There's Something About Strawberries - Strawberry Tart

I just realised that I'm baking, cooking and making things more frequently than I update this site, this is due to the increasing activities that my eldest has to attend, which I have to drive her to; and the earlier bed time routine that I have established. My daughters sleep at 11pm or later. I used to stay up after them to do the things I like to do, but nowadays, I fall asleep together with them.

I made these two weeks ago, and I only have time to post this now. Oh well, better late than never.

In Malaysia, strawberries are considered expensive, and because of this we don't normally make a dessert using strawberries.

Two weeks ago, my neighbour went to Cameron Highlands, so I got her to buy me RM20 worth of strawberries. She delivered 3 big and 5 small punnets to my place when she returned. Imagine the strawberries sold in the supermarket cost about RM15 per punnet, this is like a super cheap sale!

However, the strawberries were extremely sour, and due to the car journey, 80% of the fruits were bruised. So I have to work with two types of strawberries, using the nice whole ones for a strawberry tart (recipe included), and made strawberry jam (recipe in next post) with the bruised and soft ones.

There's something about desserts made with strawberries. They just look so beautiful. It gives such a nice presentation, and always gets the "Oooos" and "Aaaaas" when it's served? Don't you agree?

My girls were sooo attracted by the beautiful tart, they were crowding around me when I was assembling it; before even given a chance to try the tart, my younger one told me cheekily, "Wow, this is nice. You are the best cook in the world, mama."

♥Recipe for Strawberry Tart♥
Make a 22cm tart.

For the Tart Shell
Recipe adapted from Baking by James Peterson

You'll need :

1 cup cake flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup (172g) cold butter, cut into 1/3 inch cubes
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbs additional liquid, or 1 egg white if dough is too dry (I didn't have to use any)
Method :

1) With the paddle attachment, mix both flours, salt and sugar on slow speed for about 30s.

2) Add the butter and combine it with the flour on low to medium speed, for about 1 minute.

3) Add the liquid and mix the dough on low to medium speed for 40s to 2mins, or until it looks like gravel, depending on the temperature of the ingredient. If it is still powdery and looks like grated Parmesan Cheese after 2 mins, pinch a piece to see if it comes together. If it falls apart, add 2 more tbs of liquid; if it holds together in a clump, continue mixing.

4) (optional) If at any point the dough no longer feels cold, put the mixer bowl in the refrigerator or freezer for 15mins. Mix the dough on low to medium speed for 1 to 4 mins

5) The dough will clump together into a cohesive mass when it's ready. Refrigerate if you are not using it right away.

6) Lining the tart pan with the dough : Roll out the dough, making sure it's at least 4 inches wider in diameter than the pan you're using. Fold the dough in half and transfer it to the pan. Press the dough into the corners of the pan and press the dough against the rim of the ring and cut off the excess. If the dough cracks, patch it with another piece.

7) To bake the tart shell blind (or empty) : Preheat oven to 200C. Place a piece of parchment paper or aluminium foil over the dough. Make sure the paper is large enough that it's easy to pick up by the ends when it's time to remove the weights (I didn't do this, and I crack my 1st tart shell when I tried to remove the weights). Use dried beans or rice to keep the shell from puffing up in the oven (You can reuse this but don't try to cook and eat them). Bake for 15mins for the edge of the tart to turn pale brown (when it's time to take out the beans or rice) and another 15mins for the inside of the shell to turn golden brown and look matte instead of shiny.

For the Sweetened Whipped Cream Filling

You'll need :

1 cup of whipping/heavy cream
2 tbs of granulated sugar

Method :

Whip cream and sugar in a small bowl placed in a bigger bowl filled with ice water (to retain the temperature) until stiff peak form. It should take about 5minutes.

Assembling the Strawberry Tart

You'll need :

1 punnet of strawberries
1 baked tart shell
1 sweetened whipped cream

Method :

1) Cut the stem off the strawberries.

2) Use a spatula to spread the sweetened whipped cream over the surface of the tart.

3) Arrange the strawberries around or over the tart.

4) Refrigerate before serving

When you serve, just sit back and enjoy the "Oooos" and the "Aaaaas"; anybody who's not visually challenged would have loved the presentation of this dessert.

My girls who didn't like the sourness of the strawberries, removed the strawberries, and just have the sweetened whippped cream tart.