Très Simple Strawberry Tart

I came to know strawberries late in life. Before moving to Los Angeles, strawberries were more like a suggestion of a magical food item—frozen chunks found in Breyer’s ice cream, ice cold slices in sugary syrup strewn over store-bought pound cake, and bright red licorice sticks with no discernible flavor that I fought over with my brother. After all, what little girl doesn’t love a strawberry?

My berry epiphany took place our first spring in Los Angeles, 1982. What was still a gourmet product in New York was suddenly accessible everywhere. Starting in April, mountains of fresh strawberries in containers were stacked in all the supermarkets and farmer’s markets. They were piled high and conveniently set alongside pre-packed little sponge cakes for weeknight strawberry shortcakes. And they were priced democratically, as if in California they were everyone’s right. (This was before year-round berry farming, sigh. When we had an avalanche of tart sweet berries in mid-April that lasted through late summer.) April’s were always the best because they were the first.

I was so gob-smacked that first year that when the famous food writer Patricia Wells visited, I served her nothing but a giant bowl of strawberries with freshly whipped cream. A logical choice, since I was terrified to tackle homemade pastry for the New York Times Paris correspondent and author of The Food Lover’s Guide to Paris. She graciously ate that Zen dessert.

Forty years later in April 2021, with pastry anxiety not entirely eradicated, I decided to make this iconic Très Simple Strawberry Tart with Piper. It’s called Simple because this recipe literally consists of two components: a baked tart shell plus fresh berries—absolutely no frou-frou like pastry cream to muddy the waters. “Today you get to use your pastry scraper,” I announced excitedly, covering up my fears. She ran and got it.

Piper fearlessly jumps into pastry-making.

Then I issued a warning: “This one is going to be complicated. It takes a bit more time than our usual recipes since we’re making a pastry dough from scratch and rolling it out.” Piper was fearless but what did she know? The last time we made a tart (Tarte au Citron) we took a shortcut with a pre-prepared dough and it was brilliant. Granny made it look so easy.

Before we started, I queried, “Do you have anything else going on today?”

“I have a friend coming over for a playdate at 2 o’clock,” said the innocent girl.

Melting the jam.

That’s when I broke the first rule of long-distance baking—never let it go so long that a child gets bored. Both sides should be able to get on with their day after about an hour, so that family time remains a pleasant memory, not a dreary marathon. That gorgeous bright red pastry sitting on the counter at the end of the day should be a cheerful visual reminder of a warm, cozy time together. Not a trigger for PTSD. Or too much granny time.

The bad news is that we spent about four hours making this picture-perfect Très Simple tart. In fact, it is very easy, especially if you purchase a pre-baked empty tart shell. But if you decide to make the full-on, made-from-scratch ideal, be prepared for four hours in and around the kitchen. Lots of that time is spent waiting while the pastry rests in the refrigerator. But I must admit that we ran a baking marathon that morning.

I was reminded of that every time Piper’s mom Kate walked by the screen. “Still at it?” she asked, wondering what wacky tricks I was up to while she got on with her day.

When Piper’s friend Juliette rang the doorbell at about 2 pm, I picked up the pace. I instructed Joe to transfer the beautifully baked tart shell to a platter; then place it on the patio, along with a pot of hot strawberry jam, the big bowl of perfect berries, and skewers for poking and turning the strawberries into sparkling jewels.

With help from Finn, who always shows up at exactly the right moment, the girls kicked off their playdate by creating a bake-shop worthy strawberry tart. Once they were set up, I took my cue and jumped off the call. Who needs grandma’s help to place berries in a tart shell?

The next day, I was relieved to hear that the girls had an excellent playdate, with a bonus. Juliette got to take home half a homemade dessert to proudly share with her family.

RECIPE

Très Simple Strawberry Tart

In case you try this on Zoom: We took breaks while the dough was resting by just keeping the Zoom open and coming back to it whenever we were ready for the next step. You don’t need to keep starting a new meeting.

1 ¼ cups cake flour
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
pinch of salt
6 Tbsps unsalted butter, cold
1 egg yolk
½ tsp vanilla
1 quart medium strawberries, rinsed and hulled
1 (12 oz) jar strawberry jam
1 Tbsp lemon juice

9-inch round tart pan with removable bottom

To make the crust in a food processor fitted with the metal blade: Combine flour, sugar, and salt in processor bowl and pulse to mix. Cut the cold butter into tablespoon-sized pieces and add to mixture. Pulse a few times until small chunks of butter remain. Add the yolk and vanilla. Then pulse until mixture looks crumbly and holds together when pinched between your fingers.

Transfer to a flour-dusted counter and press together to form a ball; then flatten between your palms to make a 5-inch round disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill 1 hour.

On a lightly floured board, place the dough, warming slightly with your hands. Then lightly coat the rolling pin with flour and start rolling from the center out, until a circle about 10-inch round is formed. (Don’t panic if the dough cracks. Try sprinkling with flour if too dry or drops of water if too sticky. The dough can be patched by hand once in the pan.) Transfer dough with the rolling pin to the uncoated tart pan, pressing the edges onto the sides to form a shell. Crimp the edges. Prick all over with a fork, cover with foil and chill ½ hour.

Meanwhile rinse the berries, trim the hulls with a paring knife, and place on a dry, clean towel to dry.

Good advice: Have a coffee or a glass of wine and take a Zoom break.

Before you get back on the Zoom, preheat the oven to 350F.

To bake the tart shell: Fill the foil-lined tart shell with dry beans, rice or pie weights. Place on a baking sheet and bake 15 minutes. Then remove from the oven. Lift the foil and weights and place the empty tart shell back in the oven 20-25 minutes longer, until golden. Cool on a rack.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Place the jam and lemon juice in a small pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally until melted and smooth. Cool slightly. With a pastry brush, generously brush the tart’s bottom with melted jam. Then, working quickly, toss a handful of berries at a time into the warm mixture and swirl to coat each berry.

Using skewers or long fondue forks, pierce each berry on the top and transfer, flat-side-down to the pastry shell. Keep dipping berries until the tart is entirely covered with berries and glistening from the jam bath.

Remove the tart from the pan and transfer to serving plate. Store in the refrigerator up to one day. Serve with plain whipped cream, ice cream or a side of crème fraiche. Serves 6-8.