We had another cold snap a few days ago but I’m holding on to hope this was the last one of the year. Sunday brought the most amazing warm and sunny day that drew us outside for a morning of yard work. Later in the day, I made my weekly jaunt to the farmer’s market for grocery shopping. Always attempting to cook seasonally, I was on the hunt for fruits and vegetables that speak to spring. Strawberries are one of the first fruits to ripen in the spring and early summer and the beautifully ripe ones I found on Sunday called for some kind of delicious dessert.
When I make a stop at our neighborhood bakery I’m always drawn to the fruit tarts. Not only are they delicious with the crust and cream filling, but the layered fruit on top makes a beautiful presentation. The secret to making the fruit glossy is to brush the berries with a glaze of slightly warm apricot or apple jelly. Many times the tarts are filled with pastry cream, but for this recipe I wanted to do something different so I decided to incorporate lemon as an accompaniment to the strawberries. Lemon curd seemed like the perfect filling for this tart.
I used about a pound of strawberries for this recipe, but some of the edges were left over. I’ll use them later in a salad. If you have a mandolin, by all means use it to slice the berries. You’ll get uniform slices and the process goes much more quickly. Proceed with caution, though, as it’s very easy to slice your finger. If you don’t own a mandolin, then simply cut the stem end off of the strawberries, place the cut side down on a cutting board, and slice with a knife.
If you’ve ever made strawberry shortcake, you know that strawberries contain a lot of liquid and if you cut them and leave them for a while they start releasing the liquid. For that reason, I would recommend serving the tart soon after you place the strawberries on top.
This tart screams spring and I feel confident that you’ll love the way the lemon curd enhances these delicious spring berries. Try this recipe and impress your guests at your next dinner party.
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup blanched, sliced almonds
1/2 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1 stick unsalted butter
2 to 3 tablespoons iced water
4 large eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3 teaspoons lemon zest
1 stick unsalted butter
1 pound fresh strawberries, trimmed and sliced
1/2 cup apple jelly
Instructions
1. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, salt, almonds, and coconut until almonds are finely chopped. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles course meal. Add water one tablespoon at a time and pulse until a clump of dough holds together in your hands.
2. Gently knead the dough a few times and form it into a 5 inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
1. In a sauce pan, whisk together eggs, sugar, and lemon juice. Heat over medium low heat and add lemon zest and butter. Continue whisking for 7 to 8 minutes until curd is thickening. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
2. Transfer curd to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap pushing the wrap down to the surface of the curd. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Roll out dough to a circle of about 1/8 inch thickness. Roll dough onto rolling pin and transfer to a 9-inch tart pan. Carefully press dough along the bottom and sides of the pan. With your fingers press along the edge of the pan to remove excess dough.
3. Prick bottom of dough with a fork. Bake crust for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Remove from oven and cool completely on a cooling rack.
5. Spread lemon curd evenly in crust. Arrange slices of strawberry on top of lemon curd starting at the outside edge and spiraling around to the middle. Overlap slices as you go.
6. Heat jelly in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds until thin enough to coat strawberries. Cool slightly. Using a pastry brush, coat strawberries with jelly. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
https://southernboydishes.com/2014/04/22/strawberry-and-lemon-curd-tart-with-almond-coconut-crust/You may also like:
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Hi John,
I came across one of your comments on KitchenRiffs’ page.
This strawberry pie in gorgeous! What great flavors you have going on
here, too!
Bill! This pie is absolutely stunning!!! Strawberry and lemon go so well together.
Bill, this is GORGEOUS! YUM! I will hopefully give it a shot — will let you know if I do!
Stunning tart, Bill. Just gorgeous! I’m always drawn to the fruit tarts as well and this one is just beautiful.
I’d be willing to bet that at least 20 minutes of the prep time is arranging those strawberries. I wouldn’t be near that creative. What a gorgeous tart!! Lemon curd is one of those treats that I could just eat by itself, but with strawberries – I’m in heaven!
You are a baking Rock Star! You managed to fit all 3 of my fovorite fruits into this gorgeous tart – which looks like it came from a Paris bakery. I will definitely have to try this since we have gorgeous strawberries year-round in SoCal.
What a beautiful fruit tart – colors are magnificent and of course, your photo’s are always perfect! Lovely post!
This weather has been so nutso! Bill, I am so ready for some warmth 🙂
I have had lemon strawberry muffins and they are a harmonious combination! I can only imagine this tart as being exceptional with the lemon curd balancing off the strawberries with a hint of apple jelly!
Love the crust on this! Totally nice. And great tart, too. This is nice now, with strawberries. And will be nice in a month or two with fresh blueberries (I love the combo of blueberries and lemon). Really good stuff — thanks.
Gosh that is seriously a beaut!!!! Now that is how you celebrate Spring!
This is the most beautiful tart! I love that you filled it with lemon curd – my favorite. Looks amazing!