Homemade strawberry tart
This strawberry tart with pastry cream recipe is a must as soon as strawberry season begins. One of the classic desserts of French pastry-making, it is highly prized.
Along with the fraisier cake, these are the two iconic strawberry-based desserts that everyone loves.
Their fame extends beyond borders and has captivated the entire world. Who has never succumbed to the irresistible temptation of a slice of strawberry cake or a delicious strawberry tart? Probably nobody!
If it’s not strawberry season or if it has passed, you can replace them with other seasonal fruits, like in red berry tartlets.
The recipe remains the same, simply lay the fruit harmoniously on top of a smooth, delicious custard.
The secret of a perfect homemade strawberry tart
Table of Contents
The key element in making a perfect tart is undoubtedly the pastry crust. It should be both shortbread and crisp, with a well-executed finish and gilding. That’s what will make all the difference.
I always use the recipe for the wonderful sweet shortcrust pastry by Mr. Pierre Hermé. The result is excellent in taste, texture and appearance. The result is a truly delicious homemade strawberry tart that has nothing to envy those found in the finest pastry shops.
I’ve published a very comprehensive article on the sweet pastry dough. lining a tart ring, baking, glazing, and plenty of tips and advice. For those of you who like visuals, you’ll also find all the steps on video.
Once you master lining the tart ring and the shortcrust pastry which are the most difficult to make, it doesn’t take much to create pies to suit all tastes. What I love about tarts is that, in addition to the great classics – strawberry tart, lemon tart, pearl almond tart (tarte bourdaloue) tart, almond tart (tarte amandine), etc… with a little imagination, you can create sublime ones.
How to revisit a strawberry tart?
The real strawberry tart is made with a sweet pastry or shortcrust pastry base, but nothing stops you from reinventing it according to your desires. A bit of imagination is all it takes to create different versions of strawberry tarts, each as delicious as the last.
Here are a few simple suggestions, changing the base to :
-
- A dacquoise, like what I did in the strawberry dacquoise tart
- A large Breton shortbread topped with diplomat cream and strawberries
- A pie crust of reconstituted shortbread topped with mousseline cream and strawberries
How to keep the tart nice and crispy?
The fruits soak the tart pastry, causing it to lose its crispness and shortbread-like texture. By baking a little almond cream in the bottom of your tart, it will absorb the fruit juices. If you don’t want to top the tart with almond cream, you can spread melted cocoa butter on the bottom.
Simply melt a little cocoa butter and brush it over the baked base. If you don’t have cocoa butter, you can replace it with a thin layer of white chocolate.
You can also use egg white on the tart base halfway through baking.
How to make this strawberry tart?
The detailed steps are shown below, step by step in pictures.
You first bake the tart base partially (blind bake) for a few minutes, then you fill it with a generous layer of almond cream. before finishing cooking. Once the tart is golden brown, top generously with a strawberry confit.
The whole thing is topped with a pastry cream ultra-melting and full of vanilla. The finishing touch is made with the star of the recipe: beautiful, flavorful strawberries. Decoration is a matter of personal taste.
How to decorate it?
Drizzle a little glaze over all the strawberries to give them a shiny finish, and decorate with a few pistachios and small sugar-paste daisies.
You can make this tart with either :
- Custard and strawberries
- Almond cream, custard and strawberries
- Strawberry compote, custard and strawberries
- Almond cream, strawberry compote, custard and strawberries
How to decorate a strawberry tart
This tart is best eaten the same day. However, it stays in the fridge for 2 days without losing its crispness.
You can prepare your sweet pastry well in advance, as well as baking the tart base. You can freeze the sweet pastry or the already baked tart base with the almond cream for up to 2 months without worry. On the big day, or if you suddenly crave a good tart, all you have to do is take out your base and fill it.
The recipe on video
Preparation steps :
NB: You’ll find details of the ingredients on the recipe card you can print out below.
Sweet pastry
Make your tart base following the detailed recipe in the image or video 👉 the sweet pastry recipe. I advise you to make this quantity of sweet pastry and keep half of it in the freezer for another time . Very practical.
1. Cream butter and sifted powdered sugar.
2. Add salt, vanilla beans and almond powder. Mix and scrape the bottom of the mixing bowl.
3. Add the egg, mix and then add the sifted flour. Mix briefly without trying to knead or gather into a ball.
4. Turn the dough onto the work surface and “fraser” it with the palm of your hand in 2/3 back and forth motions to bring it all together.
