Strawberry Tart

Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 2 hrs Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pastry shells, french tart pastry dough (french tart pastry)
• 2 -3 lbs fresh strawberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 1/2 cup water, plus
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sugar or 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Recipe

• 1 pastry: prepare french tart pastry; flour the ball of dough lightly; roll out (maida recommends rolling out on floured pastry cloth with floured rolling pin) into a 12-inch circle.
• 2 place the flan ring on a cookie sheet; transfer pastry to flan ring, centering carefully; with your fingers, press in into place.
• 3 with scissors, trim excess, allowing ½ to ¾ inch overlap; fold excess inside to form a double thickness on the rim and press together firmly (the rim should be upright a scant ¼ inch above the flan ring.
• 4 place the pastry shell on the cookie sheet in the freezer at least until it is frozen .
• 5 when you are ready to bake, adjust oven rack to the center of the oven; preheat to 375°; line the frozen shell with foil and fill it with dried beans or pie weights to keep the shell in place.
• 6 bake for 20 minutes; remove from oven and carefully remove foil and beans; return the shell to oven and bake 10-15 minutes until the shell is thoroughly dry and lightly browned.
• 7 remove shell form oven and let stand until completely cool; remove the flan ring by lifting it off.
• 8 place the berries in a large bowl of cold water; agitate them briefly, and then immediately remove them from the water (the sand will settle to the bottom; pick off the stems and hulls and drain on towels.
• 9 in a blender or food processor, puree 1 pound of the berries to make 2 cups puree.
• 10 strain the puree through a large strainer set over a large bowl.
• 11 place the strained puree in a 2-quart saucepan and add in sugar and salt.
• 12 in a small custard cup, sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tablespoons of the water; let stand.
• 13 place the remaining ½ cup water minus 1 tablespoon of water and the lemon juice in a small bowl with the cornstarch; stir to dissolve.
• 14 add the cornstarch mixture to the strained berries.
• 15 place over medium heat; stir constantly but gently with a rubber spatula for about 6-7 minutes until the mixture comes to a low boil, thickens, and becomes rather clear.
• 16 then decrease the heat to low; add the softened gelatin, and stir to dissolve.
• 17 continue to cook and stir gently for 3 minutes.
• 18 remove pan from heat and gently transfer to a wide bowl to cool.
• 19 while the cornstarch mixture cools, place the berries in the baked shell (if berries are very large, you can cut them in half).
• 20 they may stand upright, in a pattern of concentric circles.
• 21 or, if they are large, they may be cut in half and placed on their cut sides, overlapping one another in concentric circles; either way they should completely fill the shell.
• 22 with a teaspoon, gently spoon the cooled gelatin mixture evenly all over the berries and the spaces between them.
• 23 if the berries are halved and are overlapping, it may be necessary to raise some of them a bit to allow the mixture to run under and around them, and to fill up all the spaces.
• 24 refrigerate the tart for at least a few hours.
• 25 whipping cream: in a chilled bowl with chilled beaters, whip all the ingredients until the cream holds a soft shape but not until it is stiff.
• 26 serve the cream separately, placing a spoonful alongside each portion.