My all-time favorite classic french dessert made with a buttery, crumbly pâte sucrée then topped with a silky rich vanilla crème pâtissière and delicious strawberries!
Pâte Sucrée (recipe from Hint of Vanilla)
150g unsalted butter, room temperature
112g icing sugar
1g salt
50g eggs whisked (roughly 1 medium egg)
250g all-purpose flour
20g cornstarch
1. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Add the icing sugar and cream together. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl then add the salt and egg. Mix until combined.
2. In a medium bowl, sift the flour and cornstarch. Slowly add to the butter mixture while paddle is turning until just incorporated.
3. Remove from the mixer, shape into a large flat circle, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight).
4. Take out the disk of dough and let it warm up slightly so it is easier to roll out. Lightly dust a work surface with flour (I like rolling it out on a large sheet of parchment paper for easier transfer). Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 3mm and line your 9″/23cm tart tin, then cut the overhanging dough around the edges (If the dough is too soft to work with, pop it in the fridge to harden). Using a fork, prick the surface of the dough to prevent the surface from rising while baking and refrigerate it again until firm.
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Crumple up a piece of parchment paper and then smooth it back out again. Place it in your tart tin and fill it with rice or pie weights. Make sure to press it into the corners of the tart.
6. Blind bake the tart shell for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven, remove the weighed parchment, and bake for another 10 minutes until the pastry is an even golden color. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
Crème Pâtissière
250ml milk
25g granulated sugar
25 granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 vanilla bean scraped and pod saved
17g corn starch
20g butter, cubed at room temperature
1. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk with the scraped vanilla bean seeds and the pod. At this point, you can cover and refrigerate the mixture overnight to intensify the vanilla flavor or proceed to the next step.
2. Whisk in half of the granulated sugar in the saucepan and put on a stovetop on medium heat to slowly bring it up to barely a simmer.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and corn starch. When the milk is hot (don’t let it boil), very slowly pour it over the egg mixture while whisking constantly and fast to prevent the yolks from curdling.
4. Working quickly, strain the milk-egg mixture through a fine mesh sieve back into the saucepan and cook on medium heat whisking continuously.
5. Cook the pastry cream for 2 minutes until it thickens then remove from the heat, and add the butter one at a time, whisking until fully incorporated.
6. Transfer the pastry cream to a glass container and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Store in the fridge to cool completely.
Assembly:
Take out the cooled pastry cream and give a quick stir to make it homogeneous and spreadable. Spread it on the pâte sucrée and top it off with thinly sliced strawberries or any summer fruit of your choice!