My long forgotten Strawberry Tart rears its beautiful head!

There have been several requests recently for the recipe to the strawberry tart pictured on the blog title; to be honest, I have no idea why I never posted it until now. Perhaps I must have thought that I already had. So without further delay, here is the recipe. Thanks to Robin for reminding me...

CRUST

1.25 cups of sifted flour
1 cube of unsalted butter, slightly room temperature
1/3 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of brandy
1 egg yolk

Preheat the oven to 400 (200 c). Grease an 8 or 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom and set aside. Add the flour and butter in a bowl. Be sure to cut the butter in cubes so that it will be easier to mix with the flour. With your hands, begin to mix the two ingredients. Do this for a minute or two.

Next, add the rest of the ingredients and continue to fix with your fingers until the dough becomes crumbly. Do not over mix because you want the crust to remain light and crumbly. Once ready, begin to pour the crust into your tart pan. With your fingers, gently push and spread the crust throughout the bottom of the pan and up the sides until entire surface is covered. Do not pat down too hard or you'll get a hard crust.

Place the tart pan on a baking sheet or foil and bake at 400 for about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool. Your tart crust is now ready to be filled.








FILLING

1 package of cream cheese (8 oz.), room temperature
1/3 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of brandy
2 tablespoons of flour
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup of cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a bowl and with a hand mixer, blend until velvety smooth. Now pour the mixture over the crust until it reaches halfway up the sides. Smooth out so mixture is evenly spread across the tart. Place in a 325 oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until surface begins to turn a light amber color. Be careful not to allow the crust to burn. You may, if you wish, place a sheet of foil over the top during the final 15 minutes or so.

When ready, remove the tart from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature over a cooling rack. You are now ready for the final step, the topping.

TOPPING

1.5 quarts of fresh medium sized strawberries
3 tablespoons of strawberry jam or jelly
1 tablespoon of sugar
3 tablespoons of water
2 tablespoons of Grenadine

Clean and wash the strawberries. Cut off the top 1/3 of the berries and save those tips for placing around the perimeter of the tart (as pictured). At this point, it's important that you purchased enough strawberries so that they will cover and go around the entire edge of the tart. You only need to do one row. Set the tips aside and place the remainder of the strawberries in a pan, along with the rest of the ingredients.

Heat the ingredients over medium heat, all the while stirring and mashing the strawberries so that its juices and sugars are extracted. You will only be using the syrup that will be created by this process. It was at this point that I added a couple of tablespoons of Framboise liquor to the pan. If you have some, add some, otherwise it's OK if you omit it.

Continue to cook strawberries over medium heat until liquid starts bubbling. Now turn the heat to low and continue to cook for 5 or 6 minutes until the strawberries are well broken down and they produce more of a puree texture. Once you have reached that level, using a strainer, strain the mixture into a bowl. Use a wooden spoon to help the liquid get fully strained. The solids you have left may be discarded.

Once the syrup has been completely extracted, gently pour it over the tart filling, swirling the tart so that the surface gets completely covered in a nice deep red sheet. Allow to sit for a few minutes and finally arrange the strawberry tips around the edge of the tart until you have made a complete circle. Place tart in the fridge and allow to completely cool before serving. Serve with a spoon or two of half whipped whipping cream, either on the dish before you set a piece or simply pour it over the top. Enjoy! This tart is truly decadent!