Strawberry tart

Ultra-Creamy. Ultra-vanilla.

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Bonjour and welcome to recipe no. 14.

Have you ever tasted a strawberry tart whose cream possesses that tenderness that evokes a cloud? Have you savored a shortcrust pastry - outside of bakery windows - capable of awakening your childhood memories in an instant?

Today, I'm sharing THE recipe that I've perfected after dozens of attempts. This shortcrust pastry and this pastry cream will now accompany all your creations. You know me by now: I redid this recipe about ten times until I found this perfect texture and unmatched taste.

The Art of Kneading Shortcrust Pastry

I tried two egg yolks instead of one: certainly, the dough bound more easily. But here's what I understood with shortcrust pastry: the more you coddle it, the more it agrees to form this docile ball. Some pastry chefs will tell you: "Above all, don't work it too much!" But neither you nor I - unless you're hiding talents from me? - are part of their brotherhood. We bake by instinct, with heart and what our hands whisper to us.

The Perfect Sugar Balance

I also discovered the right sugar balance. Eighty grams for two hundred and fifty grams of flour, no more. I tried twenty grams more: it was excess. A few grams can upset the harmony.

For a long time, I shaped my dough with brown sugar, but let's be frank: white sugar sublimes it. Neutral, it lets the butter's taste bloom, and that's exactly why we cherish shortcrust pastry. Brown sugar brings its caramelized notes, pleasant certainly, but for a strawberry tart, let's seek classic purity. I even tested coconut sugar, out of conscience... but let's stop these fantasies. White sugar, please!

The Dough and Its Little Mishaps Along the Way

When lining the mold: Ah, this so French gesture that consists of delicately rolling the dough around the rolling pin to deploy it gracefully above the mold... What poetry on paper! But the reality of our domestic kitchens quickly brings us back to earth. This shortcrust pastry, so fragile, so capricious, that breaks at the slightest glance! I learned the hard way that it demands an angel's patience. Sweet pastry, on the other hand, more docile, readily lends itself to the game.

During baking: Here's the moment of truth that separates the amateur from the seasoned cook. Seeing your beautiful pastry slowly collapse in the oven's heat is a little drama that plays out in silence. I've attempted many heroic rescues, spoon in hand, trying to straighten these rebellious edges mid-baking. Sometimes it works... sometimes not. One day, my edges had completely capitulated. No more shape, no more structure. I had to start everything over.

Since then, I've adopted some simple precautions: those little baking weights - rice will do, or even chickpeas - arranged generously up to the edges. They keep the pastry in place and prevent that unsightly puffing in the center. And this parchment paper, oh so precious! Because forgetting it means condemning yourself to scrape indefinitely those grains that have become one with the pastry. Distraction has never been the pastry chef's friend.

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My Quest for Perfect Pastry Cream

Pastry cream remains my weakness. Especially when it breathes vanilla with that subtle yet intense quality. Can you imagine what this reveals to the palate? I've explored all versions: cornstarch, flour, brown sugar, white sugar, little butter, lots of butter, skim milk, whole milk...

Manon, your quest for perfection borders on madness.

Result: nothing surpasses a so-called "extra" pastry cream - don't ask me the origin of this name, that's how my French patisserie encyclopedia calls it. You need WHOLE milk, nothing else. WHITE sugar, nothing else. Butter, real butter, in the exact measure.

The traditional recipe calls for six egg yolks, that's one hundred and twenty grams. I obeyed, then I dared to disobey: four yolks are amply sufficient. The egg taste then fades to let vanilla reign supreme. Flour or cornstarch? A matter of sensitivity. I lean toward cornstarch: it lightens without dulling, facilitates the work, gives this airy texture...

My Secret for an Unforgettable Cream

I was about to omit this detail so precious it will melt your guests from the first spoonful. Because you see, the encyclopedia instructs, but doesn't reveal everything. Infuse a vanilla pod in your milk at least twenty-four hours in advance. And there, we have something unforgettable.

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Strawberry tart

Tarte aux fraises

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To prepare minimum 1 day before tasting.

Ingredients

For 8 portions:

The pastry:

1. 250 g flour

2. 80 g white sugar

3. 140 g butter

4. 1 egg yolk

5. A little breadcrumbs

The extra pastry cream:

For about 800 g of cream:

1. One vanilla pod

2. 50 cl whole milk (important!)

3. 4 egg yolks

4. 100 g white sugar

5. 50 g cornstarch

6. 50 g butter

And a basket of beautiful strawberries!

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Step 1: Vanilla Milk Infusion (the day before, mandatory)

1. Take a saucepan that doesn't stick too much and heat 50 cl of whole milk until boiling¹. Stir often so the milk doesn't stick to the bottom.

