RECIPE: Fruit Tart with Fresh Strawberries
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
Ingredients
250g/10 ozs flour
175g/7 ozs butter
50g/2 ozs caster sugar
pinch salt
2 egg yolks
Method
1. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. Bind the dry ingredients with the egg yolks and mix until a good dough is formed.
3. Chill well before using.
4. Once used as required, bake in oven 350oF/180oC until golden brown.
Fruit Tart
CONFECTIONER’S CUSTARD/
CREME PATISSIERE
Ingredients
4 egg yolks
1.5 ozs sugar
8 ozs milk
3⁄4 oz flour
1 vanilla pod
Method
1. In a bowl beat the egg yolks well with the sugar.
2. Mix in the flour ensuring that there are no lumps.
3. Place the milk in a saucepan.
4. Scrape the inside of the vanilla pod into the milk.
5. Bring the milk slowly to the boil.
6. Very slowly pour the boiling milk onto the egg mixture beating all the time with a whisk so that the eggs do not curdle.
7. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Stirring vigorously all the time, return the saucepan to the heat and briefly bring up to the boil the immediately turn down heat. Cook until the mixture is thick and the flour cooked – the taste of starch must have disappeared.
8. Remove from the heat. Allow to cool before using.
9. You can make a lighter pastry cream by using one of the egg whites as well as the yolks. Separate the eggs at the start. Use only the yolks in the custard. Once the custard is cooked, whisk the one egg white until light and then fold into the warm custard.
To assemble a fruit tart
1 recipe of rich short crust pastry (pate sucre) baked blind in a 12″quiche/tart tin with loose bottom
1 recipe of confectioner’s custard or creme patissiere cooled to room temperature
1 lb strawberries that have been hulled – and cut in half if too large
1⁄4 jar of strawberry jam put into saucepan with double to volume of water and allowed to cook until the mixture is sufficiently thick to use as a glaze.
Method
1. Gently distribute the cooled confectioner’s custard over the base of the cooled pie base.
2. Arrange the strawberries in concentric circles around the diameter of the tin. Continue to
do this smaller and smaller circles until all of the strawberries are placed in the custard. If
necessary add a second row of strawberries on top to fill in any large gaps.
3. Using a pastry brush, paint the glaze liberally over the strawberries so that they glisten.
4. This is a dramatic dessert or accompaniment for tea. Other fruit like raspberries, fresh
poached peaches and apricots can be used.
5. Very wicked if served with an additional dollop of cream!
Category
Recipes
