Picture perfect, no? So innocent, so sweet looking. If you only knew the self-inflicted damage this tart was capable of. OK, to be fair, I should have taken the instructions of "serve immediately" literally.
I'll tell the story. It's short, I promise. I offered to bring dessert to our friend's dinner and really wanted to bring something seasonal, so I settled on a strawberry tart. I figured my neglected tart pan would love the attention. I read several recipes, and decided to not go with my usual trust in Ina - hers seemed a bit high maintenance so I settled on this Southern Living recipe because it just sounded so classic. The crust came out well, and the custard was to die for. I mean, I could have eaten an entire bucket of this custard. I will definitely be making the custard again, though perhaps just served in bowls with fresh fruit and a shortbread cookie. The problem was I assembled this before heading out to our friend's, and the tart was too full with custard, too fluid, too heavy with strawberries and they began sliding this way and that way and my once beautiful tart looked quite frazzled upon our arrival. This tart does not want to travel. It wants to sit delicately in the kitchen it was prepared in. No matter, I placed it in the fridge until we served dessert, hoping it would reset itself and be delicious anyway. It was delicious, however, slices did not retain their shape like most fruit tarts I've seen - the custard just slid out all over the place (did it need more corn starch?). What I thought was going to be such a proper, presentable dessert turned into an unruly teenager. Regardless, it was delicious - fresh and creamy and it was a hit. We all enjoyed it and had a good laugh. I've found a winning custard recipe for my repertoire, but I may change things up a bit next time I want to serve this as a fruit tart.
Strawberry Tart (courtesy Southern Living)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup cold butter or margarine, cut up
2 tablespoons cold shortening
3 tablespoons cold water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups half-and-half
5 egg yolks
1 teaspoon almond liquor
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced
Pulse first 3 ingredients in a food processor 3 or 4 times until combined.
Add 1/3 cup butter and shortening; pulse 5 or 6 times or until crumbly. With blender or processor running, gradually add 3 tablespoons water, and process until dough forms a ball and leaves sides of bowl, adding more water if necessary. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and chill 1 hour.
Let chill come out of dough, and then roll to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch tart pan. Line dough with parchment paper; fill with pie weights or dried beans.
Bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Remove weights and parchment paper, and bake 3 more minutes.
Combine 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan.
Whisk together half-and-half, egg yolks, and, if desired, rose water. Gradually whisk half-and-half mixture into sugar mixture in saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Remove mixture from heat.
Stir in 3 tablespoons butter and vanilla; cover and chill at least 4 hours. Spoon into prepared pastry shell; top with strawberry slices, and serve immediately.
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