Surprising Strawberry Tarts

This weekend my best friend is celebrating her birthday, so we're having a Mad Hatter's tea party at my place for her and some friends, with lots of sweet and savoury food on offer, which I've been making and experimenting with over the last few weeks - so more of these recipes will follow shortly.

One of the recipes I've been trying out has been for individual Strawberry Tarts -  I'm going to add one special ingredient - popping candy.   Ok, this isn't an after-work recipe, it's more a weekend baking treat, but it is so worth taking the time to make.

As I'm lactose intolerant, I tend to use lactofree milk in my recipes, which always works well - it's exactly the same as ordinary cow's milk, just containing no lactose.  You can use either.

You will need mini tart tins (ideally with loose bases) baking paper and baking beans (as a cheaper and easier alternative, I use pasta shapes)

When you put the pastry ingredients together, you may find the mixture quite wet - just go with it.

Prep and cooking time - approx 2 hours
Difficulty level - medium
This should make approx 12 tarts.

Ingredients

For the Pastry:

350g plain flour
a pinch of salt
125g cold butter, cubed
125g caster sugar
2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 egg yolk for egg wash

For the creme patissiere:

500ml milk
1 vanilla pod (or 1 tsp vanilla essence)
6 egg yolks
120g caster sugar
2 oz cornflour
2 tbsp kirsch (optional)

For the topping:

400g strawberries
1 packet Quick-jell / or apricot jam
some popping candy


Method

1. For the pastry,  in a large bowl, stir the flour and salt together, add the butter and rub into the mixture.
2. Add the sugar, and mix the 2 eggs with the single egg yolk then add the eggs to the bowl.  Mix well with a spatula until the dough comes together.
3. You can do the above 2 steps in a food processor, which is what I do to save time.
4. On a lightly floured work surface, tip out the dough and knead until it's smooth and soft.  Cover with cling film and put into the fridge for about an hour, or for as long as you can stand.
5. Preheat the oven to 190C.  And grease your tart tins.
6. When your pastry has chilled,  roll out on a floured surface to approx 2-3mm.  I tend to split my pastry dough into halves or quarters, and do this in batches.   
7. Using your tart tins as a guide, cut approximate circles of pastry to line each tin.  Cut off any excess from across the tops of the tins using a sharp knife.
8. Gently prick the base of the pastry a few times with a fork.  
   
9. Line inside the pastry cases with baking paper, and fill with baking beans, or pasta. I use small macaroni, and find this works really well.  
   
10. Place the tart tins on a baking sheet and bake the cases for 15 mins.
11. When the 15 mins are up, remove the cases from the oven, remove the baking paper and baking beans, brush the pastry cases with the egg wash, and put back in the oven for another 8 mins. (If you're using macaroni or pasta shapes for your baking 'beans' then allow them to cool and store them for use next time.)
12. When cooked, allow cases to cool slightly, then remove from the tart tins.  Leave aside to cool completely.  They should be pretty sturdy and won't break easily.

For the Creme Patissiere:

1. Split the vanilla pod with a sharp knife (all the way down the pod) and put this into a large saucepan with the milk. Or substitute with the vanilla essence.  Warm through.
2. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, sugar and cornflour - whisk until the mixture becomes pale.
3. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk, and add the warmed milk to the bowl gradually and whisk.  Return the mixture to the saucepan.
4. Heat the mixture on a low heat, stirring constantly until the mix thickens to a thick custard consistency.  Allow to completely cool.
5. Add the kirsch and mix well.

To make up the tarts:

1. Make up the Quick-jell as directed on the packet.  (You can also use ordinary jelly, as long as it is cool and not completely liquid - it needs to be slightly set so that it doesn't leak everywhere.) You could also use apricot jam instead.
2. Fit a piping bag with a large round nozzle, and fill the bag with the cold creme patissiere. 
3. Starting in the centre of each tart case, pipe a swirl of creme pat into each case to cover the whole base with an even layer. Spread with a palette knife to smooth over.
   
4. Cut the strawberries into halves, and place these on top of the creme pat in a pretty pattern of your choosing.
5. Brush the strawberries with some Quick-jelly (or apricot jam)
6. Sprinkle over the popping candy.

Enjoy...with few friends, or ideally none at all!