Puddings aren’t much simpler than a combination of sweet homemade pastry and a colourful berry filling.
The contrasting textures are pleasing on the palate, and the components are easy to whip up into individual portions or a sharing-size tart. They’re perfect for using seasonal winter strawberries.
The Summer Berry Company (TSBC) is a year-round fruit supplier that promotes healthy living and is on a mission to fulfil the shortfall of British strawberries the UK faces in the colder months.
This winter, TSBC planned to produce around 600,000 punnets of homegrown strawberries for Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Marks & Spencer, making the fruit easy to find in your local supermarket.
This quick dessert, which can be prepared in 30 minutes, requires just 225g of strawberries. Ditch the homemade pastry for pre-made pastry tarts to make it even faster.
Strawberry tarts recipe
Pastry ingredients
150g plain flour
75g unsalted butter, diced
35 icing sugar
One egg yolk
Filling
125g strawberries, hulled and chopped
60g caster sugar
Squeeze of lemon juice
50ml double cream
Topping
100g strawberries, hulled and sliced
Method
The pastry cases must be prepared before the filling, so add the flour and butter to a food processor or blender and blitz until they resemble breadcrumbs.
Add the icing sugar and a pinch of salt, and pulse to combine with the flour and butter. Separate the egg yolk from the white and add the yolk to the mixture, along with two to three tablespoons of cold water.
Work the liquid into the mixture to form a dough, which makes enough for four pastry cases. You can bake the dough immediately or store it in an airtight container for a week. Alternatively, you can freeze the raw pastry for another occasion.
Before baking, dust a clean work surface with flour, quarter the dough and roll out four circles to fit 10cm tart tins. Press the circles into the tins and trim the edges before pricking the base. Chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 180C/200C/gas, then line the tarts with baking paper and baking beans. Blind bake for 15 minutes, then remove the beans and paper and cook for five to eight minutes until the base is set and the sides golden.
Remove from the oven to cool, then start filling. Place the prepared strawberries (125g) in a small saucepan along with the sugar and lemon juice. Simmer for five minutes until syrupy, then allow time to cool.
Whip the cream until it holds stiff peaks and stir in the cooked strawberries. Spoon the filling into the cooled pastry cases.
To decorate, arrange 100g of sliced and hulled strawberry slices on top of the mousse in a petal pattern as pictured.