Tarte aux fraises (French strawberry tart)

Tarte aux fraises is a classic French strawberry tart with silky vanilla crème pâtissière filling and a sweet shortcrust pastry tart shell. It's a perfect way to enjoy the fresh, juicy strawberries in season and a great dessert for dinner parties and gatherings.

Any recipe containing pastry cream is always a big hit with my family. No kidding. Whether it's crispy choux, cream-filled doughnuts or cakes, they will love it as long as there's vanilla pastry cream.

With summer's beautiful fresh strawberries, I couldn't imagine making anything other than this traditional French Strawberry tart. Buttery, crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth crust, creamy vanilla filling and fresh strawberries are a match made in heaven.

It's an incredibly simple, yet delicious dessert that will wow all your friends and family, guaranteed!

You can always play with the flavors to add your twist by topping it with different fruits such as berries, peaches or cherries or adding some lemon or orange zest to the pastry cream. Make it yours!

Jump to:

• Why you'll love this recipe
• Ingredient notes
• How to make tarte aux fraises (step-by-step)
• Yield and serving
• 💡Tips and tricks
• Storing
• FAQs and Troubleshooting
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

Why you'll love this recipe

• Metric measurements. A kitchen scale is your best friend and measuring the ingredients by weight is a great start to a successful recipe recreation.
• Step-by-step images. A little bit of visual aid goes a long way and here you have everything you need to help you make a perfect tarte aux fraises. It's easier than it looks, promise!
• Can be made in advance. You can make both the tart shell and creme patissiere in advance and then assemble right before serving. Neat, isn't it?

Ingredient notes

• Butter: Use good quality, European-style butter with min. 82% fat. Please avoid using margarine and other plant-fat products for the best result both in the pastry and the filling.

• Milk: I always use full-fat milk, don't go below 2.8% fat.

• Flour: I use all-purpose flour that has around 9,5% protein.

• Cornstarch: a thickening agent for pastry cream filling.

• Eggs: I use large eggs that weigh approx. 55-60 g without the shell. You'll need them to thicken the pastry cream and provide structure to the dough.

• Vanilla: use real vanilla, either an extract, paste or vanilla pod. Avoid vanilla essences and other artificial flavorings.

• Sugar: for the crust, it's best to use powdered sugar. For the filling, use granulated or caster sugar.

How to make tarte aux fraises (step-by-step)

Note: You have the fully written recipe with measurements and detailed instructions at the end of the post. However, I advise you to read all the helpful tips and FAQs.

Make the sweet shortcrust pastry

I have a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to make pâte sablée, so check it out for any tips and tricks you might need, especially if you've never made a pie/tart dough. Here I'll share the basic instructions you need to make the crust.

1. Start by sifting the flour, powdered sugar and salt into a large bowl and stir it to combine. Add the cold cubes of butter and rub the mixture between your fingers until it looks like coarse sand. Add the egg with some lemon zest and combine everything using a fork, until it forms clumps of dough.
2. Knead it gently with your hand until it comes together into a smooth dough. Cover in plastic wrap making a disc of dough and put in the fridge to chill.
3. Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to a 2-3mm thickness and place it in a tart pan that you've lightly greased.
4. Using your knuckles press the dough so it fits the pan seamlessly. Remove the excess dough with a rolling pin or a knife.
5. Place the dough in the fridge or a freezer for at least an hour before blind-baking.
6. When ready to bake, poke the dough with a fork, cover with parchment paper and add some weight like beans, rice, barley etc. that will prevent shrinking.
7. Bake in a preheated oven for approx. 15 min or until the edges are lightly golden. Remove the parchment paper with the weights and return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until completely baked and deep golden brown.
8. Leave on a cooling rack to cool completely before adding any filling.

Keep the dough cold. The correct temperature of the ingredients and your working space is important to achieve the right texture and it makes it easier to handle the dough.

Make the crème pâtissière

1. Whisk the egg yolks, egg, sugar, corn starch and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Meanwhile, let the milk come almost to a boil and then, in a slow and steady stream, whisking constantly, add about ⅔ of the hot milk to the egg mixture.
3. Once you tempered the egg mixture, return it back to the saucepan with the remaining milk and continue cooking, whisking constantly, until it thickens and then proceed cooking for another minute or two to make sure the cornstarch-y flavor is gone.
4. Turn the heat off, add the butter and vanilla and whisk until everything is incorporated, smooth and shiny.

Assemble the strawberry tart

1. Pour the pastry cream to a completely cool tart shell and cover with plastic wrap touching the surface (to prevent skin forming). Leave to cool at room temperature for an hour before placing in the fridge to cool completely.
2. If you want to serve the tart the next day, then pour the pastry cream in a shallow plate instead of a crust, cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge. Assemble the tart when ready to serve.
3. In the meantime, wash the strawberries in cold water and cut the stem tops.
4. Depending on their size, cut the strawberries in half or thirds and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, stir it gently with a spoon and leave for 10-15 minutes to macerate.
5. After the tart had time to chill, take it out of the fridge and remove the plastic wrap. If desired, use a hot spoon to make some swirls. Cover the top with macerated strawberries.

Alternatively, you can arrange the freshly cut strawberries in a pretty circular pattern and brush them with warm apricot jam, as it's traditionally done in France.

Yield and serving

This recipe serves 8 to 10 people, depending on how thick or thin you cut the slices.

For added freshness, you can serve some freshly whipped cream with each slice. It's delicious!

💡Tips and tricks

• Feel free to use a food processor to make the dough, instead of rubbing the mixture between your fingers, especially if your hands tend to be hot or you live in a very hot area. However, I suggest using a 'pulse' option for better control of mixing stages.
• Strain the pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve. Lumps or small cooked egg bits are possible if you're not experienced at tempering the eggs and cooking pastry cream. Nothing to worry about! Just make sure to strain the pastry cream through a sieve and you'll have a silky cream in no time!
• You can make both the pate sablee and creme patissiere in advance. Keep the tart shell at room temperature, tightly covered and the pastry cream in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap. However, you'll notice the pastry cream becomes very stiff and gelatinous-like when cold. I like to transfer it to a mixing bowl and whip it with an electric mixer to make it creamy again before assembling.

Storing

Keep your Tarte aux Fraises in the fridge, tightly covered with plastic wrap or in an air-tight container, for 3-4 days. The longer it sits in the fridge the chances are the crust will become soggy.

FAQs and Troubleshooting

If you have any other questions that I didn't cover, please let me know in the comments section down below - I'd love to help you out!

And if you make this delicious Tarte aux Fraises, tag me on Instagram @anasbakingchronicles so I can see it or feel free to e-mail me your pictures and thoughts! I love seeing your bakes!

Happy baking,

Ana

📖 Recipe