Bright, fresh, flavourful and beautiful to look at – need I say more?
You don't have to use just strawberries, its just as delicious topped with a mi of colourful berries, and even some wedged peaches. bright beautiful colours and sweet fruits make this tart a guaranteed hit
Sweet Pastry – you can also use premade.
200g plain flour
125g salted butter, cubed
65g caster sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Milk
1 – In a processor combine the flour and cubed butter till you have fine breadcrumbs
2 – Add the sugar and pulse again
3 – Whisk the yolk and vanilla and add along with 1 teaspoon cold milk and gently work the dough till it comes together – add a splash of milk at a time as needed if its not coming together.
4 – Wrap and chill in the fridge for 1 hour
5 – Heat the oven to 190*c
6 – Roll out the pastry to a thickness of about 3-4mm
7 – Grease a lose bottomed tart tine and line with the pastry with some slight overhand in case of any shrinkage
8 - Fill the pastry case with a round of baking paper and add baking beans to weigh it down. Bake for 15 mins, then carefully remove the paper and beans and cook the pastry for 5 mins more (this is called baking blind).
9 – Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely before trimming off the access pastry
Note – the pastry case can be made and baked up to 2 days in advance – fill no more than 6 hours before serving
Strawberry mascarpone filling
350ml Double cream
250g mascarpone
1 teaspoon vanilla extract/vanilla paste
60g icing sugar plus extra for serving
Approx. 500g strawberries or a mix of other berries along with some fresh mint to decorate
1 - In a large bowl pour the double cream, icing sugar and vanilla and whisk till it forms soft peaks.
2 – Whisk in the mascarpone – you should have a smooth, slightly firm, spreadable mixture
3 – Hull and slice the strawberries and decorate in an circular motion starting from the outside in – alternately, top with a mix of berries (hulled but whole). Sprinkle with icing sugar, top with a few fresh mint leaves and serve.