Sam Stern

Strawberry Tarts with a Prosecco Infused Crème Pâtissière

For this recipe, you will need 4 x 10cm/1 inch mini-fluted tart tins, baking beans and a heavy-bottomed saucepan.

Pastry:

50g soft butter

25g icing sugar

small pinch of salt

½ medium egg, lightly beaten

110g plain flour

½ tsp vanilla bean paste

Crème Patisserie:

200ml whole milk

½ tsp of vanilla bean paste

48g caster sugar

3 eggs, medium

12g cornflour

12g plain flour

110ml prosecco

Topping:

200g strawberries

2tbsp apricot jam

1tbsp water

1. Begin with the pastry by creaming the butter, sugar and salt together in a mixer until pale and creamy.

2. Add the egg and beat until combined. Add the flour and the vanilla bean paste and mix until combined. Do not overwork. It should be a fairly smooth dough and not too sticky. Once the dough is in a ball, wrap in clingfilm and stick in the freezer for 30 minutes.

3. Whilst the pastry is chilling, start on the crème pâtissière. Crack the eggs into a large bowl, add the sugar and whisk until light and creamy. This can take a few minutes; a handheld electric whisk speeds up the process. Add the plain flour and cornflour and combine. Set to one side.

4. In your heavy-bottom saucepan warm up the milk and vanilla bean paste until reaching scalding point, stirring occasionally. When it starts to bubble slightly at the edge of the pan, remove from the heat.

5. Add the prosecco to the egg mix you set aside. Whisk to combine. Then add the scalded milk and whisk thoroughly. Pour this mix back into the saucepan and place over a low heat. Whisk constantly until it thickens up; it should be similar to a thick mayonnaise in texture. Remove from the heat and place into a cool dish, cover with cling film to stop a skin forming.

6. At this point your pastry should have cooled enough. Lightly grease your tins. Roll out your pastry on a floured surface to around 2-3 mm thick. Cut out circles which are around an inch wider than your tins, you can use a 5 inch cookie cutter for this.

7. Neatly line the tins with the pastry, prick the bottom with a fork and trim off any excess. Place them back into the fridge, on a baking sheet, for another 20 minutes. Meanwhile heat your oven to 180c/160cfan. Line the pastry with baking paper and pour in some baking beans. This will stop the pastry from rising. Cook for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the baking paper and beans and cook the pastry for one more minute. Remove and allow to cool for a few minutes then remove from the tins.

8. In the meantime, cut the strawberries into quarters lengthways. Once the pastry has cooled, layer in a good amount of the pastry cream. Top with the strawberries.

9. Place the apricot jam and water in a saucepan, combine over a low heat until melted. Brush over the top of the strawberries. Enjoy!

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