Spring Strawberry Tart
The country is in the middle of election frenzy with political campaigns, statements, promises, cockfights and all sorts of things that all election seasons include! As the years go by, I’ve noticed that I’m feeling more and more distant and indifferent to this political race due to a constant repetition that results in such a sad situation, especially now that we’re going through and dealing with very, very serious matters! I’m certain that there are many remarkable politicians who have many things to offer and important things to do, and they do try. But unfortunately, that’s not nearly enough!
Let’s stop talking politics though, we’re all going to find out the results very soon anyway! I have so much more exciting things to think of and share with you; it’s officially strawberry season!
To be completely honest, strawberries have been around for quite a while. Nowadays, you can even find them throughout the year, but I’m not referring to this kind of strawberry that is usually tasteless (although it looks perfect)! I’m talking about the real strawberries! The ones that taste and smell the way they’re supposed to! The ones that have an uneven shape and each one is different! The ones that bring back childhood memories! That’s the kind of strawberry I’m referring to, like the super fresh ones I gathered from our garden! You might find insects and ladybugs when picking those strawberries and some of them might even be bit down! But that only shows that they’re pure, organic and non-sprayed!
I think we can all agree that strawberry is the ultimate spring fruit, beloved by young and old alike. It has the greatest colour and the most wonderful taste, it’s almost like the trademark of this season! It's been a very good year for organic crops and it seems that strawberries are having a field day! I’m warning you, from now on we’re going to live glorious strawberry-moments! Our strawberries have gone wild!
Since our vegetable garden is located on a mountainside, it took a while for our strawberries to make their appearance and I was waiting for them very impatiently! I filled my first basket just yesterday and I couldn’t decide what to do with them! Every year, during this season, I have a long list of strawberry recipes waiting to be used. And although I’m not a huge dessert fan, I find all strawberry-recipes just so delicious, appealing and fresh!
I’ll start off the strawberry-season with a wonderful strawberry vanilla cream tart. I make this recipe every year –and not just once a year- and it’s very popular! I always change it a little bit though and lately I’ve discovered the greatest gluten-free flour at the organic market. That’s the flour I used today for my tart crust and it turned out amazing! Even though I personally don’t have any issues with gluten, more and more people find out they’re gluten intolerant so it’s nice to find ways to satisfy everyone’s needs. I also made my Easter cookies using this flour and they were unbelievable! This time I also chose to replace animal milk with almond milk and I must say that it really adds to the flavour!
Our tart might seem quite simple but that doesn’t make it less delicious and impressive. You can always serve it as a beautiful dessert or enjoy a slice or two for breakfast! The vanilla cream is very light and its scent is just irresistible! It can be decorated in various ways so don’t be afraid to get creative! Until the next strawberry-recipe.. Enjoy!
Ingredients
For the crust:
200g gluten-free flour or all-purpose flour
1 egg
40g almond flour
20g tapioca flour or cornstarch
100g powdered sugar
130g cold butter
For the cream:
350g strawberries cut in half
2 eggs
400ml almond milk
60g sugar
40g tapioca flour or cornstarch
Pods from one vanilla stick
Powdered sugar for decorating
Method
1. Make the crust. Mix the flours and add them into a bowl with sugar. Add cold butter cut in pieces. Start mixing the ingredients with your fingers. Add the egg and continue mixing until you have a ball-shaped dough. Wrap the ball with plastic wrap and leave it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. When your dough is ready, place it between two baking sheets and give it a round shape with the rolling pin so that it can fit into a 24cm tart mould. Remove the upper baking sheet from the dough and spread the dough on top of your tart mould. Press it lightly so that it covers all the surface of the tart mould. Cut the edges. Preheat the oven to 180C. Cover the dough with tin foil and add some weight on top of it. Put it in the oven for about 20 minutes. Remove the tin foil and the weight and bake the dough uncovered for another 10 minutes until it starts to get a golden colour. Let it cool down.
2. Add almond milk and vanilla into a small pot and warm them up until they come to a boil. Turn the heat off and let it cool down lightly for 15 minutes.
3. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and cornstarch. While doing that, add 1/3 of warm milk slowly into the egg mixture and continue mixing. Add the egg mixture into the pot and turn the heat on again. Let the mixture boil and stir constantly until it thickens. When it’s ready, transfer the mixture into a wide baking tray and cover it with plastic wrap so that it will cool down without forming an extra “skin”.
4. Wash and dry the strawberries. Cut them in half and dry them very well. Add the cream onto the tart. Start filling with strawberries, following a circular pattern. Let the tart cool down and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.
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