{"id":16174,"date":"2014-05-20T23:28:59","date_gmt":"2014-05-20T21:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/?p=16174"},"modified":"2014-05-20T23:30:18","modified_gmt":"2014-05-20T21:30:18","slug":"thin-strawberry-tartlets-tartelettes-fines-aux-fraises-with-vanilla-pastry-cream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/?p=16174","title":{"rendered":"Thin Strawberry Tartlets (Tartelettes Fines aux Fraises) with Vanilla Pastry Cream"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"tartefraisepp\"A cute\u00a0colourful\u00a0mini-tart\u00a0with delicate\u00a0buttery crust is\u00a0what comes first to my mind when I think of the magical world of French pastry. I have always particularly appreciated its\u00a0typical thin\u00a0crust and its\u00a0version called “tarte fine” – with extremely thin, completely flat base – leaves even a greater space for\u00a0the ripe fruits’ fragrance and flavours, especially when\u00a0enhanced\u00a0with\u00a0light vanilla\u00a0cream.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Strawberry tart with vanilla pastry cream is quite\u00a0popular and many\u00a0pastry shops sell it\u00a0in season.\u00a0Whether you prepare a standard tart with crust also\u00a0the sides or this light “tarte fine”, the\u00a0recipe is not complicated, but it does take time<\/span>. The secret of the best result lies in the perfect cr\u00e8me p\u00e2tissi\u00e8re, or pastry cream (often called simply \u201ccustard\u201d), with a real vanilla pod, the 100% butter-based thinly rolled out pastry sheet and, of course, in the highest fruit quality. The pastry cream is inspired by the recipe I have found in\u00a0\u201cPlaisirs sucr\u00e9s\u201d by Pierre Herm\u00e9<\/a>, a famous confectioner whose macarons\u2019 discovery was one of the most unforgettable moments in my life. Even though this is the best and lightest pastry cream I have ever tasted, I have slightly modified it after the first test (mostly cutting down the sugar amount). The same recipe can be adapted of course to a big tart, but I usually prefer individual portions.<\/p>\n

Here are some other strawberry sweet treats you might like:<\/p>\n

\"Yogurt<\/a>
Yogurt Strawberry Mousse with Chocolate Ganache<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Coconut<\/a>
Coconut and Strawberry Wobbly Cream with Agar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Yogurt<\/a>
Yogurt Strawberry Mousse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Strawberry<\/a>
Strawberry Gratin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And\u00a0see here<\/a>\u00a0what to do with leftover egg whites, though 99% of the time I prepare my\u00a0Easy Moist Coconut Biscuits (Macaroons for US visitors)<\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Chewy<\/a>
Chewy Coconut Cookies (Macaroons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TIPS: If you don’t feel like playing with sideless, very thin crust, you can of course make the same tartlets or tart with more popular crust, baking it in a tart\/-let form. In this case, while baking the crust, put\u00a0a piece of\u00a0baking paper over each tartlet form filled with raw pastry\u00a0and cover it with dried beans (to stop the bottom from rising).<\/p>\n

Needless to say, you can make one big strawberry tart (tarte fine aux fraises) instead of individual portions.<\/p>\n

You don’t need to decorate these tartlets with mint leaves, but I find a hint of mint fragrance\u00a0fantastic with both strawberries and vanilla cream.<\/p>\n

Special equipment :<\/em><\/p>\n

a round pastry cutter and 6 small round ramekins of the same or slightly bigger diameter<\/em><\/p>\n

Preparation: less than 2 hours<\/em><\/p>\n

Ingredients (makes 6 x 10 cm diameter tartlets):<\/em><\/p>\n

about 200 grams\/about 7 oz thinly rolled out all-butter puff pastry (or home-made sweet butter pastry)<\/em><\/p>\n

400 \u2013 500 g\/about 14-18 oz strawberries (preferably equally sized);\u00a0the amount depends on the way you place them on the custard (you use less if you slice them and more if you place halves, for example)<\/em><\/p>\n

Pastry cream\/Custard:<\/em><\/p>\n

500 ml\/about 17 fl oz milk<\/em><\/p>\n

5\u00a0flat tablespoons\u00a0corn starch<\/em><\/p>\n

4 heaped tablespoons caster sugar (or more if you like very sweet desserts)<\/em><\/p>\n

1 vanilla pod<\/em><\/p>\n

4 egg yolks<\/em><\/p>\n

50 g\/about 1,8 oz butter (can be omitted, but the taste will be simply\u00a0worse)<\/em><\/p>\n

(fresh mint leaves for decoration)<\/em><\/p>\n

Preheat the oven to 180\u00b0C (356\u00b0F).<\/p>\n

Cut out the circles. Put them on the baking paper. Cover with another layer of baking paper and block from rising, blocking them with round ramekins with a similar diameter.<\/p>\n

Bake until golden (check often because they burn quickly).<\/p>\n

Put aside to cool down.<\/p>\n

In the meantime prepare the pastry cream.<\/p>\n

Bring to boil 400 ml\/about 13,5 oz milk with the vanilla pod cut in two lengthwise.<\/p>\n

Put aside and let it cool down.<\/p>\n

Scrape off the two vanilla pieces so that the small vanilla grains stay in the milk.<\/p>\n

Combine the yolks, the sugar, the corn starch and the remaining cold milk.<\/p>\n

Strain the warm vanilla milk, constantly stirring, into the yolks mixture.<\/p>\n

Discard the vanilla pods (wash them, dry them and put into a confectioner\u2019s sugar jar: you\u2019ll have vanilla scented sugar or you can also reuse them: they will yield hardly any grains, but will still give a slight vanilla aroma).<\/p>\n

Put back the obtained mixture into the pan and, constantly stirring, bring to the boil.<\/p>\n

Put aside when it thickens to a\u00a0cream consistency.<\/p>\n

If the cream is not smooth and you see lumps, mix it in a blender.<\/p>\n

When the cream is no longer hot, but still very warm, combine it with butter.<\/p>\n

Let it cool down\u00a0in the fridge,\u00a0covered with plastic film (otherwise a darker “skin” will form at the top).<\/p>\n

Put a couple of tablespoons of the cream on each tart circle.<\/p>\n

Cover with the strawberries (cut in halves, in four pieces, sliced or whole\u2026 whatever suits your strawberries shape and size).<\/p>\n

Serve slightly chilled.<\/p>\n

You can decorate the tartlets with fresh mint leaves.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A cute\u00a0colourful\u00a0mini-tart\u00a0with delicate\u00a0buttery crust is\u00a0what comes first to my mind when I think of the magical world of French pastry. I have always particularly appreciated…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,10,23,164,6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16174"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16174"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16194,"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16174\/revisions\/16194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}