Saturday, May 13, 2017

Fresh Strawberry Tart – Now with 100% Less Tart Pan

There shouldn’t be a lot of stress involved in making this free-form strawberry tart, since once it’s topped with fresh berries, and thickly glazed, it will look like something from a Paris pastry shop. And, I did say, “look like,” not “taste like,” but that’s not our fault. They have better cream cheese.

If you have a tart pan, go ahead and use it, but going free-form is always kind of fun, and even though we’re going to handle the dough a bit more, that’s not a problem with our almost foolproof buttercrust pastry. Just be sure to build up enough around the outside before you crimp, so that your tart is deep enough to hold the filling.

I joked about this being so beautiful that nobody will care what it tastes like, but of course, that’s ridiculous. Do not attempt this unless you can find some perfectly ripe, sweet strawberries. And when you do, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 6 portions:
1/2 of our buttercrust pastry dough recipe
1 pound fresh strawberries
For the sweet cheese mixture:
8 ounces cream cheese or *fromage blanc
2 tablespoons crème fraiche
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, or to taste
For the glaze:
1/4 cup apricot jam (the clearer, the better), plus 2 teaspoons water, heated until brushable. Let cool a bit before applying.

*Note: my cream cheese was suspiciously thin, so your mixture will probably be thicker, and a little easier to work with.

- Bake tart shell at 375 F. for 20-25 minutes, until golden-brown, fill with cheese mixture, and finish baking for another 20 minutes, or until the pastry is browned, and the filling is set.

19 comments:

Unknown said...

Chef john! Will you please make aligot? It's such an interesting dish that I would love to try but there isn't a video about it from a reliable source (like you). Please and thank you!!!

And to keep this comment relevant to the post, I really liked the free form style of this and I can't wait to try it with a vanilla whipped cream this Sunday. Thanks john!

Unknown said...

I love this easy recipe. I can't wait to make it for my mother in law this weekend. Love your blog and recipes. I've made a few and you've changed the way I make homemade breads. Thank you, Chef John.

Unknown said...

Thank you for this recipie and thank you for all you do! You are the greatest !

Unknown said...

Your right it looks great, can't wait to try

Analiza said...

Hi Chef John, just wanted to thank you for all of your videos, I´ve done a couple of them. Your videos have helped me learn a little more about cooking.
Again, just wanted to say thanks, I appreciate your work and love your videos. Greetings from Guatemla

Unknown said...

On the movie "Chef", Dustin Hoffman was arguing with Jon Favreau about the menu and his "g-damn sweetbreads". Favreau later explains to Scarlett Johansson that a Beef-Cheek is a better dish than Ahi-Tuna.

Can you do a video on Beef-Cheeks and Sweet-Breads? I have no idea what these are - Thanks!

Unknown said...

And - Chicago Deep Dish Pizza !!

Unknown said...

the fromage blanc is not a cheese it is a kind of yogurt. usualy it is eaten with jam or sugar. it's a dessert.
But its it possible to make a saulty sauce like tsatsiki or put somme aneth ou herbs in it (with sault), it good to eat raw vegetable. it is less fat than cream cheese or cream
it not very goood to heat fromage blanc because its very liquid and you risk have a separation between the water and the "cheese" like yogurt.
Amandine from Paris

rodentraiser said...

Oh, to hell with the diet.

Especially as I'm going to have to make this with blueberries, too, and throw some whipped cream on the strawberries.

Unknown said...

Is anyone beside me having trouble viewing the videos on this site? It happened to me about a week ago as well...just a flat black screen where I usually can see our beloved Chef John working his magic! It's not an issue on YouTube, but there I don't have the convenient access to the ingredients and amounts!

Unknown said...

Thank you Chef John, perfect recipe for Mother's Day!
Decided to give it a go after watching your video, the recipe and video combination really make reproducing your steps much easier!
http://i.imgur.com/64xZyo3.jpg

Unknown said...

You briefly mentioned doubling the ingredients for a larger tart... How would this affect the baking times? Or, at least, what should I look for to know when it's finished if I increase the times a bit?

Unknown said...

What a gorgeous looking tart. Going to get some strawberries tomorrow to make this!!

dj said...

Hi Chef John have you ever made Brunede kartofler aka danish caramel potatoes before? If not could that be a food wish?

Unknown said...

Next on my list! Looks fabulous!!

John Muir said...

Hey chef, hope you had a good weekend. I have to assume Mrs. Pauline would've been thoroughly impressed by that tart.

Pebbles Micawber said...

Chef John, It would be super handy to have a link to the butter dough recipe in the recipe text. Thanks!

victoria said...

Hi Chef John!
I just love your videos. They are fantastic...I am addicted. Although you have caused me a couple problems (as in I now must fix tortillas every week) :-). I do have a food wish. It seems simple, but I have failed at my attempt. Strawberry Romanoff. I just think it would be lovely for summer.

Thanks again for all your wonderful videos.

Sullivanspapa said...

Hello CJ!
Note my new nickname for my favorite Chef!
I made this recipe and the baking times as given in the footnotes are confusing and I ended up with a very hard crust, almost inedible. to wit: Bake tart shell at 375 F. for 20-25 minutes, until golden-brown, fill with cheese mixture, and finish baking for another 20 minutes, or until the pastry is browned, and the filling is set.".
As written the crust is baked twice once to golden brown and again to brown.

Sacre bleu!