Strawberry Tart

Most strawberry tart dessert recipes feature a tart crust, a cream cheese whipped cream filling and a beautifully arranged layer of fresh strawberries on top. I created this recipe so I could give you something tangible to do with my new strawberry curd recipe so the curd was going in between those two layers. It makes for a much more forwardly strawberry flavor overall; every bite bursts with berries!

Note! This is a messy pie – there’s no clean way to slice or eat it. Just enjoy!

Recipe Origins

This strawberry tart recipe has a lot in common with my raspberry tart recipe: a shortbread-like pastry  tart crust, a fruit curd based filling, whipped cream and more berries on top. Where it differs here (aside from the obvious strawberries for raspberries) is that the crust is a little more interesting with the addition of some finely ground pistachios which give it more flavor.

Recipe Ingredients

For the Filling

You’ll find more details about the strawberry filling on this page, but here’s a quick overview:

Strawberries: fresh overripe berries, farm fresh in season, local. The strawberry flavor will not come through if using conventional or off season berries

Eggs: whole large eggs.

Sugar: fine granulated sugar.

Lemon: for the lemon juice, the zest can be used in the crust (if possible, zest the lemons before juicing and save it to add to the crust later).

Butter: cold unsalted butter. Salted is ok too (just skip the pinch of salt).

Starch: I prefer tapioca starch but you can also use cornstarch.

For the Crust

Flour: all purpose flour.

Powdered Sugar: fine granulated sugar.

Pistachios: I use raw shelled pistachios (sometimes called ‘nutmeats’) and toast them myself (10 minutes at 350 F), then grind them in a food processor until they are in fine crumbs. If you are using roasted pistachios, roast for less time (5-7 minutes only).

Butter: unsalted or salted butter, if using salted you may want to reduce the salt added so it’s not overly salty.

Salt: fine sea salt.

For the Topping

Heavy Whipping Cream: or heavy cream. Light cream does not have enough fat in it to whip to stiff peaks.

Sugar: powdered (my preference to hold the cream stable) or fine granulated.

Vanilla: pure vanilla extract.

Strawberries: fresh, firm juicy strawberries, thinly sliced.

How to Make Strawberry Tart

The Strawberry Filling

Follow this recipe to make strawberry curd (the full amount!) in a saucepan. It’s best if this is done beforehand so the curd has time to chill and set. At the very least the filling should be room temperature before it’s added to the tart.

The Pistachio Crust

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Set the softened butter into a medium bowl and zest the lemon over it. Add the ground pistachios and pinch of salt. Use an electric mixer to beat the mixture until it’s creamy, about 3 minutes.

Add the flour and powdered sugar and use the mixer to beat on low until the butter is dispersed throughout the flour. It will look like bits of sand, but when you squeeze some of the mixture together, it should clump. If you are finding it very dry, add a tablespoon of milk then mix again.

Press the crust into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom.

Take your time pressing the bottom layer, packing it in, then pressing to create an even crust on the sides. Use a measuring cup to help pack and even out the crumbs.

Cover the crust with a sheet of parchment paper and fill the crust with pie weights (you can also use dried beans).

Bake for about 20 minutes, until the sides are golden brown.

Remove from the oven and dock the crust all over with a fork – this is to prevent air bubbles.

Return to the oven for another 5-7 minutes.

Pour the cooled strawberry curd filling into the hot crust and use an offset spatula to smooth it over.

Bake the tart for about 20 minutes, it won’t set completely (if you jiggle it it will wobble all over) but the top will turn darker and matte colored. Carefully remove it from the oven and let it cool on the counter for about an hour.

Then transfer to the fridge to chill for 4-8 hours.

This isn’t a set pie that will give you clean, sharp slices: it’s messy and creamy =)

Topping and Serving the Tart

When ready to serve, make the whipped cream (follow this recipe for a stabilized whipped cream) and spread over the chilled pie.

*To make the topping more like a classic strawberry tart cream cheese filling, add half a brick of cream cheese to the bowl of a food processor before adding the whipped cream.

Slice up to 1 pound of fresh strawberries and arrange them on top of the whipped cream.

Sprinkle with finely chopped pistachios and serve.

Store leftovers in the fridge.

Strawberry Tart Recipe

Strawberry Tart

A sweet and smooth strawberry tart housed in a tender pistachio lemon shortcrust, topped with a mass of creamy whipped cream, and layers of fresh sliced strawberries.

Prep Time: 45 minutes mins

Cook Time: 50 minutes mins

Yields: 1 9 inch tart

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Ingredients

Pistachio Lemon Crust

• 113g or ½ cup butter softened
• 70g or ½ cup pistachios ground finely
• Zest of 2 lemons
• Pinch fine sea salt
• 215g or 1 ⅔ cups all purpose flour
• 30g or ⅓ cup powdered sugar

Strawberry Filling

• Strawberry curd

Topping

• Stabilized Whipped Cream add half a brick of cream cheese if desired
• Fresh Strawberries for topping
• Finely chopped pistachios for topping

Method

Make the Strawberry Filling

• It’s best to make the strawberry filling ahead of time so it has time to chill and for the flavor to intensify. Make it the day before or up to a week ahead of time - store it in the fridge in an airtight container.

Make the Pistachio Crust

• Preheat the oven to 350 F.
• Set the butter in a medium sized bowl and add the lemon zest, salt, and ground pistachios. Beat with a hand mixer until creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the flour, powdered sugar and beat with the mixer until the butter is well incorporated into the flour and it resembles sand, when you squeeze it it should hold together. If you find it’s quite dry still, add a tablespoon of milk to the mix and beat that in.
• Press half of the crumbs into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan (it should be at least an inch tall) and the other half into the sides. Take your time doing this, use a measuring cup (flour the bottom of it or use powdered sugar so it doesn’t stick to the pan) to press the dough into the bottom in an even layer, and against the sides.

Bake the Tart

• Lay a sheet of parchment paper over the dough and fill the pan with pie weights or dried beans. Carefully place the pan in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the edges are turning golden brown.
• Take the pan out, use the parchment to lift the pie weights out and set aside. Dock the crust with a fork all over then return it to the oven for another 7-10 minutes, until golden.
• Pour the strawberry filling in the crust, spread it so it’s in an even layer then set it back in the oven for about 20 minutes. This filling doesn’t set to the point where you’ll only see a wobble in the middle, it will likely wobble quite a bit; but look for the top to be a darker, thicker matte color and the edges to be set.
• Take the pie out and set on the counter until completely cool, then transfer to the fridge to chill for about 6 hours or overnight.

Top the Tart

• Make the stabilized whipped cream (from this recipe) and spread over the chilled pie. Arrange the sliced strawberries on top and sprinkle finely chopped pistachios over the berries. This pie doesn’t slice neatly so don’t worry too much about perfect slices - enjoy the yummy mess! Store leftovers in the fridge.

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