For a few weeks now, strawberries have been back on our market stalls. And with them comes the craving for a fresh, fruity dessert! Today, I’m sharing a new recipe on the blog: a light strawberry tart with its vanilla chantilly, but oh so indulgent.
This tart is made up of a pâte sucrée, an almond cream, a strawberry confit, a vanilla chantilly and fresh strawberries. The whole thing is fresh and light, and I can tell you it didn’t last long at a family meal. I particularly loved the smooth, indulgent chantilly cream, which is a little different from what I usually make and is a real joy to pipe; I’ll tell you more about it right after.
Why put gelatine in chantilly?
I discovered this technique thanks to Nour Kandler, a talented pastry chef and a little lady of incredible generosity. I strongly recommend following her on Instagram; you’ll discover her incredible world: flavour pairings as surprising as they are original, and a passion for piping that would mesmerise more than a few. I’ve had the chance to meet her several times and the honour of tasting her creations. Believe me when I tell you that you’ll be hearing about her in the future.
So I got to taste her chantilly and I was blown away: an incredibly smooth texture, a delicate taste and a lightness that really surprised me. Luckily for us, her recipe was published in the latest issue of Fou de Pâtisserie magazine (July-August). The result? A cream that keeps all its indulgence, stays clean and smooth when piped, and almost looks like a whipped ganache. No more air bubbles and uneven textures: your tart will be as pretty as it is delicious.
Which fruit purée should I choose for the confit?
For the strawberry confit, I tried the Adamance strawberry purée, sold by Valrhona, for the first time. And it’s a real joy! The taste is intense, natural, and perfectly showcases the fresh strawberries. These purées are made from 100% fruit, with no additives or added sugar. And the good news is that they’re now available from Valrhona, with lots of flavours on offer: strawberry, raspberry, blackcurrant, blueberry, lemon, mandarin… everything you need to easily make fresh, authentic desserts.
How do I pipe the chantilly?
For the piping, I used a P125 nozzle, perfect for creating pretty little waves around the tart. The easiest way is to use a turntable, which lets you rotate the tart while keeping a smooth, even movement.
Normally, I always pipe from the inside outwards, for a more natural and precise movement. But this time, I was a little worried I wouldn’t have enough chantilly for the two rows of waves. So I preferred to play it safe by piping the outside first, then the inside.
For those who want a very clean result, you can also mark out the centre of the dessert, where you’ll place the strawberries, by laying a ring on top and pressing lightly into the fruit confit to create a guide. It’s important to leave enough space for the two rows of waves so that they reach the edge of the tart nicely: leave about 4 cm around the edge.
Then, arrange a mix of cut and whole strawberries in the centre. To add freshness and colour, add a little lime zest and a few small basil leaves. These simple touches give the tart an indulgent, fresh and refined look, perfect for impressing your guests.
And if you’re a fan of the more traditional strawberry tart, I recommend taking a look at my other recipe (based on pastry cream).
Ingredients & method
6 components · Full recipe
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (to start 2 days ahead or the day before)
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) butter
- 95 g (3.4 oz) icing sugar
- 30 g (1.1 oz) almond flour
- 60 g (2.1 oz) egg (one large egg)
- 250 g (8.8 oz) flour
- a pinch of fleur de sel
- a knife tip of vanilla powder
Method
1
Place the soft butter and icing sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix at low speed. Add the almond flour, vanilla powder and fleur de sel and mix again.
2
Add the beaten egg and mix with a spatula this time (it will be easier than with the mixer).
3
Finish with the flour and mix with the mixer until you obtain a smooth ball of dough. Do not overwork the dough. Bring the dough together into a ball without pressing. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions.
4
Wrap both portions in cling film, shaping into flat rectangles. Place one in the fridge overnight and the other in the freezer (for a future tart).
5
The next day, roll out the dough to 2 mm thickness with a rolling pin. Cut out a piece of dough larger than your tart ring.
6
Grease an 18–20 cm (7.9 in) diameter tart ring, then place the dough inside, taking care to create a right angle at the base.
Strawberry Compote (to make the day before)
Ingredients
- 200 g (7.1 oz) Adamance strawberry purée
- 20 g (0.7 oz) caster sugar
- 3 g (0.1 oz) NH pectin
- a dash of lemon juice
Method
1
Heat the strawberry purée, then add the sugar and pectin mixture and bring to a boil for at least 1 minute.
2
Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice and leave to cool.
Baking the Sweet Pastry
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 160°C / 325°F.
2
Once the dough is well chilled, trim any excess pastry with a small knife.
3
Place a sheet of baking paper and add baking beads or dried beans to blind bake the pastry (if the tart base has rested overnight in the fridge, there is normally no need for beads — the pastry won’t move).
Vanilla Chantilly (recipe by Nour Kandler)
Ingredients
- 20 g (0.7 oz) whole milk
- 20 g (0.7 oz) sugar
- 212 g (7.5 oz) heavy cream
- 1/2 Norohy vanilla pod
- 2 g (0.1 oz) powdered gelatine (= 1 sheet)
- 12 g (0.4 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in the water.
2
Heat the milk with the sugar to dissolve it, then add the rehydrated gelatine.
3
Pour over the heavy cream and add the vanilla seeds. Blend with a stick blender.
Almond Cream
Ingredients
- 50 g (1.8 oz) soft butter
- 50 g (1.8 oz) icing sugar
- 5 g (0.2 oz) flour
- 50 g (1.8 oz) eggs
- 50 g (1.8 oz) Pariani almond flour
Method
1
Meanwhile, cream the butter in the stand mixer (with the paddle attachment) until smooth.
2
Add the sifted icing sugar and mix.
3
Add half the eggs and mix, then add half the almond flour. Mix again.
4
Add the remaining eggs and mix, then add the remaining almond flour and the flour. Mix until smooth.
5
After 15 minutes of baking, remove the tart from the oven and leave to cool slightly.
6
Smooth any imperfections in the pastry with a Microplane grater.
7
Pipe the almond cream into the tart shell, spreading it evenly (do not fill it too much as it will puff up during baking).
Assembly
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Pour the strawberry compote over the almond cream right up to the rim and smooth with a large palette knife.
2
Whip the chantilly cream with a mixer, transfer to a piping bag fitted with a P125 nozzle, and pipe 2 wavy coils of cream around the outside of the tart. Also pipe a little cream flat (with the nozzle flat) in the centre of the tart so that every part is covered.
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