I’m not sure how to tell you guys how heavenly and fun this strawberry tart was to make and how delicious it was at every step of the making and especially at the end. I’ve always been nervous preparing dough because of my huge fails with croissants and pretzels (sorry no fails page up yet) but this pie crust recipe was a sure keeper after reading all the tips. If you’d like to prepare the same flaky buttery crust that I had, I’d advise you to chill the butter in the freezer for at least 10-15 minutes, use a very sharp knife to chop it up, and use cold water. To chill the water, put the water in the freezer for a few minutes until ready to use. Seriously, kneading and rolling the dough in my hands felt like I was getting my hands massaged.
BASIC FLAKY PIE CRUST (from allrecipes)
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 C cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 C butter
- 1/4 C cold water
Special Equipment
Directions
In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
Roll dough out to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Remove the excess.
Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Remove any excess with scissors or a knife.
Prick the crust a few times with a fork and add a few pie weights to secure the pie crust.
Bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes. Allow it to cool to touch before assembling the pie or tart.
Did you also know that strawberries and balsamic vinegar complement each other PERFECTLY? I can’t express how much I love pairing them together. You can read more about balsamic vinegar and how to use it here.
I added this creamy soft citrus mascarpone filling underneath to enhance the fusion of the two even more and to celebrate the refreshing flavors of spring (and soon, summer) I was a bit worried if all of these flavors are too much, but my cousin, who’s a huge foodie and came back to visit us from Seattle – LOVED IT. My mom shrugged me off for getting a bit carried away all morning preparing the pie crust and making a (little) mess in the kitchen…but my cousin, uncle, aunt, and mom loved it so much at our family gathering, that even though they were full, they each plated themselves with another slice. I not only had a whole family’s stamp of approval for this, but my coworkers who had my second tart loved it that they complimented me while I was working at my desk. I’m so thankful that I have this glorious tart recipe for my gatherings. It’s been a kickass week, really. And I’m ordering my apron for my film gig with AutoCAD. Life is pretty rad right now. Thank you friends for all that love and support!
CITRUS MASCARPONE TART WITH BALSAMIC GLAZE
Ingredients
- 8 oz. mascarpone cheese
- 1/2 C heavy whipping cream
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 C sugar
- 2 tbsp orange zest (or lemon zest)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 C strawberries
- balsamic glaze (or balsamic vinegar)
Special Equipment
Directions
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the mascarpone, sugar and cream until light and fluffy, about a minute, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
Beat in the orange zest and vanilla extract. Scrape filling into cooled crust, smoothing it evenly to the edges with a spoon.
Wash the strawberries, slice them into desired thicknesses, and carefully mix them into the sugar. Let them soak for about 10 minutes.
If you don’t have balsamic glaze, pour 1/4 C balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan and bring it to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer until thick and syrupy, about 4 minutes; it should still swirl in the pan. If too thick, simply add another teaspoon of balsamic, stir, and remove from the heat.
Assemble the tart by spreading the citrus mascarpone cream evenly throughout the (cooled) tart. Evenly spread the strawberries evenly over as layers, then drizzle the balsamic glaze over and serve.
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