Tarte aux Fraises (French Strawberry Tart)

🧂 Ingredients

• 1 sweet shortcrust pastry dough

  (blind baked per instructions)
• 1 cup milk

  (whole milk or 2% milk)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla paste

  (or vanilla bean caviar, or vanilla extract)
• 1 large egg

  (room temperature)
• 1 large egg yolk

  (room temperature)
• 3 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tablespoon cornstarch
• 5-6 cups strawberries

  (washed, hulled, and halved)
• ⅛ cup apricot preserves

  (warmed and strained)

Instructions

• 1 Make the single shortcrust pastry recipe
  [https://bakeitwithlove.com/sweet-shortcrust-pastry/] as directed and blind bake
  for 15 minutes, then remove the weights and bake an additional 10 minutes. Allow
  the crust to cool completely before assembling the tart.
• 2 Bring a medium saucepan with the 1 cup milk and ½ teaspoon of vanilla paste (or
  vanilla bean caviar, or pure vanilla extract) to medium heat. Stir occasionally
  and heat until the first bubbles appear.
• 3 While the milk is heating: In a large mixing bowl whisk the egg, egg yolk, and 3
  tablespoons sugar together until light in color and frothy in appearance. Add
  the 2 tablespoons flour and 1 ½ tablespoon of cornstarch and whisk until smooth.
• 4 Once the milk is heated: Temper the egg mixture by adding a ladle-full amount
  (approximately ¼ cup) of the heated milk, whisking vigorously. Repeat once, then
  whisk in the remaining heated milk and vanilla.
• 5 Transfer the combined mixture back into your saucepan and return to medium-low
  heat, whisking occasionally. As soon as your pastry cream thickens, remove it
  from heat and whisk vigorously until you have a smooth creamy texture.
• 6 Transfer the pastry cream to a clean bowl and cover with cling film, allowing
  the plastic wrap to settle onto the surface. Press down on the plastic wrap to
  adhere it to the entire surface of the pastry cream. This will prevent a 'skin'
  from forming on the creme. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• 7 Place your baked tart shell onto a serving plate and fill it with your pastry
  cream, spreading the cream to the edges. *I usually make my apricot glaze and
  brush some onto the tart shell as well as the fruit, prior to filling the tart
  shell with creme.
• 8 Prepare your strawberries by cleaning, de-hulling, and slicing into halves.
  Arrange the fruit in a circular pattern working from the inside outward, fitting
  as many berries as you can into the tart.
• 9 Warm the apricot preserves (jam or jelly) in a microwave-safe dish in a short
  15-second heating on high power. Strain the preserves through a fine mesh sieve
  to remove any chunks (if desired), then brush your strawberries with the glaze
  to give the berry topping a nice shiny appearance.
• 10 Chill the assembled tart for at least an hour before slicing and serving.

Nutrition Info