These are a very simple twist on a traditional strawberry tart, using a sweetened mascarpone in place of a crème patisserie filling. If you don’t have tartlet tins you can make one big tart, or use the pâte sucrée to make biscuits and serve the mascarpone cream and strawberries with those instead. Or just make the mascarpone cream and serve it with strawberries and some really good shortbread or sablé biscuits and tell everyone it’s a deconstructed tart.
Serves 6
For the pâte sucrée (makes enough for two 9″ tarts or 12-16 small tartlets– so freeze one half for another time or use it to make biscuits)
340g plain flour
120g icing sugar
30g ground almonds
1⁄2 tsp salt
200 g butter, cold, cut into cubes
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cold water
For the filling
250g Mascarpone
50g icing sugar
1tsp vanilla
500g strawberries
To make the pâte sucrée – whisk the egg, water and vanilla extract in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, briefly mix together the flour, sugar, salt and the almond flour just to combine them. Add the cubed butter and toss to coat with flour. Then rub the butter into the flour until the butter is in small pieces. Work quickly so the butter doesn’t become too warm. If the butter is getting warm, pop the bowl into the freezer for a few minutes to firm it up.
Once the butter is incorporated, pour in the egg, water and vanilla and mix in with a finger or knife – at this point the mixture will still be very crumbly and lumpy. Pour everything out onto a clean surface. Then using the palm of your hand and starting furthest from you, push the dough forward and away from you in multiple strokes smearing the mixture across the work surface. Once you get through all of the dough, scrape back together into a pile and start again, repeating until the dough comes together. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30-45 minutes before rolling out.
Roll out your chilled dough on a floured work surface to approximately 3mm thick, turning it regularly to stop it sticking and to ensure it’s even. Line your tart tins, carefully easing the pastry into the tins without stretching it. Lightly prick the base of the tart with a fork, then chill for 15 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 160c then bake the chilled tart shell for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. The pâte sucrée is essentially a biscuit crust so there’s no need for baking beans or blind baking with this pastry recipe.
Once golden and crisp allow the tarts to cool in the tins and then carefully remove each one. Whisk the mascarpone by hand to loosen it slightly, sieve over the icing sugar and add the vanilla. Whisk together until smooth. Fill each tart with the mascarpone mixture, and top with quartered strawberries. They keep well in the fridge for a couple of days.
You can make the tart shells a few days in advance, allow them to cool completely and store in an air tight container. Then just fill and serve.
