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this tart is just perfect. there's no other word to describe it!
the shortcrust pastry is delicious and very easy to work. we were a bit skeptical at first concerning the almond cream. usually we don't like to have anything but the fruits in a tart. but this one proved us wrong! the almond cream really adds something to the tart, and the amount of rum is perfect. we used a good quality rum which gave extra flavours to the almond cream.
finally, the mint brings a freshness that goes so well with both the strawberries and the almond cream.
and the best part: you can adapt this tart to the season! the recipes of the shortcrust pastry and almond cream remains the same, but you can adapt the flavour of the whipped cream to the fruits you're using (apricot and rosemary, peach and lavender,...). let your imagination run wild!
we found the original recipe in the french magazine "fou de pâtisserie" and we adapted it.
the original recipe uses dry lemon verbena, but we had fresh mint leaves to hand so we thought it was a shame not to use them. and of course we reduced the amount of sugar. if you are dealing with really sweet strawberries, you can reduce it some more!
for one tart:
inspired by fou de pâtisserie magazine
for the sweet shortcrust pastry:
145 g flour
65 g soft butter
50 g icing sugar
30 g potato starch (if you don't have it just use flour instead)
1 small egg
25 g ground almonds
a pinch of salt
almond cream:
150 g ground almonds
110 g butter
2 small eggs
60 g icing sugar
15 g rum
whipped cream:
150 g whipping cream
80 g mascarpone
20 g icing sugar
fresh mint leaves (10-15 leaves)
orange juice
strawberries
place whipping cream in a bowl and add the mint leaves (roughly cut). place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
prepare the sweet shortcrust pastry:
using the paddle attachment of your standmixer, mix butter until soft.
mix and sift together flour, sugar, starch, ground almonds and salt and add to the butter.
mix in the egg to form a soft dough.
flatten roughly the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and refrigerate for 1 hour.
roll and line a tart ring (or a pan if you don't have a tart ring).
preheat the oven to 165°C (329 F). bake for 10 minutes.
prepare the almond cream:
using the paddle attachment of your standmixer, mix butter until soft. incorporate icing sugar and ground almonds. then mix in eggs and rum. mix until combined.
using a pastry bag, pipe almond cream halfway-up the tart.
bake at 165°C for 20-25 minutes (until golden).
soak the almond cream with orange juice (the juice will bring humidity to the almond cream).
leave to cool completely.
prepare the whipped cream:
filter the cream to remove mint leaves. in a bowl, whisk together cream, mascarpone and icing sugar. whisk the mixture into whipped cream.
assemble the tart:
spread into the tart up to the top edge all around.
wash and trim strawberries. cut them in half and place them on the tart.
decorate with fresh mint leaves.
piece of advice:
you can mix incing sugar and ground almonds in a blender to have a finer powder
try not to use a low quality rum. we used a good quality rum and it brought extra flavours to the tart
