Strawberry Tart Recipe

This is a very famous dessert recipe which is very much in demand especially by your kids. This strawberry tarts are very satisfying and can fill your stomach in a good way.

(For tarts)

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons cold shorteing
• 6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter (cubed)
• 2 cups Pastry Cream
• ¼ cup cold water
• 2 pints whole strawberries (hulled and sliced in half)
• 3 tablespoons shelled pistachios (halved)
• 1/3 cup apricot jelly

Directions

1. In a small mixing bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and flour. Freeze for 30 minutes and then blend using a food processor.
2. Stir in butter and shortening and continue blending process, then mix in cold water gradually. Combine until dough is thick and make sure there aren’t any flour bubbles.
3. Lightly flour a flat surface and mold dough into a disk; enfold with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.
4. Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit.
5. Prepare 4 tart pans with removable sides (4 ½ inch). Remove dough from the refrigerator and fit properly into tart pans. Never stretch the dough to avoid shrinkage of tarts. Slice excess dough using the rolling pin.
6. Line the tart shells with a piece of buttered foil, butter side down, and fill with dried beans or rice.  Bake for 10 minutes.
7. Cool tart shells for a couple of minutes and remove foil and beans. Plant holes all over the shells using a fork and bake once more for 20 minutes or until sides are golden brown. Cool.
8. You are now ready to fill the shells with pastry cream and top with melted apricot jelly and pistachios.

(For pastry cream)

Ingredients:

• 5 large egg yolks
• ¾ cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups scalded milk
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon Cognac
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Directions:

1. Prepare an electric mixer or food processor with paddle attachment, beat the yolks and sugar for 5 minutes until mixture is thick. Reduce speed and mix in cornstarch.
2. Gradually add warm milk and process for a couple more minutes.  Pour the mixture into a saucepan and boil over low heat. Continue stirring until mixture thickens and bubbles.  After 7 minutes, switch stirring to beating; whisk constantly for another couple of minutes until custard becomes as thick as pudding.
3. Add in vanilla extract, butter, cognac, and heavy cream.  Stir thoroughly.
4. Sift mixture into a large bowl and cover with a plastic wrap. Chill until cold.
5. Pastry cream is now ready to fill the tart shells.