Betsy You can use kiwi and blueberries, bananas, raspberries,and other seasonal fruits for a colorful presentation as well.
Makes 4
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 5 Tbs. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) cold, unsalted butter, diced
- 2 Tbs. cold Crisco
- 1/4 cup ice water
- 2 cups Pastry Cream (recipe below)
- 2 pints whole stawberries, hulled and halved
- 1/3 cup apricot jelly
- 3 Tbs. shelled pistachios, halved (optional)
1. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a small bowl and place in freezer for 30 minutes. Place mixture in food processor fitted with steel blade. Add butter and Crisco and pulse about 10 times or until butter is the size of peas.
2. Add ice water and process until dough comes together. Dump on well-floured board and form into a disc. Wrap in plastic and chill 30 minutes.
3. Set oven to pre-heat at 375 degrees. Roll out dough and fit into four individual tart pans with removeable sides. (Use pie plate or tart pan if you don’t have individual pieces). Don’t stretch dough when placing it over pans. Gently pat into the fluted sides and use a rolling pin to remove excess dough. Roll pin over pan and cut away excess pieces. Line shells with buttered aluminum foil, butter side down and fill with dried beans or rice to prevent bubbles. Bake 10 minutes and remove foil and beans. Prick the bottom of the shells with a fork. Bake for another 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside to cool
5. Before serving, fill with pastry cream and arrange berries decoratively on top.
6. Prepare a glaze by melting jelly with 1 teaspoon water. Brush over berries. Sprinkle with pistachios. Serve immediately.
Pastry Cream
Makes 2 cups (Creme Anglaise)
- 3 extra large egg yolks at room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 Tbs. corn starch
- 1 1/2 cups scalded milk
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 tsp. Cognac (could substitute lemon or orange zest …1/2 tsp)
- 1 Tbs. unsalted butter
- 1 Tbs. heavy cream
1. With an electric mixer, beat yolks with sugar for four minutes until very thick. On low speed add cornstarch.
2. Slowly pour in hot milk and mix well.
3. Pour mixture into medium saucepan (double boiler will prevent scorching) and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thick, about 5-7 minutes. Whisk for another two minutes until mixture is very thick, like pudding. Stir in vanilla, cognac, butter and cream. Pour through sieve into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until cold.