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.
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Keyword creme patissiere, french strawberry tart, pastry cream, strawberry tart, tarte au fraise, tarte aux fraises
Prep Time 2 hourshours
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 2 hourshours30 minutesminutes
Servings 8
Author Ana Zelić
Ingredients
pate sablee
250gall-purpose flour
140gunsalted buttercold
100gpowdered sugar
¼teaspoonfine sea salt
1largeegg
lemon zest
creme patissiere
500gwhole milk
4largeegg yolks
1largeegg
120ggranulated sugar
40gcornstarch
¼teaspoonfine sea salt
30gunsalted butter
½teaspoonvanilla paste
Assembly
500gfresh strawberries
2tablespoongranulated sugar
Instructions
To make the pastry:
Start by dicing the butter. Put it in a bowl and place in the fridge or a freezer to be completely cold before using. Sift the flour, powdered sugar and salt into a large bowl. Stir it with a whisk to combine. Add the cold butter cubes, cover them with flour and start rubbing the butter and flour between your fingers. You're done after the mixture starts looking crumbly, like sand, after approx. 2 minutes. Some bigger bits are completely fine.
Add the egg and lemon zest to the mixture. Using a fork, cut through the mixture to combine all the ingredients to form dough clumps. Use the palm of your hand to gently knead it until it comes together into a smooth, sticky dough. Don't over do it.Place the dough on a piece of plastic wrap and wrap it to form a disc. Place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to rest and chill.
Take the dough from the fridge and place it between two sheets of parchment paper. If it's too cold, let it rest at room temperature until it becomes soft enough to roll without breaking, but not too soft.Roll the dough into a circle 2-3mm thick. You will notice that the more you roll it, the softer the dough becomes, which happens rather quickly. After you've rolled it, place it in the fridge again for 20-30 minutes to firm up.
In the meantime, grease the tart pan with a little bit of butter. Remove the top parchment paper and turn the dough upside down in the tart pan. Gently remove the other parchment paper from the dough and use your knuckles to press the dough, gently, to fit into every corner of the tart pan. Remove any excess dough by going with a rolling pin on the edges, or you can use a knife.Once again, place the dough in the fridge or in the freezer, this time for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 160˚C (325˚F) if you're using a fan oven or 175˚C (350˚F) if you're not using a fan oven.
After the dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge and poke with a fork. Cover it with parchment paper and put some weight in the tart case. I used barley, but you can use rice, beans, or specialty baking beans.Blind bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. Remove the pan from the oven and remove the parchment paper with the weights. Return the pan to the oven and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes or until it's baked through completely and has a deep golden brown color.
Once it's done, remove it from the oven and put it on a cooling rack to cool completely before adding any filling.
To make the crème pâtissière:
In a medium sized saucepan, heat the milk just until boiling point. In the meantime, in a separate bowl, combine the egg yolks, egg, cornstarch, sugar and salt using a whisk.
Once the milk has reached scalding point, pour ⅔ of it to the egg mixture, in a slow and steady stream, whisking continuously so you don't cook the eggs.Once you tempered the egg mixture, return it to the saucepan with the remaining milk and continue cooking, whisking constantly, until it thickens. Cook for another 1-2 minutes to make sure there isn't any cornstarch aftertaste.
When it's done, add in the vanilla and butter and whisk until everything is combined, silky and smooth.
To assemble:
Strain the pastry cream through a sieve into a cold, baked tart shell. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface to prevent skin forming. Leave at room temperature for about an hour to cool, then transfer to a fridge to cool completely.
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.
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
.In the meantime, wash the strawberries in cold water and cut the stem tops. Depending on their size, cut the strawberries in half or thirds and place them in a bowl. Sprinkle with two tablespoons of granulated sugar, stir it gently with a spoon and leave for 10-15 minutes to macerate. After the tart has time to chill, remove it from the fridge and remove the plastic wrap. If desired, use a hot spoon to make some swirls. Cover the top with macerated strawberries.
Notes
Please read all the helpful tips and tricks in the post!