with glaze to create and extra seal and prevent additional sogginess and then filled the shell with the custard.
I placed the strawberries on top of the custard and then brushed them with the glaze to make them shiny and beautiful. The final result was this:
I actually needed more strawberries, I thought a whole quart would be enough, but was very wrong, I think needed a second whole quart to really cover the top! No matter, we ate the tart for dessert and it was perfect. Took me straight back to a pastry shop in Paris.
Here’s the Julia Child Recipe:
- PATE BRISEE SUCREE
- Sweet Short Paste
- For the Pastry Shell)
- For an 8 to 9-inch shell, proportions for 1½ cups flour
- ⅔ cup flour (scooped and leveled)
- A mixing bowl
- 1 Tb granulated sugar
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 5½ Tb fat ( 4 Tb chilled butter and 1½ Tb chilled vegetable shortening)
- 2½ to 3 Tb cold water
- CREME PATISSIERE
- Custard Filling)
- For about 2½ cups
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 5 egg yolks
- ½ cup flour
- 2 cups boiling milk
- 1 Tb butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract and 2 to 3 Tb kirsch or cognac
- TARTE AUX FRAISES
- Fresh Strawberry Tart – cold)
- A 10-inch fully baked pastry shell
- 1 quart large, ripe strawberries (washed, halled and dried)
- 1 cup red currant jelly
- 2 Tb granulated sugar
- 2 Tb kirsch or cognac
- 1½ – 2 cups chilled crème pâtissière
- PATE BRISEE SUCREE
- Sweet Short Paste
- (For the Pastry Shell)
- Place flour, salt, sugar, butter and vegetable shortening in a big mixing bowl. Rub the flour and fat together rapidly between the tips of your fingers until the fat is broken into pieces the size of oatmeal flakes.
- Add the water and blend quickly with one hand, rapidly gather the dough into a mass. Then press the dough firmly into a roughly shaped ball. It should just hold together and be pliable, but not sticky.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured pastry board. With the heel of one hand rapidly press the pastry by two-spoonful bits down the board and away from you in a firm, quick smear of about 6 inches. This constitutes the final blending of fat and flour.
- With a scraper or spatula, gather the dough again into a mass; knead it briefly into a fairly smooth round ball. Sprinkle it lightly with flour and wrap it in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 2 hours or over night.
- Rolling out the dough after taking out the fridge to cover and press into the base. Press a decorative edge around the rim of the pastry with the dull edge of a knife. Prick the sides and bottom of pastry lightly with a fork.
- To keep the sides of the pastry shell from collapsing and the bottom from puffing up, line the pastry with buttered, lightweight foil. For a fully cooked shell, bake 15-19 minutes until the shell is very lightly browned.
- CREME PATISSIERE
- (Custard Filling)
- For about 2½ cups
- Gradually beat the sugar into the egg yolks in a mixing bowl by a wire whip or electric beater and continue beating for 2 – 3 minutes until the mixture is pale yellow and forms the ribbon.
- Beat in the flour then gradually pour on the milk in a thin stream of droplets
- Pour the mixture into a saucepan and set over moderately high beat. Stir with wire whip, reaching all over bottom of pan. Turn down to low heat until the sauce becomes lumpy and beat for another 2 – 3 minutes to cook the flour.
- Remove from heat and beat in the butter, then the vanilla extract and liqueur and set it aside to cool
- TARTE AUX FRAISES
- (Fresh Strawberry Tart – cold)
- Boil the currant jelly, sugar and liqueur in a small saucepan until last drops from spoon are sticky. Paint the interior of the shell with a thin coating of the glaze and allow to set for 5 miniutes.
- Spread a ½ inch layer of crème pâtissière in the bottom of the pastry shell. Arrange a design of strawberries over the cream. Spoon or paint over them a thin coating of the glaze, and the tart is ready to serve.
Thanks for stopping by to see what's cookin'! This blog documents all my food related adventures from cooking to restaurant reviews to drink recipes and even travel, all while living life in Lancaster, PA home of the Pennsylvania Dutch, the Amish and some of the best meat and produce around.
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