Howdyy friends! How are we doing so far? Can you believe that 2021 is over in like 93 days? Man, that was fast, wasn’t it?!

I guess time goes by quick when we are consumed with a worldwide pandemic lol. Anyhow, lucky for us, if this pandemic has given us anything, it’s the love for baking! A world full of kickass bakers? Sounds like a pretty fucking good thing to me :D

So in spirit of that, I’ve got a pretty amazing recipe for you today. Truth be told- it’s extremely simple, but looks like a million bucks and a total crowd pleaser- both in taste & looks ;)

I love a good tart. It’s the perfect opportunity to create a medley of textures and flavours, all within a certain canvas- the tart shell. So many endless possibilities of flavours and desserts, all stemming from one base.

OHHH, look at that! Totally mean to brag here because she’s a beauty! And yes, she’s eggless- I know right!

Okay, so let’s break it down, shall we? Here’s the tea:

• Sweet shortcrust pastry (aka pâte sucrée)

• Almond frangipane cream

• Homemade strawberry coulis

• Creme fraiche chantilly

• And lastly, a few bits and bobs for decoration

If you’ve been following me on IG (@myyummyspatula) or a part of my mailing list (subscribe here), you know I’m all about flavours and textures. These are the two most important aspects of food, in my opinion, and that’s how I approach my desserts. So let’s talk about each of these individually.

Flavour pairing

If we look at the flavours of the tart, the three noticeable flavours are: almond, strawberry & cream. Almonds & strawberry go beautifully together, as do strawberries & cream, and almond & cream. Which is why, when you taste this tart, it feels cohesive in your brain. However, considering this is a strawberry tart, that should be the hero of your dessert. Strawberry usually has a subtle flavour and can easily go into the background if there are other prominent flavours. While almond isn’t ‘stare at your face’ prominent, it can intensity on baking or when used extensively. Therefore, it’s important to ensure that the proportion of frangipane isn’t taking over the strawberry-ness of the dessert. A thin layer is all you need :)

Textures

Textures are important for flavour perception. In this particular tart, there are 4-5 different textures/mouthfeel involved which creates a more pleasant eating experience. Not all of them are equally pronounced but enough for you to have a variation.

• The short, crispy bite from the tart shell.

• Dense spongy texture from the baked frangipane

• Jammy texture from the coulis

• Smooth velvety creamy texture from the chantilly

• And finally, a slight bite from fresh strawberries

Sweet shortcrust pastry

I have an in-depth post explaining the science behind making a good shortcrust pastry plus how to get it perfect. So if you’re interested, you can read all about it here.

I have a few tutorials linked in the recipe below for some visual learning in case you prefer that. I gotchu ;)

Almond frangipane

Frangipane is a style of French almond cream. It’s honestly ridiculously good and extremely easy to make! Traditionally it’s made with eggs, but this eggless version works like a charm and you can never tell the difference. You can use this as a filling for a lot of other tarts, pear frangipane being the most popular, for almond croissants or for pithiviers.

Strawberry coulis

I’m no fan of the store bought shit and always prefer to make my own. It’s ridiculously easy, decently quick to make and tastes 10x times better so I don’t know why anybody would buy the store-bought stuff. Please kindly refrain from using store-bought strawberry jam in this recipe, and make your own. You will love it!

As a rule of thumb for any jams or coulis, I always start off with 5-10% sugar, depending on the fruit. If the fruit is naturally sweet, start with 5%. With berries, I like to start with 10% and add more if needed. You don’t want the sugar to overpower the natural flavour of the fruit. You still want some tartness, enough to balance out the sweetness. Balance is the key word here.

Créme fraîche chantilly

Chantilly, as I have explained in my previous posts, is a French term for whipped cream. The reason why I choose créme fraîche here is because of it’s gorgeous flavour balance between tart and sweet. It’s just enough tart to cut through the sweetness but not nearly tart enough like cream cheese that it’s the major flavour coming through. Plus it pairs beautifully with strawberries! It also makes the chantilly slightly more stable due its to high fat content, meaning it won’t deflate as quickly. You can substitute for mascarpone, if needed.

Awesome! Now that you’ve got acquainted with each of the components, it’s time to actually make this tart! It’s perfect to make as individual tarts or one big tart- up to you. It stays best when made as close to serving as possible but you can prep in advance if need to to save on mise en place time. I’ll leave all those details below. Happy baking and bon appetite!

