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A strawberry tart is the perfect summer dessert. It starts with a buttery crust, a creamy filling, and then a topping of fresh berries finished off with a fruit glaze. Both pretty and delicious!
We love celebrating strawberry season with some of our favorite treats like this Strawberry Pizza. A batch of fresh strawberry ice cream is another Wilkes family favorite. Strawberry bars are a quick and easy way to enjoy strawberries!
Strawberry Custard Tart
One of my favorite bakery treats is a fruit tart. They are just so pretty and delicious. When I am in France, besides a fresh croissant, a little fruit tart is my favorite treat to buy. Since traveling is on hold right now with the pandemic, I decided that making some pretty little strawberry tarts at home would help soothe the loneliness my traveling spirit was feeling. If I couldn’t go to the little French patisserie in Paris, I was going to bring it to me!
A strawberry tart might not be the quickest dessert to make but it is one of the prettiest! I used fresh strawberries from my garden but you could also substitute raspberries or blueberries or do a combination. This strawberry tart recipes begins with a baked sweet pastry crust which is. A cream cheese custard filling is then added and fruit is added on top and then a glaze applied. Pretty and delicious.
How to Make a Strawberry Tart
The strawberry custard tart is a three step process but you can do the steps ahead of time and then assemble before serving.
Pastry Crust
- A food processor is the easiest way to make the pastry crust but it can also be done by hand. I use frozen butter and use my cheese grater to grate the butter so it is easier and quick to incorporate into the dough.
- Add your flour, butter, sugar and salt into the food processor. Pulse until mixture is crumbly.
- Add a little bit of cold, ice water into the mixture a tablespoon at a time and pulse until mixture turns a pale yellow and starts to clump together.
- Bring dough together with your hands and form into a ball, Flatten the ball and wrap in some plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
This recipe will make 4-5 individual tarts or one full size, 9 inch tart. If you are making individual tarts divide dough into 4 pieces (you may be able to get five out of it, depending on how thin you roll your dough.)
- Roll out dough to about 1/8 inch thick into a circle that extends about 1 1/2 inches beyond the edges of the tart pan.
- Use your tart pan to make sure your circle of dough is large enough to cover the bottom and sides of the tart pan. I use a tart pan with a removable bottom. If you are making one large tart, this is the tart pan I use.
- Lay dough into the tart pan and push down into the bottom and up the sides. Remove excess dough hanging over the edges. Dough should be even with the top of the tart pan.
- Wash strawberries, remove tops and drain on paper towels.
- With a fork, prick the dough, this will prevent the dough from bubbling up while baking.
- Bake at 375 degrees F. for about 15-20 minutes or until crust is lightly golden brown.
Strawberry Tart Filling
While the crust is baking you can assemble the custard. The custard could also be made the day ahead and refrigerated to save time if needed.
- Mix together cream cheese which is at room temperature, sour cream, sugar, egg, salt, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Mix until smooth.
- Spread a layer of the custard on the bottom of each tart, about 1/2 inch thick. You may have extra custard.
- Bake the tarts for about 15 minutes or until custard is set. Cool at room temperature before adding berries.
- Place berries on top of custard, gently pushing on them a bit. Place the strawberries, cut side down starting with one in the middle and adding a row around it.
- In a sauce pan, combine jam and water and heat over low heat to create a glaze.
- Brush glaze over the top and sides of the fruit.
- Remove tarts from tart pan and serve on a pretty plate.
- Keep the tarts refrigerated until ready to serve.
How Long Will a strawberry Tart Last?
They will last 1-2 days in the refrigerated, depending on how ripe your fruit is.
Check out more of my favorite fruit desserts:
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Strawberry Tart Recipe
Strawberry Tart
Ingredients
Pastry Crust
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup butter frozen and grated
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 Tbsp ice water add a tablespoon at a time
Cream Filling
- 1 8 oz. cream cheese room temperature
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 4 Tbsp sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
Strawberry Topping
- 1 lb. fresh strawberries enough to fill tart pans
- 1/4 cup red currant jam can also use apricot or seedless strawberry jam
- 2 tsp water
Instructions
Pastry Crust
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Combine all ingredients except water in a food processor. Pulse together until crumbs are formed.
- Gradually, a tablespoon at a time, pour in water while pulsing. Pulse until dough turns light yellow and begins to form a clump.
- Form mixture into a ball and flatten the all. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Roll dough out to about 1/8 inch thick, into a circle about 1 1/2 inches bigger around than your tart pan.
- Place dough into a removable bottom tart pan or pans and press into bottom and up the sides of pan. Remove excess dough, dough should be even with the top of the pan.
- Use a fork to prick the bottom of the dough. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until begins to turn golden brown. Allow to cool before filling with cream cheese filling.
Cream Filling
- Place cream filling ingredients into a bowl and mix until smooth and creamy.
- Add cream cheese filling to tart pan, mixture should be about 1/2 inch thick.
- Bake for another 12-15 minutes until filling is set and crust is browned. Allow to cool.
- Add berries to cream cheese layer. Start in the middle and work around in a circle.
- Heat jam and water in a sauce pan cool slightly and then brush over the fruit.
- Remove from tart pans and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
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