NB: “Fraser” is a French culinary term that refers to a technique used in pastry making, particularly for sweet pastry dough. It involves smearing the dough across the work surface with the heel of your hand to fully incorporate the ingredients without overworking the dough.
5. Gather the dough into a ball and divide it in half. Wrap in plastic film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. It would be best to make it the day before for the next day.
6. The next day, or after 2 hours of refrigeration, roll out the dough to 2 or 3 mm thick.
7. Line a 22 cm perforated tart ring using the traditional technique or Gianluca Fusto’s method (see the comprehensive article on sweet pastry). Freeze for 1 hour before baking. 
Pastry cream
While waiting, prepare the pastry cream by following the article ; The recipe is detailed with step-by-step images for more details, or simply follow the method below.
1. Put some of the 60 g (2 oz) sugar in a saucepan and pour over the milk. This prevents the custard from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.
2. Split the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds. Put the beans and the pod in the milk.
4. Bring milk to the boil
5. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar.
6. Add the cornstarch and flour, mix well without whisking.
7. Pour the hot milk over the egg mixture through a sieve, then mix to dilute it. Pour back into the saucepan.
8. Bring to the boil and thicken, stirring constantly.
9. Remove the pastry cream from the heat when it starts to make bubbles (air bubbles bursting); this indicates that it is well-cooked.
10. Off the heat, add the butter cubes and mix well.
11. Pour the mixture into a dish and cover it with cling film directly on the surface. Let cool in the refrigerator.
Leave the pastry cream to cool
Almond cream
1. Cream the softened butter and sugar together until smooth.
2. Add the almond powder and mix while gradually adding the beaten egg. Mix gently without whisking, otherwise, the almond cream will puff up during baking.
3. Transfer to a piping bag or cover it with plastic wrap in the bowl.
4. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
Almond cream to fill the tart
Baking the tart shells
1. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F) in fan-forced oven mode or 165°C (325°F) in conventional mode.
2. Place the tart shell in the oven for 15 min.
3. Remove when lightly browned. Remove the tart ring and let it cool slightly.
4. Remove any irregularities with the back of a strainer (see sweet pastry recipe). Brush the sides of the tart with an egg wash.
5. Fill with almond cream.
6. Return to the oven for 15 min more or less, until the tart is golden brown and the almond cream has turned a light golden color.
7. Remove the tart from the oven, take off the tart ring, and let it cool while preparing the strawberry compote.
Strawberry confit
1. Place the sugar and diced strawberries in a saucepan. Mix well.
Prepare the strawberry confit
2. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce to a thick jam.
Filling and finishing strawberry tart
1. Spread the strawberry compote over the almond cream.
2. Whip the pastry cream to smooth it. You can use an immersion blender. Preferably, transfer it to a piping bag.
3. Fill the tart and smooth the top with an offset spatula.
4. Select strawberries of the same size and cut in half.
5. Garnish the tart with strawberries in any arrangement you like.
6. Apply a little neutral glaze to give a glossy finish and protect the strawberries from oxidation.
7. Decorate with pistachios and small sugar-paste flowers.
8. Place it on a golden serving plate and transfer it onto a platter. Leave in the fridge until ready to serve.
Strawberry tart recipe with pastry cream
Ingredients :
Sweet Pastry
- For 2 tarts of 20 cm/22 cm (7.9 in/8.7 in) or one large tart and 8 tartlets of 8 cm (3.1 in)
- 250 g (8.8 oz )T55 flour (I used all-purpose flour because I didn't have T55)
- 150 g (5.3 oz )very soft butter
- 95 g (3.4 oz ) powdered sugar
- 35 g (1.2 oz )almond powder
- 50 g (1.8 oz ) eggs
- 1 g salt 1/3 teaspoon
- 1 vanilla bean or vanilla powder
Egg Wash
- 1 egg yolk 20 g ( 0.7 oz)
- 2 teaspoons heavy cream 5 g ( 0.2 oz)
Pastry Cream
- 250 ml (8.5 fl oz) milk
- 60 g (2.1 oz )sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz ) egg yolks
- 15 g (0.5 oz) flour
- 15 g (0.5 oz ) cornstarch
- 25 g (0.9 oz) butter
- 1 vanilla bean
Almond Cream
- 50 g (1.8 oz )soft butter
- 50 g (1.8 oz) sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz ) almond powder
- 50 g (1.8 oz )eggs
Strawberry Confit
- 165 g (5.8 oz ) strawberries, chopped into small pieces
- 25 g (0.9 oz ) sugar
For Finishing
- 750 g (26.5 oz )strawberries
- a bit of chopped and whole pistachios
- a bit of neutral glaze
- sugar paste flowers
Instructions :
Sweet pastry
- Make your tart base following the detailed recipe in the image or video 👉 the sweet pastry recipe. I advise you to make this quantity of sweet pastry and keep half of it in the freezer for another time. Very practical.
