Strawberry Tart
A blind-baked shell filled with pastry cream and topped with raw strawberries, assembled close to serving.
Makes 1 9-inch tart · Prep 30 min
Ingredients
Shell
- 1 Sweet tart shell, blind-baked and cooled — see the Sweet Tart Shell recipe
Filling
- 2 cups Pastry cream, chilled — see the Pastry Cream recipe
Topping
- 3 cups Fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
Glaze
- 3 tbsp Apricot or strawberry jam
- 1 tbsp Water
Instructions
Assemble
- Spread the chilled pastry cream evenly into the cooled tart shell.
- Arrange the strawberry halves, cut side down, over the cream in overlapping circles, working from the outside in. (Tip: Cut side down gives a flat, even surface and shows the cleanest cross-section of each berry.)
Glaze
- Warm the jam and water together until thin and pourable, then brush lightly over the strawberries. (Tip: This thin coat is what keeps the cut fruit from drying out and browning before the tart is served — not just for shine.)
Chill
- Chill until ready to serve, ideally within a few hours.
Tips
- Assemble close to serving: The shell starts absorbing moisture from the cream the moment they touch, and softens further once fruit and glaze are added. A few hours ahead is fine; a full day ahead noticeably softens the base.
- No jam for the glaze?: A thin syrup of equal parts sugar and water, warmed until the sugar dissolves, does a similar job of slowing the fruit's surface from drying, though it won't add the same fruit flavour or colour.