Fresh Strawberry Tart with Pastry Cream
Instructions:
- Classic pastry cream makes a delicious base for any fruit,
but especially fresh berries. These elegant tarts are easier
to make than many pies, because everything is prepared
separately and then assembled: You bake the crust, fill it
with cream, top with berries, glaze if you like, and serve.
Use any berries or other peeled and sliced soft fruit.
- 1 recipe Sweet Tart Crust
, fitted into a tart pan and chilled - 1 recipe Vanilla Pastry Cream
chilled - 2 to 3 cups strawberries, hulled, lightly washed, and well dried
- 1/2 cup strained raspberry, apricot, or currant preserves (optional)
- 1 tablespoon water or liqueur (optional)
- After prebaking the crust and removing the weights and foil, turn the oven to 350 F and bake until the crust is a beautiful shade of brown, another 10 to 15 minutes.
- Cool on a rack. You can start the filling while the crust is baking or wait a few hours.
- Spread a layer of pastry cream on the bottom of the shell (you may not need all of it). Arrange the strawberries, hulled side down, on the cream, packing in as many as you can. If you’d like to glaze the tart, warm the strained preserves with the water or liqueur in a very small saucepan over medium-low heat until thinned. Brush the top of the strawberries with this mixture and serve.
- Banana-Strawberry Cream Tart.
- Peel and thinly slice 2 or 3 bananas; toss them with 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Arrange them on the cooled tart shell, then top with the pastry cream, then the strawberries.
- Mixed Fruit Tarts.
- Use slices of kiwi, halved red grapes, various berries, and any other ripe fruit you like.