PICTURE: PEXELS/ TART
A delicious cherry and strawberry tart will add sweetness to your intimate Christmas celebration and it is the perfect addition to your mini holiday menu.
Cherry & Strawberry Tart
Recipe by: Kholiwe Rafu also known as @kholiwe_cooks on Instagram.
SERVES: 2
Ingredients
For the tart
- 250 g shortcrust pastry
- 200 g strawberries
- 100 g pitted cherries
- 2 tbsp sugar
- Juice of ½ a lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- Pinch of nutmeg
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup water
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp butter
For the whipped cream
- ½ cup fresh whipping cream
- 1 tbsp icing sugar
- Zest of ½ a lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 tbsp sugar
- Pinch of salt
Method
- Defrost the frozen store-bought shortcrust pastry by placing it in the fridge overnight. Cut it to fit 2 mini tart shells. Use cooking spray on your tart shells to avoid sticking. Using loose-bottom tart shells is also recommended for easy release later.
- Use your hands to gently fit the dough into the tart shells. Fill in any gaps with offcuts, being careful not to stretch the dough.
- Once the bottom and sides of the tart shell are covered with the dough, cut any dough that hangs over. Running your rolling pin over the top creates a clean cut.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to firm it back up. Then blind bake with some weights for 15 minutes at 200°C. Remove from the oven to cool completely.
- While blind baking, you can cook the tart filling. Add all the ingredients, except for water, cornstarch and butter, to a saucepan. Cook on low heat until the natural juice from the fruits starts appearing. Cook and stir for 10 minutes.
- Add the cornstarch to the water to create a slurry. Add the slurry to the cooking fruit. It will make the sauce look milky at first, but you will know it’s ready once it starts thickening the sauce and looks glossy. Once the sauce is thick and not too runny, add the butter and remove from the heat to cool completely.
- Add the cooled filling to the cooled tart bases. Your fillings need to reach the top. Bake at 200°C for 20 minutes. Cool down completely after baking.
- Make the whipped cream right before serving. Add cold cream straight from the fridge to a mixing bowl. Whip it using an electric hand whisk. Whisk until soft peaks form. Add the icing sugar, lemon zest, vanilla essence, sugar and salt. Whip until fluffy and stiff. Be careful not to over-whip – it will become butter.
- Serve the open tarts with a healthy dollop of whipped cream.
Recipe and images supplied. Originally published for print in BONA Magazine
