These little tarts are so cute and they give you the opportunity to be creative with how you want your strawberries to look. At school I ask the children to cut their strawberries and then arrange them on a board in the way that they’d like to decorate their tarts and just that little bit more thought makes their tarts look super professional!
Ingredients
Shortcrust Pastry
- 125g Plain Flour
- 1 Heaped Tsp Caster Sugar
- 70g Chilled Butter
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 2 Tbsp chilled water
Crème Patisserie
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 30g Caster Sugar
- 15g Plain Flour
- 1 Tsp Cornflour
- 140ml Milk
- 200g Fruit
- 2 Tbsp Apricot Jam
Directions
- Start by making the pastry; sift the flour into a large bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the flour. Use your hands to rub the butter and flour together until you get a breadcrumb like texture. Stir in the sugar with a cutlery knife.
- Mix the egg yolk and water together in a small bowl. Add 1 Tbsp of the egg mix to the crumb. Use a cutlery knife to quickly and evenly distribute the liquid in the crumb. This will begin to create flakes of pastry – if the pastry seems dry or isn’t flaking, add another Tbsp of egg mix. Now use your hands to bring the pastry together. Knead the pastry a tiny bit to make sure the texture is even throughout. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge to cool down for 10 minutes.
- Make the crème patisserie; Beat the egg yolks and sugar for a few minutes until pale and slightly thickened. Stir in the flours. Heat the milk in a saucepan until it starts to boil. Whisk the milk into the egg mix. Put the mixture back into the pan, stirring constantly until thick and boiling. Take the pan off the heat and cover with cling-film to prevent a skin from forming.
- Roll out the pastry to 2mm thickness. Cut 12 rounds out of the pastry and line a 12 hole muffin tray OR 4 small individual tart tins, making sure you press it firmly into the edges. Use a cutlery knife to cut any overhanging pastry off and neaten them up. Place in the fridge and chill until firm. Preheat the oven to 200ᵒC.
- To blind bake the tart cases: cut out small circles of baking paper and press into the edges of the pastry tarts. Fill the cases generously with baking beans.
- Place the tart shells in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and take out the baking beans and paper.
- Bake in the oven for 10 more minutes until the pastry is golden.
- Cut the fruit into fancy shapes.
- When the pastry has cooled, fill with crème patisserie and top with fruit of your choice.
- Melt the apricot jam and 2 Tbsp water in a small saucepan until smooth and runny. Use a pastry brush to dab over the fruit and create a beautiful glaze. Allow to set for 20 minutes. Keep refrigerated before eating.
