Strawberry tartlets, with strawberry crème légère
Elegant, rich and full of strawberry flavor 🍓🍓🍓
Published originally on my blog on 8 June 2015
Did you really think I would only make one dessert with strawberries this summer? Of course not. My appetite for them is insatiable.
Apart from the lovely and delicious fudgy cocoa brownies that I shared with you some days ago, I made these beauties too. I actually made these small tarts for a very special birthday in lieu of cake and they were a huge hit. How could they not be? I mean, look at them. They are so cute. And, let me assure you, they’re not just looks, their flavor is superb too.
The pastry for these strawberry tartlets is a pâte sucrée (sweet short crust pastry) with the addition of ground almonds that make it more interesting both in flavor and texture. It is crumbly, buttery and it melts in your mouth whereas the vanilla seeds in the pastry give their incomparable aroma and flavor that you can taste with every bite.
The filling is a crème légère which is a lightened crème pâtissière (pastry cream) that is made with strawberry purée, orange and lemon juice, which makes it slightly tart and a great complement to the sweet pastry base. Indeed it is the pâte sucrée that provides most of the sweetness in these tartlets given that the filling is not too sweet.
The crème légère is smooth, light and airy, and the flavor of the strawberry comes through loud and clear, making this a refreshing, tangy and mildly sweet dessert, with an incredibly delicate flavor that is understated yet powerful.
On top, the glorious fresh strawberries, like the jewels on the crown, decorate and complete the individual tartlets, as do the generous dusting of icing sugar and the sprinkling of chopped fresh mint that adds color and freshness.
These tartlets are summery, light and fresh, and have the authentic, unadulterated flavor of the strawberry which is all you want when you are promised a tart like this.
P.S. I have one last strawberry sweet treat planned to share with you, so, strawberry lovers, stay tuned!
Strawberry tartlets, with strawberry crème légère and fresh strawberries
This recipe yields more crème légère than you will need to fill the tarts; not very much, but enough to turn the leftover cream into the best strawberry popsicle ever. That’s what I usually do. Just pour the leftover cream into ice pop molds or small glasses and enjoy after a few hours.
The recipe yields 7 tartlets but I made 6 and 2 tiny ones.
