This week has been strawberry crazy at home! With 4 boxes of 500 g for less than 5 dollars, no wonder I bought quite a few boxes! Do you want to know how many? 16! Yes, indeed! But they are now all gone, we had the last ones at diner (and everyone is not bored with eating strawberries).
In my strawberry crazy week, I did some jam, we had strawberry tarts, roasted, strawberry for breakfast, for dinner and for lunch boxes. Guess what, we finished the strawberries tonight!
Two recipes were a great success. I will share those with you now.
Again some madeleines, but these ones are strawberry and rosemary madeleines
This madeleines were really a trial, I was trying to find something to go with poached pears and that could be done relatively quickly. These strawberry and rosemary madeleines turned out quite good. They were not as crunchy as the plain ones but the rosemary and strawberry do bring another dimension to that biscuit. Quite good with poached pears indeed! Click here for the recipe.
And of course a strawberry tart
I made the base with my younger daughter, the older one (7 y.o) did the rest of the tart with a bit of instructions. I use a few versions of strawberry tarts. You can find more on the dedicated page for strawberry tart recipes. Basically, the tarts all have a sweet short crust pastry, you then choose or not to have a layer over the pastry before placing the strawberries. The added layer can be roasted strawberries pureed or a creme patissiere (custard). On top of the strawberries, we use a bit of jam diluted and brush it on, it adds taste and shine.
A few more recipes already on this blog
Stawberry and white chocolate cookies
Roasted strawberries
And if you keep looking , I will soon add the recipe I used for my strawberry jam.
Strawberry tart, yeah! This dessert is at its best when you have good supply of tasty strawberries. This is also a very easy recipe to involve kids in.
There are three versions I make alternatively at home. All require a sweet short crust pastry precooked. The difference is in the addition of a layer between the pastry and the strawberry. All have a glazing above the strawberry made from diluted strawberry (or other red berries) jam and brushed on.
VERSION 1 – the most simple version and the quicker: placing the strawberries directly on top of the cooked pastry. It is better made in the morning or at least a few hours before eating to allow the fruits and jam to soak a little and soften a little the pastry.
VERSION 2 – Using roasted berry which have been reduced to a puree over the pastry, then placing the strawberries on top.
VERSION 3 – The most elaborate and often seen in pastry shops. Placing a layer of creme patissiere (thick custard) over the pastry before placing the strawberries.
The dough
- 250 g plain flour
- 125 g softened butter
- 125 g white sugar
- 1 egg
Mix all ingredient together and form a ball. In a large bowl, mix all ingredient together and form a ball. Over a few movemnts, knead it on the kitchen bench to ensure cohesion (20 seconds max).
Place the dough on a sheet of baking paper and spread with your hands. Dust with flour to prevent sticking. You can also place another sheet of baking paper and roll with the rolling-pin. I like to push it with my hands. Once you have the size and thickness desired, remove any excess (you can use it for biscuits with the kids). Place in your tin if using a tin (or just use a pizza tray), trim as needed. Using a fork, make little holes all over. This prevent the formation of bubbles in the oven.
Bake 10-15 minutes on 160 degrees Celsius until light blonde. Remove from the oven and slide the base on a cooling rack using the baking paper. Allow to cool.
The Topping
VERSION 1
You need:
- Strawberries, end trimmed
- Strawberry jam diluted slightly with hot water for brushing over.
Place the strawberries on the base, then brush over with the diluted jam.
VERSION 2
You need:
- balsamic vinegar
- caster sugar
- Strawberries, end trimmed
- Strawberry jam diluted slightly with hot water for brushing over.
- for the roasted strawberry, place 1 cup of strawberries (if very large, half or quartered) in a small roasting dish. Mix 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar with 2 tablespoon of caster sugar. Coat the strawberries, if excess, leave it at the bottom of the roasting dish. Roast under the grill or in the oven for 10 minutes or a but more until just soft. Use a blender to make a puree.
- Place the puree of roasted strawberry over the base. Then place the full strawberries.
- Glaze by brushing over with diluted jam.
VERSION 3
You need:
For the creme patissiere (custard)
- 25 cl milk
- 30 g caster sugar
- 30 g plain flour
- 2 egg yolks
- a drop of vanilla
for the rest of the tart:
- Strawberries, end trimmed
- Strawberry jam diluted slightly with hot water for brushing over.
- For the custard, warm up the milk and sugar together. In the meanwhile beat the egg yolks with the flour in a large bowl, use some of the milk to get it more liquid.
- When the milk is about boiling, transfer to the bowl with the egg-flour mixture and beat together until combined.
- Pour back into the saucepan and place on low over the stove. Keep mixing until the cream thickens and then transfer to a clean bowl. If not using straight away, place a plastic film right on the surface to prevent the formation of a skin.
- Spread some creme patissiere on the base
- Place strawberries
- Glaze using diluted jam with a brush.
Roasted strawberries are very simple to make, yet quite a success with the whole family. They can be served with a cake or with yogurt or “fromage blanc”. They are particularly good with chocolate cake.
In terms of difficulty level, it goes in the super easy basket!
Timing:
20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 punnets of strawberries (or as many as you need)
- 50 g caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
Method
- Preheat Oven to 180°C
- Rinse the strawberries and hull them or simply cut the leaves off
- Place the strawberry in a single layer pointing up in a roasting pan (possibly the one you will serve in as after roasting they are quite fragile)
- Mix together in a bowl the vinegar and sugar and pour all over the strawberries, make sure all strawberries are coated. Another technique would be to toss them in the juice and them put them in place.
- Roast for 10-15 minutes or so until they are soft and tender. The timing will depend on the size of the strawberries and your oven.
