Strawberry Cream Tart
This is a family tart recipe that I make as soon as strawberries appear! A homemade crust, a thick layer of cream, fresh strawberries, and a jelly-like topping made with the juice from the berries! Easy, simple, and utterly delicious.
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
For the sweet tart dough:
- Use an 8-inch square pan or 9-inch round pan.
- 9 tablespoons unsalted butter ½ cup + 1 tablespoon, at room temperature
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- pinch of salt
For the filling:
- 1 pound fresh strawberries washed, stem cut off and sliced thick
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
- 2 tablespoons cool tap water
- ¾ cup heavy or whipping cream cold
- 3 tablespoons sour cream cold
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- mint leaves for garnish
Instructions
For the sweet tart dough:
- In a large bowl, cream 9 tablespoons unsalted butter with a spatula or wooden spoon until it is smooth.
- Add ¾ cup powdered sugar and mix until all is incorporated.
- Add 1 egg and stir with a fork. It will not be smooth or completely incorporated. That is fine. Add half of the flour (eyeball it) and a pinch of salt.
- Mix it but don’t wait until the flour is completely incorporated before adding the second half. Then, mix it until lumpy and a few dry spots remain.
- Turn it onto a clean surface or counter and mix it with your hands, making it come together but touching it as little as possible. Don't overmix it. It should not be kneaded, only gathered into a disc or ball.
- When you have a smooth dough ball, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
- Use an 8-inch square pan or 9-inch round pan.
- When ready to roll, take the dough from the fridge and let barely soften at room temperature. The dough must still be cold. Simply wait until you can start to roll it, but not until it is very soft. This is important to ensure a tender dough.
- On a lightly floured counter, start rolling the dough disc, making sure you do quarter turns (I do them to the left) often to ensure the dough is not sticking and adding more flour to the counter if it is sticking.
- Once you have the dough rolled a few inches larger than the pan, fold it in half and place the fold in the middle of the pan.
- Open the dough and line the pan, being careful not to stretch the dough. Remove excess dough by rolling over the rim of the pan with the rolling pin.
- Prick the bottom with a fork, freeze for 20 minutes, or put it in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
- Line the tart pan with a piece of aluminum foil and add beans or pie weights, covering the bottom evenly.
- Bake the tart shell for 15 minutes. Remove the foil carefully and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes more until the dough is fully baked.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack. Remove from the pan and transfer to the serving plate.
For the filling:
- Put 1 pound fresh strawberries with ¼ cup sugar in a large bowl (I like glass), stir a little, cover with a kitchen towel, and leave to marinate at room temperature for at least 1 hour, until the fruit juices are fully released.
- Put 2 tablespoons cool tap water in a small cup or bowl. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin and let it hydrate for a few minutes. Do not stir.
- In a small saucepan, put all the juice that the strawberries released, reserving the fruit for later. Heat over low heat until it’s about to break to a boil. Remove from the fire.
- Add the cold hydrated gelatin to the hot strawberry juice and mix until dissolved. Transfer to a bowl and let thicken a bit, either at room temperature or in the refrigerator (stirring it often) until it begins to thicken, but don't let it set.
- Beat ¾ cup heavy or whipping cream with 3 tablespoons sour cream and ¼ cup powdered sugar in a large bowl until medium peaks form.
- Spread on the bottom of the cooled, baked crust.
- Carefully distribute the macerated pieces of strawberry left from before, spreading over the entire surface.
- Slowly and carefully add the thickened gelatin syrup on top of the strawberries, trying to cover as much as possible.
- Let the cake set in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, garnish with mint leaves and serve.
Notes
Gelatin topping: you can leave it at room temperature, and it will take some time, and that depends on the temperature of the room and of the gelatin mixture itself, or you can speed it up by refrigerating it. Be careful here because you must stir it frequently while it's cooling in the fridge; otherwise, the sides will solidify too much before the center is thick enough. Important: you want to add the jello topping while thick and cool but still pourable. If it's too solid, it won't cover the strawberries as it should.
Storing: I like to eat it the day I make it. It will be fresh, and with a good crust. After that, keep in mind that, since this pie needs to be kept refrigerated, the crust will get softer from the cream and strawberry juices that will seep in, but also dry out from the fridge, and the strawberries will wilt a little bit every day.
Crust alternatives: use this chocolate pie crust, that pairs well with strawberries and cream. And a graham cracker crust works well if you're short on time.
