Tarte aux Fraises (French Strawberry Tart)

Ingredients

• 130 g unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 65 g granulated sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 220 g plain flour (all-purpose)
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 1 Vanilla Bean pod
• 600 ml whole milk
• 5 large egg yolks
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 40 g cornflour (corn starch)
• 45 g unsalted butter (cubed)
• 500 g Fresh strawberries
• 1 tbsp apricot jam
• 1 tbsp boiling water

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Make the Crême Patissiére ---

2. 2

   Heat the milk gently. Cut the vanilla pod in half and run the knife along the inside of both halves scraping the vanilla beans out. Add the vanilla beans, pod, and milk into a heavy-based saucepan and set over low heat on the stovetop.Heat the mixture until it's steaming and you can see some bubbles appear around the edges of the saucepan. Whatever you do, don't boil it!!! Keep the heat on low and don't get impatient! Once warmed sufficiently then turn the stovetop off.

3. 3

   Whisk eggs and sugar then cornflour. In a separate bowl add your egg yolks and sugar and whisk them together until thickened and pale. This takes about a minute, a little longer if doing it by hand. Add the cornflour and whisk until combined.

4. 4

   Combine the two mixtures together. Temper the eggs. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk mixture and discard. Whilst whisking continuously, pour the milk slowly into the eggs until fully added.

5. 5

   Thicken the custard. Pour the combined mixture back into the saucepan and set back onto the stove at low heat. Carry on whisking whilst the custard heats and thickens. This can take about ten minutes. Don't be impatient and turn the heat up hoping for the thickening to happen quicker. All you'll get is a split custard and bits of cooked egg.Be patient and whisk constantly. The custard is ready when it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and when you run a pass-through it doesn't join.

6. 6

   Sieve, cool and refrigerate. To guarantee a smooth custard, take the pan off the heat and pass the custard through a sieve into a bowl. Add in the butter and whisk until meltedCover the custard straight away with plastic wrap. To prevent a skin from forming, make sure the wrap sits touching and covering the surface of the custard. Leave the bowl to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold - a minimum of 3 hours. It will thicken as it cools which is super important when it comes to assembling the tart.

7. 7

   --- Make the Pâte Sablée Tart Base ---

8. 8

   Cream butter and sugar together. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until pale and creamy.Incorporate egg yolks. Add in the egg yolks and mix for 1 minute until well combined.

9. 9

   Add flour and salt to form a dough. Sift the flour into the mixing bowl and add in the salt. Mix on low speed until just incorporated and the dough starts to clump. Bring the dough together by gently squeezing it together.Refrigerate dough. Form dough into a rough ball, then shape it into a disc and wrap it well in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

10. 10

    Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).Roll out dough on a floured surface until the thickness of a coin and approximately 27cm (11-inches) in diameter. Fill Tart tin with Dough. Lay the dough into your tart tin and use your fingers to push the pastry onto the sides of the tin and into the grooves. Using a sharp knife, trim off the excess pastry from the tin. Refrigerate the prepared pastry shell for at least 1 hour to allow the pastry to relax further and butter to harden.

11. 11

    Blind bake the pastry. Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill with baking beans. Bake for 20 minutes then remove the baking beans by using the corners of the paper to lift them from the tart base.Complete the tart base baking. Pop the tart base back into the oven for another 15-20 minutes until golden and baked through.

12. 12

    --- Assemble and Decorate ---

13. 13

    Fill the base. Remove the pastry cream from the fridge and whisk until smooth. Then spoon into the tart base and level off with the back of a spoon.

14. 14

    Top with strawberries. Wash the strawberries well, pat dry with a paper towel and then hull and cut in half each strawberry, leaving one remaining whole.Place the whole strawberry in the centre and then place the cut strawberries, open side down, leaning at an angle around the central piece. Continue placing the halved strawberries in a circular pattern until the tart is covered. There is no need to press the strawberries down into the cream.

15. 15

    Apply the glaze. Add the apricot jam to a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of boiling water and mix until smooth. Then gently brush each strawberry with the glaze so as not to disturb the position of the fruit. Refrigerate the tart for 15 minutes. Slice, serve and enjoy!