Strawberries are the divas of fruit, in my opinion. They are impressive in color, distinctive in texture, patterned, sweet and sour at the same time, and of course they only show up a few weeks a year.
Of course, strawberries first appear on the market from early March until almost June, but the best season for them is from mid-April until the end of May, early June at most, and it is best to use them during this period.
Only then can we enjoy their tight essence, their amazing ruby color and the wonderful taste that all our fruits give us when we respect their seasonality. And, of course, as consumers, if we start preferring vegetables and fruits in their season, we always find them at better prices, not to mention incomparably better quality.
Of course, with this tart I don’t exactly follow my word, since it’s still March, at least for a few more hours… but we have two months ahead of us to enjoy this delicious and beneficial fruit.
INGREDIENTS
1 puff pastry sheet
For the cream
- 200g of mascarpone or any other cream cheese you prefer
- 200g of cream, full fat
- 40g of powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp of lemon juice
- 1 tsp of lemon zest
- Seeds of a vanilla pod or 1 tsp of vanilla extract or a sachet of vanilla aroma
For the strawberry sauce
- 400g of strawberries
- 60g of brown sugar
- 1 tsp of lemon juice
INSTRUCTIONS
First, let’s make the strawberry sauce.
Wash the strawberries, cut their stems, and if they are large cut them in two, otherwise leave them untouched. Pour the sugar on a non-stick pan, and place it on the stove in medium to high heat.
In a little while you will see that the sugar begins to melt and darken. Be careful not to scald it, leave it only until it melts.
Then, put the strawberries in the frying pan with the melted sugar. Let’s pause for a moment while I tell you a small but life-saving trick. When washing the strawberries, put them in a glass bowl or deep dish and place them in the microwave for 30 seconds or for a few minutes in the cooker at 100 degrees. We want to heat up the strawberries so that there is not much temperature difference between the liquified sugar and the fruit, so the caramel does not solidify, i.e. the liquid sugar does not become immediately thick when we put it in the cold strawberries.
So when you throw the warm (not hot!) strawberries hot in the pan, stir continuously but carefully, pour the lemon juice and lower the heat. Boil them for 4 – 5 minutes and allow them to cool completely.
In the mixer bowl or in a different deep dish, put the cream cheese, cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest, and beat them with the mixer at moderate speed for 2-3 minutes only, just enough to create a fully blended cream. Don’t overdo it with the battering at a high speed, because the butter might end up being separated from the cream and that we must avoid. Put the cream in the refrigerator with a lid until it’s time to use it.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees on fan heat. On a metal sheet, spread a piece of baking paper and spread the puff pastry sheet. Carve it with a fork at various points and bake it until it’s brown, for about 18-20 minutes.
If you see it inflate too much when you have it in the oven, puncture with a pointed knife to deflate, because if the puff loses its shape it won’t look as nice, plus you will have trouble spreading the ingredients on top of it.
PUTTING YOUR DESSERT TOGETHER
It’s recommended that you put the dessert together only a little while before serving or if that is impossible, only apply the cream on the puff pastry and just a few minutes before serving add the strawberries.
If you add the strawberry sauce early, it will moisten the cream, and the puff pastry will be dyed with the intense strawberry color and not look as nice.
