Update: Sorry, forgot to mention Joseph helped make the shell and pastry creme! 5 eggs were unintentially killed in the process. 😉
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Tart Shell = egg yolk, 1 tbsp heavy cream, vanilla extract, all purpose flour, confectioners’ sugar, salt, 1 stick butter.
Pastry Cream =2 cups half and half, sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, 1/2 stick butter, vanilla extract
Glaze = red current jelly
Ok, I didn’t have a 9” fluted tart pan (only a larger 11”), so I substituted the best I could with a 6” springform pan. Thankfully it turned out ok…
Crust and pastry creme ready to be combined! Drum rolls…
Topped with fresh strawberries and glazed with red current jelly!
The glaze makes it look amazing!!
Hmmmm….I like this shot the best!
Too bad I didn’t have a darker serving plate to contrast the confectioners’ sugar!
I think because I didn’t use a tart pan, the sides and bottom were not baked evenly. =(
Hungry Cactus’ final verdict: B+
I liked this first try, but here’s what I think — the pastry creme was a bit too rich and even slightly too sweet for my Asian taste. The crust also felt too buttery. In addition, since springform pans have a higher rim than tart pans, cutting the thicker tart was very difficult (pastry creme would not hold up the strawberries).
Lastly, the shell can be premade and frozen a month in advance. However the pastry creme only lasts two days. So I should probably freeze up a few crusts and just make the pastry creme the morning before serving.
Action items:
- Reduce sugar for both pastry creme/shell
- Reduce richness/thickness for pastry creme (less half&half and/or butter?)
- Thinly slice strawberries/toppings so they won’t drop off when serving
- Order a 9” tart pan soon