A decadent strawberry pistachio tart filled with layers of sweet tart dough, pistachio frangipane, pastry cream, and fresh strawberries.
I guess we’re out of actual holidays to celebrate, but I’m thinking the self-made holiday of “I survived this week without strangling anyone I’m quarantined with” sounds pretty promising.
Especially because we can observe it EVERY WEEK. With cocktails and fancy (or not) desserts. I’m into it!
Yesterday when I told Remy I would love her forever, her response was that she would love watching tv with me forever, so that pretty much explains how our quarantine is going. Lol.
In all truth, she hasn’t even been watching that much tv! For the most part, we’ve restricted it to mostly only turning it on at mealtimes, though there is the rare occasion when both Mike and I need to focus on work at the same time and Remy is just not having it. Then we throw on Alphablocks on YouTube and don’t think twice about it. Honestly, if you have Pre-K to K aged kids then you need to check out this channel because it has absolutely taught Remy all of her letters and numbers and I won’t be surprised if she learns to read from watching it. It is actually really high quality educational tv, in my opinion.
Especially compared to all of the other crap that Remy wants to watch (PJ Masks, I’m looking at you).
So here’s my fancy dessert for this week.
Sweet tart dough + pistachio frangipane + pastry cream + fresh strawberries.
Yes, it may take your whole weekend to make and it is definitely a huge time investment, but hey what else are you going to do??
And it is so so delicious that it is completely worth it.
If you’re looking to make this as time efficiently as possible, then my advice would be to
(a) read the whole recipe through (I mean, you should always do this, but especially in this case because there are quite a few moving parts)
(b) make the tart dough and pastry cream ahead of time. They have a bunch of chill and cooling steps, so it’s just easier to pull together if they’re already made and in the fridge.
(c) maybe let the kids sit this one out? It’s kind of a lot and will come together much faster if you DIY it, at least up to the strawberry decorating part. Which, honestly, is the only part Remy had any interest in anyway, despite my attempts at impressing on her the implicit beauty of pistachio frangipane.
Oh, toddlers.
- 2 cups (250 g) all purpose flour
- ¼ cup (30 g) almond flour
- ½ cup + ½ tbsp (120 g) cold unsalted butter
- ¾ cup + 1 tbsp (100 g) confectioner's sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- ½ cup + 1 tsp (115 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup + 1 tbsp (115 g) sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (120 g) pistachio flour
- ¼ cup (30 g) all purpose flour
- pinch of kosher salt
- 1⅔ cup whole milk
- ½ cup + 1 tbsp (115 g) sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla pod
- 3 tbsp (30 g) cornstarch
- 6 large egg yolks
- ¼ cup (55 g) cold unsalted butter
- ½ cup (150 g) strawberry or raspberry jam
- 1 cup (300 g) Pastry cream (recipe above)
- 8½ oz (240 g) strawberries, hulled and quartered
- Sift together the all purpose and almond flour in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and confectioner's sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until pale. Add in the egg and cream together until incorporated and starting to come together.
- Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until the dough just starts to come together. Remove from the bowl and pat it into a disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes or up to two days.
- Once chilled, unwrap the dough and place it between two pieces of parchment paper. Roll it out to ⅛-inch thick. Remove the top piece of parchment paper and invert the dough over a 9-inch tart pan. Remove the second sheet of parchment paper and gently press the dough into the pan so that it sits snugly in all the edges. Trim away any excess dough from the top.
- Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Heat oven to 350F.
- Once chilled, bake the tart dough until light golden, 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
- Cream together the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Add in the eggs one at at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the pistachio flour, all purpose flour, and salt. Mix until just incorporated. Scoop into a pastry bag and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Combine the milk and 50 g (3 tbsp + 1 tsp) of the sugar in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add in the vanilla (seeds and pot if you're using it). Bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile, combine the cornstarch, remaining 65 g (1/3 cup) sugar, and the egg yolks in a medium, heat-proof bowl. Whisk until completely combined.
- Once the milk comes to a boil, remove it from the heat. Drizzle a bit of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, to temper the eggs. Once you've added about half of the milk mixture, remove the vanilla pod and pour the egg mixture into the saucepan with the rest of the milk. Place it back over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture returns to a boil and starts to thicken. Once boiling, cook for 1 more minute, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat.
- Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add in the butter and mix on low speed until cooled, about 15 minutes.
- Pour the pastry cream into a wide bowl. Allow to cool to room temperature in an ice water bath. Once cool, refrigerate until ready to use.
- Heat oven to 350F.
- Spoon the jam into the bottom of the prepared tart shell in an even layer. Pipe the pistachio cream into the tart shell, filling it about halfway full. Smooth into an even layer with an offset spatula.
- Bake until light golden and set, about 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
- Once cool, spread the pastry cream over the pistachio frangipane in an even layer, leveling it in an even layer with the top of the tart shell.
- Top with the quartered strawberries. Serve immediately.
We’re doing something similar, but today we’re celebrating National Pizza Party. And our fancy dessert will be a citrus loaf I’m making this afternoon.