Strawberry Tart

What is it about Business school that keeps getting in the way of my baking? In all seriousness I'm excited about the thought of getting to bake every day. I've been stressed out all week and when I came home I found that we actually have a tart pan. How have I lived here all this time and not known that we had a tart pan is beyond me but I took it as a sign that I needed to bake today. Since strawberries are in season I thought I'd try my hand at a french strawberry tart that Ina Garten showed recently on Barefoot Contessa.

My cream turned more yellow than hers because I accidentally put in too much vanilla extract but after tasting the cream after it chilled I'm not convinced that it was a terrible mistake after all.

Ingredients:
Crust:

• 1 1/4 Cup Flour
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 stick of butter
• 2 tbsp shortening

• 1/4 cup ice water

It's best if the ingredients are cold it creates a flakier crust.

1. Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and shortening, and combine until the dough creates pea sized balls.
   
2. Add the water and combine until the dough forms.
3. Chill.

While that's chilling, work on the cream!

Cream:

• 1 1/2 Milk
• 5 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream

1. Set the milk and medium high heat. You don't want to boil it but it needs to be heated up.
   
2. Beat egg yolks and sugar until they become light in color and thick. About 3 minutes, then add cornstarch.
3. Add the scalded milk slowly or you'll end up with scrambled eggs. Actually, the cornstarch helps prevent that but one can never be too careful!
4. Put the mixture back into the pan over medium heat and stir in the vanilla, butter and cream. Stir until it thickens and then switch to stirring with a whisk. To make sure everything is nice and creamy you can put the mixture through a siv.
5. Pour into a bowl and place clip wrap directly on top of the cream to prevent a skin from forming and let it chill in the fridge!
   

Now to go back to the crust. Roll out the crust and place it in the tart pan, and don't be like me and stretch it out because it will, it will shrink. Ina Garten even said "Don't stretch the dough because it'll shrink" and I didn't listen ^^;;. It doesn't shrink dramatically but you end up with something the resembles a pizza instead of a tart.

Bake the crust at 375 degrees for 10 minutes with a butter piece of foil on top of it covered with beans to make sure the crust does not puff up. After 10 minutes take off the foil with the beans and place the crust back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes.

Once the crust is out of the oven and cooled spoon the cream into the crust and then cover in lovely strawberries.