Strawberry Tartelettes with Crème Pâtissière
What better classic way to start the strawberry season than with Strawberry Tartelettes with Crème Pâtissière! I must admit, I really like strawberries. But when it comes to using them in at baking, I am very picky.
Often the strawberry cakes or pies are too sweet or too heavy. But, this recipe reconciled me with the strawberry tarts because it is first of all easy, fresh and rich in fruits!
The ingredients of the Crème Pâtissière
Crème pâtissière is a great classic of French baking. The traditional recipe contains only 5 ingredients:
- milk,
- egg yolks,
- flour or corn starch,
- sugar and
- a vanilla bean.
Make your crème pâtissière lighter!
Here are three tips to make your crème pâtissière lighter:
Replace flour with cornstarch
I chose a slightly lighter version, replacing the flour with cornstarch. The cornstarch gives a slightly more airy texture. The crème pâtissière made from flour is a little more compact.
Warning : If you decide to use flour instead of cornstarch, consider maintaining the following ration: one part starch to two flour. For the following recipe, you will therefore need to double the quantity if you use flour.
Add lemon zest
Add lemon zest! For this recipe, I chose lime. This will not allow you to make your crème pâtissière lighter in terms of calories, but the acidity and floral notes of the lemon zest will give freshness to your crème.
No butter or cream
Some recipes suggest adding butter or cream to finish the crème pâtissière. However, who says butter and cream, says a richer and heavier pastry cream. So believe me, a crème pâtissière without butter and cream is just as delicious and will go perfectly with your tarts and tartelettes.
Recipe for Strawberry Tartelettes with Crème Pâtissière
For 8 tartelettes you need the following ingredients.
- 300 g of strawberries
For the dough
- 180 g flour
- 100 g of soft butter
- 40 g ground almonds
- 50 g icing sugar
- 1 egg
For the crème pâtissière
- 300 ml of milk
- 20 g of cornstarch
- 30g caster sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/2 organic lime
- Vanilla extract
Preparation
For the dough
Start by preparing the sweet dough and pour the flour, sugar and ground almonds into a bowl. Add the soft butter and the egg. Mix everything well with your hands or a mixer. The dough begins to take a sandy consistency, continue to mix until you obtain a homogeneous dough.
Then form a ball, then spread the dough on a sheet of baking paper. Let stand flat and cool if possible, otherwise away from heat.
For the crème pâtissière
For the crème pâtissière, beat the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns white. Then add the cornstarch in two batches. Whisk everything well. Add the lemon zest and vanilla extract.
In a pot, pour the milk and vanilla extract (or the heart of a vanilla bean if you have it). Bring to boil.
Then pour a ladle of hot milk into the egg yolk mixture and whisk vigorously. Return everything to the pot and cook over low heat, whisking continuously until the cream thickens. If it doesn’t set, increase the heat slightly.
Then remove the cream from the heat and let cool. Cover the cream with cling film so that it does not dry out.
Assemble the tartelettes
Preheat the oven to 175 ° C (conventional heat).
Cover your tart molds with butter and flour or baking parchment so that the tarts do not stick. Cut circles in the sweet dough using a cookie cutter or your own tart molds. Your circles should be at least as wide as the tart molds.
Place the circles of dough in the molds and bake the dough in the oven for 20 minutes.
Take the tarts out of the oven and let cool. Meanwhile, wash and cut the strawberries.
Place a portion of crème pâtissière on each tart, then place the strawberries on top in the shape of a flower. You can add a little lime zest to finish.
Note
Keep your tartelettes in the fridge and enjoy them at best within 24 hours. They are still good for consumption the next day but not as good as the same day!
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Strawberry Tartelettes with Crème Pâtissière
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Ingredients
- 300 g of strawberries
For the dough
- 180 g flour
- 100 g of soft butter
- 40 g ground almonds
- 50 g icing sugar
- 1 egg
For the crème pâtissière
- 300 ml of milk
- 20 g of cornstarch
- 30 g caster sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/2 organic lime
- Vanilla extract
Instructions
For the dough
- Start by preparing the sweet dough and pour the flour, sugar and ground almonds into a bowl. Add the soft butter and the egg. Mix everything well with your hands or a mixer. The dough begins to take a sandy consistency, continue to mix until you obtain a homogeneous dough.
- Then form a ball, then spread the dough on a sheet of baking paper. Let stand flat and cool if possible, otherwise away from heat.
For the crème pâtissière
- For the crème pâtissière, beat the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns white. Then add the cornstarch in two batches. Whisk everything well. Add the lemon zest and vanilla extract.
- In a pot, pour the milk and vanilla extract (or the heart of a vanilla bean if you have it). Bring to boil.
- Then pour a ladle of hot milk into the egg yolk mixture and whisk vigorously. Return everything to the pot and cook over low heat, whisking continuously until the cream thickens. If it doesn’t set, increase the heat slightly.
- Then remove the cream from the heat and let cool. Cover the cream with cling film so that it does not dry out.
Assemble the tartelettes
- Preheat the oven to 175 ° C (conventional heat).
- Cover your tart molds with butter and flour or baking parchment so that the tarts do not stick. Cut circles in the sweet dough using a cookie cutter or your own tart molds. Your circles should be at least as wide as the tart molds.
- Place the circles of dough in the molds and bake the dough in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Take the tarts out of the oven and let cool. Meanwhile, wash and cut the strawberries.
- Place a portion of crème pâtissière on each tart, then place the strawberries on top in the shape of a flower. You can add a little lime zest to finish.