Recipe

Yield: 4 small tartlets / 1 large tart

Ingredients:

For the eggless sweet shortcrust pastry:

• 150g plain flour

• 50g almond meal (or sub plain flour)

• 50g icing sugar, sifted

• a pinch of salt

• 110g unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

• 2-3 tbsp ice cold water

For the frangipane cream:

• 63g unsalted butter, soft at room temperature

• 21g neutral flavoured oil

• 70g sweetened condensed milk

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 14g plain flour

• 84g almond meal

• zest of 1/2 lemon

• 100-150g fresh strawberries

• 10g demerara/ castor sugar

For the strawberry coulis:

• 250g fresh or frozen strawberries, cut into quarters if using fresh

• 25g castor sugar

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the creme fraiche chantilly:

• 150g creme fraiche

• 150g thickened cream/heavy cream

• 20g castor sugar

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• fresh strawberries, for garnish

• tempered white chocolate, for garnish (optional)

Method:

For the shortcrust pastry:

• Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix all the ingredients for the shortcrust pastry except cold water until the mix resembles wet sand. Alternatively, you can also do this by hand.

• Once the mixture has started to slightly clump together, stream in the cold water 1 tbsp at a time until the dough just comes together.

• Transfer the dough to a clean work surface, using the palm of your hands, lightly knead to bring the dough together but be careful not to overwork. Flatten into a disc and cover with cling wrap. Refrigerate for minimum 2 hours or preferably overnight.

• Roll out the dough to 4mm thickness and line 3/4x 12cm fluted tart rings or 1x 24cm fluted tart ring. Freeze for 30 minutes. For a video tutorial, click here.

• Alternatively, you can use perforated tart rings as well. For a video tutorial, click here.

• Preheat oven 170C.

• Par bake the tart shells 3/4 way with baking weights or beans for 10-15 mins or until the edges are lightly golden brown but not fully baked yet.

• Remove the baking weights and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the base of the tart shell is light golden brown, but not fully baked.

• If you’re okay with egg, egg wash the tart shell and bake for another 2 mins. This step is optional and can be skipped if not using eggs. Keep aside.

For the strawberry coulis:

• Put the strawberries and sugar in a small pot and place over high heat.

• Wait for the strawberries to start disintegrating, stirring regularly.

• When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and allow to cook until most of the strawberries have disintegrated and the coulis has started to thicken up

• Use the back of a spatula to mash the strawberries if needed. Once the coulis has thickened up to the desired consistency, remove from heat and let it cool completely. (It should be like an almost jam like consistency but is slightly runnier)

For the frangipane cream:

• Macerate the strawberries: Thinly slice the 100g of fresh strawberries. Add the sugar and mix. Keep aside.

• Cream together the soft butter, oil and condensed milk until well emulsified and fluffy.

• Add the vanilla extract and lemon zest. Mix.

• Add the flour and almond meal and mix until combined.

• Transfer to a piping bag and pipe a thin layer at the bottom of the partially baked tart shell.

• Layer the macerated strawberries on top of the piped frangipane. Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C for 15-20 mins or until golden brown on top. Let it cool completely.

For the creme fraiche chantilly:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted a whisk attachment, whip the creme fraiche, cream, sugar and vanilla extract on medium speed until medium to stiff peaks.

• Refrigerate until use.

Assembly:

• Transfer the strawberry coulis to a piping bag and pipe generously over the baked frangipane layer. Use a spoon or a palette knife to flatten if needed. You should end up using all or most of the coulis.

• Transfer the creme fraiche chantilly to a piping bag fitted with a petal tip nozzle. With the thinner side facing upwards and holding the bag at roughly 20° angle, pipe horizontal lines on the tart to give the effect as you can see in the photos. Alternatively, pipe anyway you like.

• Cut a few strawberries into rondelles and use to decorate the tart.

• Randomly place the white chocolate decoration on top. Dust with icing sugar. Serve immediately.

Notes:

• You can line the tart shells in advance and freeze until use.

• The strawberry coulis can be made upto 4 days in advance.

• The frangipane cream can be made up to 2 days in advance. Let it come to room temp. before use.

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