Welcome to Baked, a new column in which Amrita Rawat will share her adventures in the kitchen as she explores our fair city. Born in India and a longtime resident of Atlanta, Rawat recently moved to St. Louis to attend graduate school at Washington University. After eating her way through places like Hong Kong, Paris, Budapest, Mumbai and Shangri-La, she discovered a love for baking and a knack for creating inventive and tasty recipes. You can follow her on her sweet journey every other Monday right here on SauceMagazine.com/blog. In the summertime I crave fruits and citrus, not chocolate. I just want to dive into a pile of raspberries or strawberries and eat my way out. That’s not too unreasonable, is it?
Oddly enough, though, I have never been a fan of cooked fruit. I love my fruit raw, not mushy and warm, which is why my thoughts immediately go to a tart (and not a pie) when I think of fruit in desserts. Some of the strawberries I picked up at the market were frustratingly tart, so I figured I’d pair them with a lovely cream and crust.
For the base, I chose a sweet almond pastry crust from my Ladurée cookbook. It was slightly sticky as dough but worked great with the strawberries. The regular pastry crust recipe in the book is not as sweet and is crunchier and a bit tougher than I wanted, so I adjusted it to make an almond pastry crust that’s softer and sweeter. The almonds were a tasty addition, the perfect flavor combination for the tart berries.
Friends quickly devoured the tart … and I have to admit I enjoyed it at as well. Biting into three different textures (the firmness of a strawberry, the smoothness of pastry cream, the nuttiness of the crust) is a delight. Try this recipe with your favorite fruit variations, or even a combination of fruits. You really can’t go wrong.
Strawberry-Almond Tart Makes 1 9-inch tart
Adapted by Amrita Rawat from recipes by Phillippe Andriey originally published in Ladurée: The Sweet Recipes Pâte Sucrée aux Amandes (Sweet Almond Pastry) ½ cup very cold butter
½ cup plus 1 Tbsp. powdered sugar, sifted
¼ cup ground almonds (can also use almond flour)
1 pinch salt
A few drops vanilla extract (optional)
1 egg
1 2/3 cups cake flour
• Cut the butter into small pieces and place in a bowl.
• Work the butter to homogenize and then add the next six ingredients, one by one, making sure to fully incorporate each into the mixture before the next addition.
• Combine ingredients just until the dough comes together; do not overwork.
• Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours before using. (If possible, it is better to prepare the dough one day ahead; it will be easier to roll out.)
• Set the oven to 340 degrees.
• Butter a 9-inch tart pan.
• On a floured work surface, roll out the dough to the size of the pan and fit it into the pan.
• Allow to rest in the fridge for one hour.
• Using a fork, prick the surface of the dough to keep from puffing up during baking.
• Fit a round piece of parchment paper over the dough, pressing into the corners and pressing down with dried beans or pie weights.
• Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly colored.
• Remove from the oven and let cool.
Crème Patisserie (Pastry Cream) 1 vanilla bean
1 2/3 cup whole milk
4 egg yolks
½ cup plus 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
2 Tbsp. butter
• With a sharp knife, slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Using the tip, scrape the interior to remove the seeds.
• Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the vanilla pod and seeds. Bring to a simmer, and then remove from heat, cover immediately and allow the mixture to steep for 15 minutes.
• In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until slightly pale.
• Incorporate the cornstarch.
• Remove the vanilla pod from the saucepan and reheat the milk, bringing to a simmer.
• Pour a third of the hot milk over the egg yolk, sugar and cornstarch mixture (to temper the yolks). Whisk together and pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan.
• Bring to a boil while stirring with a whisk, making sure to scrape down the sides of the pan with a spatula. Remove from heat and pour the cream into a clean bowl. Allow to cool for 10 minutes so that it’s still hot but not boiling.
• Incorporate the butter while stirring.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap until ready to use.
Assembly • Spread the pastry cream in the baked tart.
• Decorate with sliced strawberries.
• Serve.
— Photo by Amrita Rawat
This article appears in Jul 1-31, 2011.
