Amazing strawberry tart - recipe!

Hello there!

June is finally here, and what better way to celebrate than with a sweet summery treat. I've recently made this amazing tart, so I've decided to share it with you. It's a lovely tart with a mazarin base, light vanilla cream filling and has fresh strawberries on top. It is a bit time consuming, but it will be worth it in the end, especially if you like baking as much as I do!

What you'll need:

For the tart dough:

• 100g of cold unsalted butter in chopped bits
• 50g of powder sugar
• 130g of flour
• 1 small egg

For the mazarin mixture:

• 175g of marzipan
• 150g of caster sugar
• 100g melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 50g of flour

For the vanilla cream filling:

• 1 egg
• 15g cornstarch
• vanilla bean from half a vanilla pod 
• 250ml milk
• 40g castersugar
• 250ml heavy whipping cream

And for toppings and the tart base:

• 100g dark chocolate
• 500g strawberries

Instructions:

You're going to start off  by making the tart dough. Crumble your 100g of butter together with your 50g of powder sugar and your 130g of flour, you can to this easy with a hand mixer. When your dough is crumbly, add the egg to the mixture and mix it all together until it forms a smooth consistence. Keep in mind that the dough might be a bit soft, but that's how it's supposed to be. Put the dough into the fridge, and let it sit for about 30 minutes or 45 minutes.

Meanwhile the dough is resting, you can turn on your owen to 200 degrees celsius and put a baking tray at the bottom of the owen. 

Now you can start on making your mazarin mixture. Take your 175g of marzipan and 150g of caster sugar and form them into one mass. It's easiest if you just do it by hand, by pushing the sugar into the marzipan. When the sugar and marzipan are all combined, melt your 100g of butter, and add it to the mixture a little at a time, while you whisk it all together with a hand mixer. When you have poured all of your butter into the mixture, you can put your two eggs in, one at a time, mixing in-between. The last step is to sift your 50g of flour into the wet mixture, and then give it one last whisk, so that it's all combined and smooth, without any lumps.

When your tart dough from earlier has cooled down and hardened in the fridge for about 30 minutes, take a baking sheet, and put som flour on it. Take out a tart dish (about 30 cm in diameter), and butter it all over and well, so that the tart can be cut out of the dish, without being stuck or break when you serve it. Take your dough out of the fridge and roll it out on the sheet. Be sure to get flour on the dough, so that you kan lift it from the baking sheet, without it sticking. When you have rolled your dough out (you need to do it quickly, because the butter, keeping the dough together, must not be warmed up too much, or the dough will break. Take your baking sheet with the dough, and put your tart dish nearby. Turn the baking sheet with the dough on it up side down, on top of the tart dish, so that the dough lands exactly into the dish. Take of the baking paper and cut and adjust the dough to the fit the dish. 

Now, take your mazarin mass and pour it on top of the dough in the dish. Put the tart in the preheated owen (200 degrees celsius) and place it on the lowest shelf in the owen. Bake it for about 20-25 minutes, until the mazarin mass is solid. Afterwards, take it out of the owen and let it cool completely.

When the tart has cooled down, melt your chocolate in a bowl on top of a pot with hot/boiling water. The bowl needs to be wider than the pot, and must not be made of plastic. The steam from the hot water, will heat op the bowl, and melt the chocolate in it. When the chocolate is melted, pour it over the cooled tart and spread it out, so that it covers the whole top. Let it sit and cool, until the chocolate has hardened. You can put it in the fridge, to speed up the process.

While the tart is cooling again, you can start on the vanilla cream for the filling. Take a pot and whisk your egg and cornstarch together, so that there is no lumps. When the mixture is smooth, put it on the heat and start adding your vanilla bean, 40g of sugar and 250ml of milk. Whisk the mixture while it heats up (on high heat). It should only take about 1 minute for the mixture to get a thick consistency, and when it does, take it of the heat and let it cool down in the fridge.

When the chocolate has hardened on the tart, take your 250ml whipping cream, and whisk it together until it gets a light and firm consistence. Take your vanilla cream out of the fridge, and give it a whisk just to make sure it's smooth. Now combine the two mixtures to one, and then put it on top of the tart. Wash your strawberries and cut them in half. Place them on top of the tart, and you're done!

Bon appetit!