When strawberry season arrives here in Florida, it is welcomed with joy. We love the ripe and beautiful strawberries in smoothies and with pancakes. In pies and scones. You know where this is going. There isn't a recipe that doesn't go splendidly with strawberries as far as we're concerned.
I love to bake pies and tarts. Sweet or savory. I'm happy either way. There were a couple of containers of strawberries in my fridge (again) the other day and I decided it would be nice to make a nice tart. The kids were spoiled when my in-laws were here. My mother-in-law would make one gigantic one on a jelly roll sheet. At the time, strawberries weren't yet in season and she made it just with strawberry preserves. It was so nice to smell her creation baking in the oven at 9 while the kids were sleeping. She would sometimes bake one after they went to bed to surprise them with it in the morning. Yes, they remind me how sweet and thoughtful it was of her and could I sometimes surprise them with a strawberry crostata. So, I did!
Now here's the only problem with this tart...I wasn't able to get any great clicks of it. I tried and it just wasn't the most photogenic desserts. No matter what I tried, it just seemed OK. My daughter saw some of my clicks and immediately edited the ones that were hopeless and did nothing for this delicious dessert. She helped me choose the few that made her crave a slice and I hope it has the same effect on you!
I used the pasta frolla dough recipe that I always use (from my mother-in-law). It's a lovely tart dough that goes wonderfully with any filling you can dream of. You can see some step-by-step photos on how to make the crostata here on my Ricotta Crostata.
In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour and sugar and process a few times to mix together. Next add the butter and pulse a few times until the mixture looks like wet sand. Add the egg and yolk and process a few seconds more until the dough forms (this should be about 5-7 more pulses). Be sure to not overprocess the dough.
Dump the dough from the food processor bowl onto a lightly floured counter. Form the dough into a disk and chill in the refrigerator for about an hour.
baking the crostata:
Preheat oven to 375°F with a foil-lined large baking sheet on middle rack.
When dough is nicely chilled, remove from the refrigerator. Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap into a 13-inch round about ⅛ thick.
Spray an 11-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom with baking spray.
Gently wrap the dough over the rolling pin and place it over the tart pan; release the rolling pin and let the dough fall into the tart pan.
Press the dough softly into the bottom of the tart pan. If some of the dough breaks while you press it into the tart pan, that's not a problem. Simply piece the dough together.
Press the sides of the dough about ½ inch up the side of the tart pan. The rim of the tart should be lined with a slightly thicker layer of pastry than the bottom (about ¼-inch thick).
Cut off the extra dough from the sides and keep these excess pieces to make the lattice topping.
Place this tart pan in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes (or even longer if necessary) to chill.
When the dough is chilled and ready to fill, remove the tart pan from the refrigerator and prick the pastry bottom with a fork a few times.
Filling the crostata:
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Spread the strawberry jam on the bottom of the crostata.
Place the strawberry slices on top of the strawberry jam.
Roll out the remaining piece of dough to ⅛-inch thickness.
Cut out the lattice strips. Place the strips on top of the crostata in a lattice pattern (or whichever pattern you like)
Bake on 375 F for approximately 30-45 minutes. You want the crust to be a nice golden brown.
Now onto the fun part! I can't wait to share the rest of the strawberry links I can't wait to share with you!!
I think the tart looks great but I totally understand about not getting any good shots. This is what happens with at least half of my potential posts. The pictures are no good, so I don't post. 🙁
And great round-up... I can't wait for strawberry season!
[…] also have an amazing compilation of strawberry ideas here you can […]
I don't see a thing wrong with your photos. The tart looks scrumptious.
[...] Strawberry Tart and More Than 100 Sensational Strawberry Recipes ... [...]
I think the tart looks great but I totally understand about not getting any good shots. This is what happens with at least half of my potential posts. The pictures are no good, so I don't post. 🙁
And great round-up... I can't wait for strawberry season!