Free-form Strawberry Tart
Crisp pastry, fresh strawberries and cream – a match made in heaven! Free form pastry tarts are a breeze to make, and a fantastic base for most fresh fruits. Try raspberries, blueberries and stone fruit or cherries when in season. Halve the recipe to make one tart.
INGREDIENTS
1 x 400 gram block puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten
raw sugar from sprinkling
200 grams cream cheese at room temperature
2 tablespoons icing sugar
250 grams sour cream
½ cup lemon curd
4 punnets strawberries, sliced
¼ cup pistachio nuts, chopped
icing sugar
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180˚C.
Cut the pastry in half and roll each half into a rectangle about 30 cm x 18 cm.
Brush the edges with egg and fold over a 1cm border all the way around. Press with a fork to seal the edges. Brush the egg all over the pastry and lightly sprinkle with sugar. Place the tarts side by side on a lined baking tray and chill or freeze until very firm.
Bake for 10 minutes then turn the tarts over and cook for a further 10 minutes until well cooked and a good golden colour. I do this to get the bases nice and crisp.
Turn right side up and transfer to a cooling rack, gently pressing the pastry down if it has really puffed up in places. Cool.
Beat the cream cheese and icing sugar until light then beat in the sour cream until smooth. Fold through the lemon curd. If time permits, chill the cream for 1 hour to firm up.
Assemble the tarts just before serving so the pastry stays crisp. Spread the cream evenly over the two tarts. Top with the strawberries then sprinkle with pistachios and a dusting of icing sugar. Serves 8-12 depending on serving size
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In Dream Escape, we journey from Japan and Morocco to Italy, India and beyond, sharing recipes inspired by travel, heritage and comfort. We celebrate the champions of the Outstanding Food Producer Awards, explore the stories and recipes of chefs shaped by their cultural roots, and warm up with everything from West African soups and slow-braised lamb to porchetta, butter chicken and beef noodle soup. Alongside destination menus, Scandinavian sweets and cosy pub classics, Chrisanne Terblanche shares her favourite street-side dining spots in Bangkok, while Yvonne Lorkin explores red wine varietals. This issue, we invite you to slow down, turn the pages and escape through food.