2. Open a vanilla pod, run a knife inside to remove its seeds and put them in the milk, with the whole pod.

3. Let the milk cool, then put it in the fridge with the vanilla pod. Let infuse for 24 hours.

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Step 2: Making the Shortcrust Pastry (the day before or same day)

1. Sift² 250 g of flour into a bowl. Add 80 g of white sugar and 140 g of butter cut into pieces.

2. Mix with your hands by rubbing gently, until it resembles fine yellow sand.

3. Then add an egg yolk and continue kneading with your hands until forming a compact ball of dough. If it takes a little time, that's normal.

4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

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Step 3: Rolling and Lining the Pastry

Here's a video to show you this step as well as the next one (lining the pastry).

1. Flour your work surface a little so the dough doesn't stick. If needed, make a nice round ball again, then flatten it slightly with your hands.

2. Place your rolling pin in the center of the dough, and roll gently toward the edges, without pressing too hard. Keep your hands flat, one on each side of the rolling pin. Don't push the rolling pin, make regular back-and-forth motions.

3. Turn the dough a small quarter turn each time, then start rolling again. Continue this way until the dough is large enough to cover your mold.

4. Take a pastry ring or tart mold, and butter the inside well.

5. Place the dough inside simply with your hands, gently. If it breaks a little, it's not serious, you can patch it once in place.

6. With your thumbs, lightly press the dough against the edges to make it hold. Try to leave an edge a little thicker than the bottom.

7. Roll the rolling pin over the top to cut excess dough. If you have enough left, you can make little shortbread cookies by giving them the shape of your choice.

8. Prick the tart bottom everywhere with a fork.

9. You can then pinch the edge of the dough with your fingers (thumb and index) or with a tart pincer to make pretty little waves.

Crucial: put the tart in the fridge all night, or 15 minutes in the freezer. This helps the dough edges hold well during baking.

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Step 4: Baking the Pastry (the day before or same day)

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C.

2. To prevent the pastry edge from collapsing: cover the pastry with parchment paper, then fill it with baking weights (or rice, chickpeas, dried beans...) up to the edge. This trick prevents the edges from sagging and the pastry from puffing in the center.

3. Bake the tart for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully remove the parchment paper and weights. Put it back to bake 5 to 10 more minutes, until you get a nice golden color.

4. When out of the oven, sprinkle a little breadcrumbs over the entire tart bottom. You can also put almond powder or a thin layer of strawberry jam. These tricks prevent the cream from making the pastry soggy.

5. Let cool completely then gently turn the tart over to remove excess breadcrumbs.

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Step 5: Preparing the Extra Pastry Cream

(It doesn't freeze)

Prepare the field: from now on, everything can go very fast. Take time to take out and weigh all your ingredients in advance.

Keep nearby:

• 4 eggs that you will have clarified³

• your milk taken out of the fridge

• 120 g white sugar

• 50 g cornstarch

• 50 g butter

• a bowl

• a whisk

• a small strainer

1. In a saucepan (the one that sticks least), pour your vanilla milk. Remove the pod, then heat until boiling. Stir from time to time.
   From now on, stay focused: the cream will cook very fast.

2. In a bowl, whisk the 4 egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch until the mixture is smooth. No need to whisk too long: the mixture shouldn't whiten or become foamy.

3. Pour the hot milk little by little over the egg mixture while whisking well each time.

4. Pass everything through a strainer over the saucepan, then put back to cook on high heat. And there, don't stop whisking! Continue without stopping: the cream will thicken.

5. As soon as it becomes nicely smooth, neither too liquid nor too thick, remove from heat. Add the butter and mix. You'll quickly learn to recognize the right moment with a little practice.

6. Pour the cream onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and wrap it well so it doesn't touch the air. Let cool 20 minutes, then refrigerate at least 2 hours, or all night.

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Step 6: Assembling the Tart

1. Take the cream out of the fridge, pour it into a container removing its plastic wrap, then whisk it well so it becomes smooth again.

2. With a spatula, pour all the cream onto the tart bottom and spread it gently.

3. Wash the strawberries, remove the stems and cut them in half. Arrange them delicately on the cream.

Optional: for an even fresher touch, you can grate a little lemon zest or add some finely chopped mint leaves on top.

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Thank you for reading, let me know what you think in the comments!

1. Boiling (ébullition, in French): the moment when a liquid heats up enough to form bubbles and turns into vapor.

2. Sifting (tamiser, in French) flour or powdered sugar means passing it through a fine sieve or sifter to remove lumps, aerate it, and make it easier to mix into a batter or dough.

3. To clarify eggs (clarifier des oeufs, in French) means to separate the egg white from the yolk.