- Cream butter and sifted powdered sugar.
- Add salt, vanilla beans and almond powder. Mix and scrape the bottom of the mixing bowl.
- Add the egg, mix and then add the sifted flour. Mix briefly without trying to knead or gather into a ball.
- Turn the dough onto the work surface and "fraser" it with the palm of your hand in 2/3 back and forth motions to bring it all together.
- NB: "Fraser" is a French culinary term that refers to a technique used in pastry making, particularly for sweet pastry dough. It involves smearing the dough across the work surface with the heel of your hand to fully incorporate the ingredients without overworking the dough.
- Gather the dough into a ball and divide it in half. Wrap in plastic film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. It would be best to make it the day before for the next day.
- The next day, or after 2 hours of refrigeration, roll out the dough to 2 or 3 mm thick.
- Line a 22 cm tart ring using the traditional technique or Gianluca Fusto's method (see the comprehensive article on sweet pastry). Freeze for 1 hour before baking.
Pastry cream
- While waiting, prepare the pastry cream by following the article; The recipe is detailed with step-by-step images for more details, or simply follow the method below.
- Put some of the 60 g (2 oz) sugar in a saucepan and pour over the milk. This prevents the custard from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.
- Split the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds. Put the beans and the pod in the milk.
- Bring milk to the boil. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar.
- Add the cornstarch and flour, mix well without whisking.
- Pour the hot milk over the egg mixture through a sieve, then mix to dilute it. Pour back into the saucepan.
- Bring to the boil and thicken, stirring constantly.
- Remove the pastry cream from the heat when it starts to make bubbles (air bubbles bursting); this indicates that it is well-cooked.
- Off the heat, add the butter cubes and mix well.
- Pour the mixture into a dish and cover it with cling film directly on the surface. Let cool in the refrigerator.
- Leave the pastry cream to cool.
Almond cream
- Cream the softened butter and sugar together until smooth.
- Add the almond powder and mix while gradually adding the beaten egg. Mix gently without whisking, otherwise, the almond cream will puff up during baking.
- Transfer to a piping bag or cover it with plastic wrap in the bowl.
- Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
Baking the tart shells
- Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F) in fan-forced oven mode or 165°C (325°F) in conventional mode.
- Place the tart shell in the oven for 15 min.
- Remove when lightly browned. Remove the tart ring and let it cool slightly.
- Remove any irregularities with the back of a strainer (see sweet pastry recipe). Brush the sides of the tart with an egg wash.
- Fill with almond cream.
- Return to the oven for 15 min more or less, until the tart is golden brown and the almond cream has turned a light golden color.
- Remove the tart from the oven, take off the tart ring, and let it cool while preparing the strawberry compote.
Strawberry confit
- Place the sugar and diced strawberries in a saucepan. Mix well.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce to a thick jam.
Finishing strawberry tart
- Spread the strawberry compote over the almond cream.
- Whip the pastry cream to smooth it. You can use an immersion blender. Preferably, transfer it to a piping bag.
- Fill the tart and smooth the top with an offset spatula.
- Select strawberries of the same size and cut in half.
- Garnish the tart with strawberries in any arrangement you like.
- Apply a little neutral glaze to give a glossy finish and protect the strawberries from oxidation.
- Decorate with pistachios and small sugar-paste flowers.
- Place it on a golden serving plate and transfer it onto a platter. Leave in the fridge until ready to serve.
I hope you like this strawberry tart, enjoy!
Other pie recipes:
Cherry pie
Chocolate caramel and peanut tart
Normandy strawberry tart (french recipe)
Thank you for visiting my blog and your comments.
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