[Fresh Strawberry Tart - cold]
...Julia says that "fresh fruit tartes are easy to make, pretty to look at and refreshing to eat"...she's probably right...ours was...
...first, you'll need to make a
Vegan Pâte Brisée Sucrée...
...I use this little trick to keep my pâte nice and flat...I cut the center out of a pie tin...and I just lay that over the center of the pâte...
...then I weight it with an oven-proof dish...
...and bake...sometimes just a prebake...or in this case a fully baked crust...the little tin pops right off...
...then I don't have any holes or bubbles in my crust...
...next...you make a
VEGAN CRÈME PÂTISSIÈRE...you know how Julia's recipes almost always build on a 'skill' you've already 'mastered'...
...then you're supposed to boil some red currant jelly with sugar and cognac...but I used Strawberry preserves...I strained them with a fine mesh strainer to get all the strawberries and seeds out...
...and then using a pastry brush...paint the pastry shell...
...just a thin coat over the entire shell...
...and let it dry for 5 minutes or so...
...wash and hull your strawberries...Julia says to stand them on their stem ends...but I didn't think that was very pretty...so I sliced mine so I could arrange them around the dish...
...spread some VEGAN CRÈME PÂTISSIÈRE in the bottom of the shell...
...about 1/2 inch and it should be cold...
...then arrange your berries...
...and spoon over the remaining glaze...
...it certainly is pretty to look at...
...perfect for company...a pretty spring dish...
...Ooooh...I'll definitely be making this again...it wasn't very difficult to make...and it turned out just perfect...we all loved it...
Substitutions: Earth Balance for Butter - in the crust...
and I used Strawberry jam (strained) for the glaze instead of Red Currant...
Recipe here:
Mastering the Art of French Cooking
pp. 640-641
