The Bountiful Kitchen: Cooking Inn Style with Local, Sustainable Foods (Recipe: Fresh Strawberry Tart)

A few weeks ago, Chloe Tuttle (owner of Big Mill Bed & Breakfast, Williamston, NC) contributed a fantastic piece to Inn Cuisine on how to make and can fresh strawberry jam with berries picked from your own garden or local u-pick farm(s). Ever since, I’ve been impatiently awaiting the arrival of strawberry season here in my home state of Missouri.

Coupling a lifelong adoration of fresh, sweet strawberries and my desire to build upon what Chloe started with her first contribution to the Bountiful Kitchen series, I decided to share my own twist on strawberry season with this refreshing cream-filled Strawberry Tart, capable of pleasing even the fussiest of guests.

Featuring a rich nut pastry crust I discovered in one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, In The Sweet Kitchen (a must-own reference if you enjoy baking at all) and a delightful orange-flavored cream cheese filling from Perfect Pastry (a fantastic collection of sweet & savory pastry recipes), this Strawberry Tart is ideal for serving as a light, spring and summer dessert. Absolutely perfect for brunch and dinner, this tart would also pair well with casual and formal luncheons, baby & bridal showers, afternoon tea or evening coffee. One bite and I’m sure you’ll agree.

Note to Novices – Creating a fresh Strawberry Tart is not nearly as intimidating as it may first seem. For anyone who has yet to make a homemade fruit tart (any variety), I’m including a basic tutorial on this delicious rich nut pastry crust in the form of an easy-to-follow pictorial. For those of you who have made fruit tarts before (even strawberry tarts) but could use a little refresher, I hope you’ll find the following pictorial helpful as well. This make, press, chill & bake crumb crust is infinitely easier to create than homemade pie crust, so I hope you’ll give it a whirl.

When strawberries come in season wherever you reside, why not take a bit of time to drop by your local farmers’ market or pay a visit to your nearby u-pick farm(s). Make a day of it and grab plenty—we’ve got a tart to make!

Fresh Strawberry Tart

(featured on Inn Cuisine, recipe adapted from In The Sweet Kitchen and Perfect Pastry)

to create the rich nut pastry crust

• 3/4  cup halved walnuts (may substitute pecans), lightly toasted
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
• 1 large egg yolk, cold

to create the orange-flavored cream cheese filling

• 11 ounces cream cheese, slightly softened
• 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, more to taste if desired
• 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
• zest of 1 orange

for the strawberries

• 2 & 1/2 to 3 pounds fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced in half

To create the rich nut pastry crust, begin by adding walnuts (or pecans if substituting) to your food processor along with granulated sugar.

Pulse lightly until nuts are well chopped, not pulverized into a fine dust. Further pulses with subsequent steps will grind the nuts even finer.

Add flour to nuts and sugar, pulsing lightly to combine. Next add chilled butter chunks and pulse to combine, about 10-20 seconds in total. Pulse until mixture resembles that of large peas throughout (see second photo).

Add egg yolk and pulse lightly to combine and moisten dough, about 10 pulses or until mixture just begins to come together.

Turn dough out into a bowl and mix through using a fork, ensuring dough is moistened throughout and clumps are broken up into smaller bits. Dough should be moist, sticky and crumbly with no dry patches or streaks of unincorporated yolk.

Using your fingertips, firmly press dough into a 9 to 10-inch tart pan, going up the sides and across the bottom leaving no holes, gaps or uneven places. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and chill in the refrigerator a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. When crust has chilled, preheat oven to 375 degrees F and remove tart crust from refrigerator. Prick chilled crust thoroughly with fork tines. Laying a sheet of parchment paper over tart pastry, line crust with *pie weights to prevent shrinking while baking (*unbaked, long grain rice or dried beans will do).

Bake lined and weighted crust for approximately 15-17 minutes or until edges of pastry begin to look dry. Remove parchment paper and pastry weights from crust and continue baking at 375 degrees F for another 10 minutes or so, until pastry bottom appears dry throughout and crust has just a hint of color. Remove baked tart pastry from oven and set on wire rack until thoroughly cooled. When crust has cooled completely, carefully remove outer ring of tart pan and set crust aside to fill.

Meanwhile, while crust is cooling, begin making the orange-flavored cream cheese filling. In a medium-sized bowl, combine cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar, Grand Marnier and orange zest. Beat using an electric mixer until mixture is creamy and smooth. If desired, add additional small amounts of confectioner’s sugar until filling has reach desired sweetness and consistency. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator until filling is needed.

Wash, hull and slice strawberries. Plan placement of berries before beginning. Once layout has been planned, fill cooled pastry crust with orange-cream filling and begin layering strawberries in any design that is pleasing to the eye. You may lay strawberries facing up or down, tip to end, on their side or straight up, in vertical or horizontal rows, in a circular pattern, or in a lovely starburst design originating from the center—cook’s choice. To serve, carefully slice tart (a sharp, serrated serving knife works nicely here) and set on individual dessert plates. Garnish with additional whole strawberries or fresh mint if desired. Keep leftovers wrapped and chilled.

Yield: 6-8 individually-sized portions.

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