Strawberry Custard Tart

5 from 1 vote

This Strawberry Custard Tart recipe is for a delicious fruit tart made with a homemade pastry crust filled with vanilla bean custard topped with delicious fresh strawberries.

Prep Time1

Cook Time50

Cooling Time3

Course: Pies & Tarts

Cuisine: French

Servings: slices

Calories: 631kcal

Author: Cat Spiller

Equipment

1x 22cm (9 inch) tart tin

Ingredients

Pastry Shell

200 g unsalted butter
100 g castor sugar
1 egg extra-large
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
350 g cake flour
¼ teaspoon salt

Custard Filling

6 egg yolks
120 g castor sugar
50 g cake flour
500 ml whole milk
1 vanilla bean pod
50 g unsalted butter cubed

Decoration

200 g fresh strawberries
2 tablespoon apricot jam
2 tablespoon water

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Pastry Shell

Add the butter and sugar to a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is well combined and homogenous.
First, add the whole egg to the creamed mixture with the food processor running, and pulse until combined. Then add the egg yolk and vanilla and pulse again.
Sift together the flour and salt and add this flour mixture to the egg and butter mixture all at once. Pulse until a smooth dough forms, do not overmix.
Remove the dough from the bowl, cover it in a sheet of plastic wrap, and refrigerate for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F) and brush a round tart tin with melted butter.
Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of ½ cm ( ¼ inch) using a rolling pin.
Place the rolled pastry over the pie dish and press it up the sides of the tart pan using your fingertips. Trim off the excess pastry with a sharp knife. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Place a sheet of parchment paper over the pastry and fill this with uncooked rice or pie weights. Blind bake the tart shell in a preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and pie weights and bake for a further 10 minutes or until a light golden brown. Set aside.

Custard Filling

Add the egg yolks and sugar to a large mixing bowl and whisk until combined.
Add the flour to the egg yolk mixture and whisk again.
Add the milk, seeds from the vanilla bean, and the vanilla bean to a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat, and heat the mixture until just before boiling. Remove the vanilla bean and pour the hot milk mixture into a jug.
While whisking continuously add a little of the warm milk mixture into the egg mixture, and whisk until smooth. Pour the remaining milk in a steady stream into the egg mixture while still whisking continuously.
Strain the custard mixture through a sieve and into a clean saucepan set over medium-low heat. Whisk continuously until the mixture thickens, and comes to a boil. Remove the custard from the heat and continue whisking until the custard is smooth.
Add the cubed butter to the custard and whisk continuously until melted and incorporated.
Spoon the custard into a bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the custard, this prevents a skin from forming. Chill the custard in the fridge until cold and firm, about 2 hours.

Assembly

Carefully remove the tart crust from its tin and place it onto a serving plate. Spoon the custard into the tart shell and smooth it over with the back of a spoon.
Wash and trim the tops off of the strawberries and then cut them in half.
Arrange the sliced strawberries over the surface of the tart. Starting from the outside and working inward.
Place the apricot jam and water into a small saucepan set over medium heat, and warm the jam until the mixture loosens. Use a pastry brush to brush the jam over the strawberries. Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition