Because Baking is Creative: Brown Sugar Strawberry Tart
While reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver, I came across a sentence that I can relate to...it's one of the many reasons I love to bake:
On high occasions we'll make cherry pies with crisscrossed lattice tops and ravioli with crimped edges, for the satisfaction of seeing these storybook comforts become real.
When I read this recipe I was more excited about making it and looking at it than I was tasting it. It just had so much potential to be a work of art! Not only did it turn out to be a work of art (and I got to learn how to use my new tart pan), but it was also delightfully delicious! The tart/crust part was just the right texture to complement late spring strawberries atop the not-too-sweet cream concoction. I brought it on a fancy plate to a dinner get together and I was happy to see that there was a crowd when dessert time rolled around.
I think the strawberries in this recipe can be swapped for any fruit as the seasons change.
Brown Sugar Strawberry Tart
from Sunset Magazine
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar, divided
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
1/2 cup crème fraîche
1/2 cup whipping cream
12 ounces strawberries, hulled and sliced
1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a food processor, whirl flour, 2 tbsp. sugar, the cornstarch, and salt until combined. Add butter and 1/2 tsp. vanilla and pulse until fine crumbs form and dough just begins to come together. Press evenly into bottom and up sides of a 9-in. round tart pan with a removable rim.
2. Bake until edges are golden, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool on a rack, then gently push tart crust from pan rim; set on a plate.
3. In a bowl with a mixer on high speed, beat crème fraîche, cream, remaining 2 tbsp. sugar, and remaining 1/2 tsp. vanilla until thick. Spread in cooled crust. Arrange strawberries in circles on top, alternating cut sides down and up.
Make ahead: Chill, loosely covered, up to 4 hours.
