Description
This free-form strawberry tart in a buttercrust pastry is thickly glazed and beautiful. You can use a tart pan, but going free-form is kind of fun. Be sure to use perfectly ripe, sweet strawberries.
Ingredients
- 1 (8 ounce) ball sweet pastry dough
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons creme fraiche
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 pound fresh ripe strawberries, hulled, halved
- ¼ cup apricot jam
- 2 teaspoons water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place pastry dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out dough to a round disk about 1/8-inch thick and 12 inches in diameter. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
- Brush outside 2 inches around the edges of circle lightly with water. Tightly curl up a bit of the edge of dough to give it a rounder shape with a slightly thickened edge. If some edges are thicker than others
- pinch off excess and add to thinner edges forming a circle with even edges. Roll each edge again just once to make the edges thick enough to crimp. Crimp crust with your floured fingers.
- Use a fork to “dock” dough\’s bottom surface
- covering it with tiny holes to prevent dough from bubbling up as it bakes.
- Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown
- 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes. Do not turn off the oven.
- Place cream cheese
- crème fraîche
- sugar
- egg yolk
- salt
- vanilla
- and lemon zest in a mixing bowl. Mix together thoroughly. Carefully pour a thin layer of mixture evenly into pastry shell (you may not need all the cheese mixture).
- Transfer filled tart to the oven. Bake until cheese layer is set and crust is browned
- about 20 minutes. Let tart cool completely to room temperature before adding berries.
- Arrange berries cut side down
- pointy end out starting with the larger berries around the edges. You can lean strawberries up a bit as your work your way toward the center. Cut some berry halves in half again to fit into any gaps on cheese layer.
- Place apricot jam and 2 teaspoons water in a saucepan. Heat over low heat until thin enough to brush. Let cool slightly before brushing generously over all berries and crust. Transfer tart to a serving plate.
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 2 hrs 10 mins
Servings: 8