Make the most of deliciously plump seasonal fruit with our colourful and impressive-looking fruit tart recipe. A wonderfully sweet finish to our spring menu.
INGREDIENTS
Pate sucré:
225g of flour
75g castor sugar
2 small eggs
100g butter
1 tsp of vanilla extract
Crème pâtissière:
250ml of full fat milk
250ml of double cream
5 egg yolks
100g sugar
1 vanilla pod split in half or 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
40g of cornflour
Peel of half an orange
Fruit:
1 punnet of ripened strawberries, washed and sliced
2-3 kiwis peeled and sliced
A few blueberries to garnish
(Or swap for your favourite in-season fruit)
STEP ONE – the pastry base
For the pastry, put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix them either with a mixer or by hand with a wooden spoon. Once all the ingredients are nicely incorporated, transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it together for 30 seconds being careful not to warm it up. Refrigerate it for an hour.
STEP TWO
Lightly grease a 10 inch tart dish; roll the dough into a circle shape to a thickness of about three millimetres and lay it in the dish.
STEP THREE
Blind bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes and then for a further five minutes without the cover, dropping the temperature to 170 degrees. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool.
STEP FOUR – the crème pâtissière
Warm up the milk, cream, orange zest, and vanilla in a saucepan to about 90 degrees Celsius.
STEP FIVE
While that’s warming, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour until they start to get thicker.
STEP SIX
Pour the milk mixture into the egg mixture a little at a time; if you pour the milk too quickly, the eggs will curdle.
STEP SEVEN
Transfer the custard back to the pan and, on a low heat and whisking constantly, bring the custard back to about 90 degrees or until it starts to get thicker.
STEP EIGHT
Remove from the heat and pass through a thin sieve. Cool the custard for about five minutes and then pour it into the tart case, trying to create an even surface using the back of a spoon.
STEP NINE
Arrange the strawberries and kiwis with a sprinkling of blueberries – or any other fruit you would like – and garnish with a few mint leaves.
For more seasonal recipes, you can view our full Spring Menu here.
