Surely you didn’t think that I’d forget dessert for the meal we cooked for my parents last weekend. It was the least that I could do after dragging them around every street South of 14th for no reason in particular.

I was excited to try out this recipe from Tartine, a book that I’ve read cover to cover, and from which I still had not tried a single thing. Tartine is the name of a really amazing bakery in San Francisco, run by a couple who met in cooking school and spent a year working in French bakeries before returning to the States to open their own place. I think their story is probably the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. 

The forward of the book is written by Alice Waters, which might give you an idea of just how special this bakery is. I love the level of detail the authors weave into the book, and the way it tells you to do something and then takes the time to explain why it’s beneficial. For instance, in the recipe for pastry cream, the directions say to stir the milk to avoid the milk solids burning on the bottom of the pan. And then, it tells you that you need to do this to avoid bad-tasting pastry cream. I love it when I get to know why I’m being told to do things a certain way.

I also learned a really neat trick for avoiding soggy tart crust.  Just brush a partially-baked tart crust with egg wash and return it to the oven to fully bake. It creates a translucent barrier between the filling and the crust, keeping a lot of the moisture from sinking in. How smart is that?

There were two things that I didn’t like about the recipe. First, I had high hopes that I had discovered an easy, un-fussy tart crust that would not shrink or slouch, but despite my efforts to keep everything super-cold, my first attempt did a little of both, making me glad I had made an additional crust just in case (this recipe is for four 9-inch crusts, by the way. I cut it in half and had planned to freeze the extra crust for future use, before I ended up using it).

I weighted the second crust under a layer of tin foil (leaving ample ends on both sides for easy removal from a hot pan) filled with tart weights (I keep a jar of old rice and beans mixed together for this purpose, they are completely reusable). I removed the foil with the weights when it came time to apply the egg wash, and it barely shrunk at all, with no sagging whatsoever.

My other issue was the consistency of the pastry cream. When I strained it with a fine strainer, I had to force it through, so I thought I was getting something really thick. Then, by the time I let it sit in the fridge and I poured it into the shell and sliced it, it had gotten runny and the sliced presentation was delicious, but not pretty. I suspect that this is due to my error though – using tapioca starch might have been a poor choice, or I may have undone some of the starch’s thickening powers when I forced it through the strainer. It was so delicious, it didn’t really matter. Everyone knows that sometimes the ugly desserts are the most delicious.

Strawberry Cream Tart
Adapted from Tartine by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson

Sweet tart dough (enough for four 9-inch tarts)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, room temperature

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Egg wash

1 large egg

pinch of salt

Pastry cream (enough for one 9-inch tart)

2 cups whole milk

1/2 vanilla bean

1/4 tablespoon salt

3 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch (I used tapioca starch)

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

2 large eggs

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 quart fresh strawberries, stemmed and cored

Make tart shell:

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, and salt and on medium speed until smooth. Mix in 1 egg. Add the remaining egg and mix until smooth. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the flour all at once and mix on low speed until just incorporated.

On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 4 equal balls and shape each ball into a disk 1/2 inch thick. Wrap well in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

To line a tart pan, place a dough disk on a lightly floured surface and roll out 1/8 inch thick, rolling from the center to the edge in all directions. Lift and rotate the dough a quarter turn after every few strokes, dusting underneath to avoid sticking, and work quickly to prevent the dough from becoming warm. Cut out a circle 2 inches larger than the pan. If the dough is still cool, carefully transfer the circle to the pan, easing into the bottom and sides and pressing gently into place. Do not stretch the dough or the sides will shrink when baking. If the dough has gotten too soft to work with, place it back into the fridge before transferring it to the pan. If the dough tears, just press a bit of extra dough over the tear. Trim the dough level with the top of the pan with a sharp knife. Place the pastry shell in the fridge or freezer until it is firm, about 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Dock the bottom of the tart (make small holes in) with a fork, two inches apart. (here’s a deviation from the original recipe – I lined the shell with foil and used tart weights at this point, as the first one that I tried slumped down a bit without.) Place in the oven and bake for 7 to 10 minutes. At this point, it will be partially baked (here I removed my tart weights and brushed the inside with the egg wash). Beat the egg with salt and brush it onto the bottom of the tart crust. Return it to the oven and bake for about 5 minutes, until the crust is the desired darkness (light golden brown) turning as necessary for even baking.

Let cool completely on wire rack. Pastry shells will keep, well-wrapped for a week in the fridge and 2 weeks in the freezer.

Make pastry cream and top with strawberries:

Have a bowl ready for cooling the pastry cream with a fine-mesh sieve resting in the rim. 

Pour the milk into a heavy saucepan. Split the vanilla bean half lengthwise and use the tip of a sharp knife to scrape out the seeds from the pod halves into the milk. Add the salt, place over medium-high heat, and bring to just under a boil, stirring occasionally and making sure that the milk solids are not sticking to the bottom of the pan (which will cause the cream to taste a bit foul).

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and sugar. Use the larger amount of cornstarch for a firmer pastry cream (I used 4 tablespoons, but tapioca starch). Add the eggs and whisk until smooth.

When the milk is ready, slowly ladle about one-third of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly (putting a damp towel under the bowl allows you to stabilize the bowl and frees up an extra hand). Pour the egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan of hot milk and continue whisking over medium heat until the custard is thick as whipped cream, about 2 minutes. In order for the cornstarch to cook and thicken fully, the mixture must come just to the boiling point. You want to see a few slow bubbles. However, if you allow the cream to boil vigorously, it will curdle. Remove from the heat and immediately pour through the sieve into the bowl (if left in the pot, it will continue to cook). Let cool for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to release the heat and prevent a skin from forming on the top.

Cut the butter into 1 tablespoon pieces. When the pastry cream is ready (about 140 degrees), whisk the butter into the pastry cream 1 tablespoon at a time, always whisking before adding the next tablespoon.

To cool the cream, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and press the wrap directly on top of the cream (to prevent skin- gross). Pastry cream will keep in the fridge for 5 days. Cool for at least three hours before serving.

Wash, the strawberries, remove the stems and centers and cut them vertically. 

Pour the fully-cooled pastry cream into the fully baked tart shell, spreading it evenly. Top with the sliced strawberries and serve. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.