It’s already June; almost half-way thru the year – time flies, literally!

Simple pleasures… the term is quite apt for tarts, sweet or savoury. It’s almost like doing up a pie, albeit a bit easier. The shell, fillings, toppings – it all give an impression that it’s a highly complex creation, but in reality its quite an easy one, and its highly satisfying to do up the layers and get to the end product!

Over to the recipe – for the tart shell, I used the same recipe from my blueberry tart (click here). The pastry cream is easy to whip up too; make sure to whisk the yolk mixture constantly when pouring the hot milk and while cooking the mixture, to avoid scrambling.

You need –

• For tart shell recipe please click here.

For the pastry cream –

• All-purpose flour – 1 tablespoon
• Cornflour – 1 tablespoon + ¼ teaspoon
• Whole milk – 1 cup
• Caster sugar – 3 tablespoons
• Egg yolks – 2
• Vanilla essence – ½ teaspoon
• Rose flavor – 2-3 drops

For the topping –

• Strawberries – 10-12 berries or as required

How to –

First make the pastry cream…

In a sauce pan, add the milk, vanilla essence and rose flavor. Turn the heat on and bring this to a simmer. Turn the heat off and set aside.

In another sauce pan, mix the sugar, yolks and whisk till well combined. Swift the flour and cornflour into the egg mixture and whisk well. Now slowly add the milk while constantly whisking till well combined. Place the sauce pan over medium-low heat and cook till the mixture thickens while whisking constantly. Cook the mixture till, when the whisk is scraped on the bottom of the pan it should leave a clear line (thickened to a pudding like consistency). Remove from the heat.

Set a strainer over a bowl and strain the cream mixture. Use a spatula to push the cream through the strainer into the bowl. Now discard the solids. Cover the cream pastry with a cling wrap pushing the wrap directly in the surface of the pastry cream. This is to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate at least for 2 hours.

You can now start to prepare your tart shell. Recipe here.

 

Assembling the tart –

Hull the strawberries just before you start to assemble.

Once your tart shell is completely cooled, spread the pastry cream evenly onto the shell and smooth the top. Arrange the hulled berries in a circular patterns starting from the outer side working your way towards the center.

Your strawberry tart is ready! Serve immediately…