For me Strawberries is the epitome of summer. Normally the first strawberries would ripen in time for my birthday in the end of june, making my strawberry filled birthday cake a perfect start on summer.

This Strawberry Tart has all the goodness you could imagine. A flaky crust, a sweet marzipan filling, a rich vanilla custard, dark chocolate, strawberries and whipped cream. Paired with a good cup of coffee and good friends, it's a perfect Sunday.

Making 1 x 9-inch tart.

Ingredients:

Crust:

150 g butter (salted and cold)
75 g almonds (blanched and finely chopped in a food processor)
190 g all-purpose flour
1½ tablespoons sugar
1½ egg yolks
1 - 1½ tablespoons water

Marzipan filling:

50 g butter (salted)
50 g marzipan (almond paste)
50 g sugar
2 eggs

Custard:

3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
250 ml milk
1 teaspoon vanilla paste

Miscellaneous:

dark chocolate
chopped pistachios or almond slivers
whipped cream (homemade)
strawberries

Directions:

Marzipan filling:

Mix all the ingredients and set aside.

Crust:

Cut the cold butter in small pieces and rub it in the sugar, flour and almond flour, until the mixture resembles dry crumbs/shredded cheese.

Make a hollow in the middle and add the egg yolks and 1 tablespoon of the water. Gather the dough with a knife or a dough scraper. Ad more water if it's necessary. When the dough is a slightly sticky, form a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for minimum 30 minutes. Don't kneed the dough, it will make it shrink in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Flour your work surface generally place the cold dough un top and flour the dough.

Press the dough lightly with a rolling pin from the center and out. Roll it a few times in one direction, lift it up and rotate it a quarter-turn. Every time make sure to re-flour the surface. Continue to do so until it will cover the whole pie pan. You are looking for a 12 inch in diameter.

Transfer the dough to the pie pan cut of the overhanging dough for the crust to fit perfect in the pan.

If the dough sticks, use at bench scraper or a spatula to get it of your work surface.

If the dough get to soft, put it into the freezer for a few minutes.

Add the marzipan filling and bake the pie for 20-30 minutes at 400°F/200℃. Let cool on a rack.

Custard:

Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale in color. Whisk in the cornstarch and vanilla paste.

Heat the milk to a slow boil, set aside.

While whisking vigorously drizzle the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture, just a tiny bit at a time at first. Once you’ve added about 1/4 of the milk, you can add the rest in a thin stream, whisking constantly.

Pour the mixture back in the saucepan and reheat it over medium heat. Whisk constantly until it thickens. Remove from heat an chill the custard in a bowl in the refrigerator. Sprinkle with sugar or press a film of plastic wrap against each custard in the fridge so it doesn’t form a pudding skin.

When the custard is cold, whip the heavy whipping cream. Fold the whipped cream in the custard a little at a time till you get the desired taste and texture.

Assembling the pie:

Chop the chocolate roughly. Melt 2/3 of the chocolate in a double boiler. Take the chocolate of the heat, and ad the rest of the chocolate. Stir until melted. Spread a thin layer of chocolate on the inside of the pie crust.

Clean the strawberries and cut them in half.When the chocolate has set, add a good amount of custard. Put on the strawberries in a decorative manner. Decorate with whipped cream and nuts.

Enjoy!