There was something about this little tart that made me pause as I was leafing through the cookbook. Something about the simplicity of strawberries arranged on a bed of sunshine-yellow pastry cream and crisp golden shortbread that captured me – here was pastry pared down to luminous, naked essentials.
I find a lot of beauty in my food, as I’m sure anyone who spends time in the kitchen does. The honeyed, heavenly fragrance of ripe berries; the cool, marble-smooth feel of perfectly rolled out dough; the languorous, somnolent burble of a slowly thickening custard on the stove, the mirror-slick sheen of tempered chocolate hardening; the heft and curve of a sun-warmed peach; the plashing of cold water into the metal sink.
Perhaps more than any other category of food, pastry is about beauty, about the ruler-straight, perfectly parallel layers in a cake, the silken smooth surface of a mousse, the curve of coulis around the tart on the plate, the jewel-tone buttercup gold of the lemon curd. Most of the time when I bake something I’ll look at the finished result and think it looks pretty nice. Sometimes I’ll shake my head and think I could really make it better next time. And sometimes I’ll put a dessert together and the pastry stars have aligned and I’ll think, this is something really special.
I don’t why this particular tart struck me, but I guess it’s like the mystery of why different people are drawn to different pieces of art or music. To me, this looks like snow falling on a candyland forest sprawled over a golden hilltop. The pieces were so simple: a round of buttery shortbread, a layer of custardy pastry cream, a circle of spring-ripened strawberries. All the elements needed for magic to happen.
This tart is from Eric Kayser’s new book, Sweet and Savory Tarts
Breton Shortbread with Strawberries
adapted from Eric Kayser’s Sweet and Savory Tarts
makes one 10-in round tart or six 3 1/2-in round tarts
Breton Shortbread
90 g unsalted butter, room temperature
80 g sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
120 g cake flour
6 g baking powder
Pastry Cream
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
3 tablespoons (30 g) cornstarch
1 cup (250 ml) milk
14 oz (400 g) strawberries, washed and hulled
Shredded sweetened coconut
For the shortbread: in either a food processor or stand mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy.
Add the sugar and salt and mix to combine.
Add the egg and mix to combine.
Add in the cake flour and baking powder and mix until thoroughly combined. The dough will be very soft.
Scrape the dough out onto a floured surface and form into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and place in refrigerator overnight so it will firm up.
When you are ready to make the shortbread, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Take the dough from the refrigerator and roll out on a floured surface to about 1/2" thick. The dough may be very soft and sticky so use flour as needed to keep it from sticking to the rolling pin or the surface.
Either fit the dough into a 10-in tart ring and trim to fit (note this dough bakes up like a cookie, not like a tart shell, so you do not need to fit the dough up the sides of the ring) or into smaller 3 1/2-in rings and trim to fit. I found that leaving the circles of dough inside the rings helped them bake up into nice, round circles in the oven.
Make an egg wash with an egg yolk and some water and brush lightly over the tops of the dough circles.
Bake for about 30 minutes until the shortbread is golden. Remove and let cool.
While the shortbread is baking, make the pastry cream: whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together in a bowl.
Heat the milk in a saucepan on medium heat until almost boiling, then pour about half into the egg mixture, stirring constantly.
Pour the egg mixture back into the rest of the milk and cook the mixture on medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Remove from heat and force the mixture through a strainer to get rid of any cooked bits. Cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator.
To assemble the tart: Spread the pastry cream evenly over the shortbread. Arrange the strawberries on top of the pastry cream, and sprinkle with the shredded coconut to decorate.
Tagged with: Eric Kayser + strawberry tart + Sweet and Savory Tarts
Anita Chu, also known as pastrygirl, is a baker, writer, and photographer with a passion for pastry. She trained at Tante Marie's Cooking School and is the author of Field Guide to Cookies, Field Guide to Candy, and Lollipop Love. Anita lives in San Francisco with her husband, daughter, and dog Max. 
I recently got his book too. I was debating whether to make this or the dacquoise first since strawberries are in season. This tart is so adorable!
Anita, your words paint a more brilliant picture than the photos if that’s possible!
A work of art tart.
Simple & beautiful–so delicious!
Yummm…that looks like the perfect summer dessert..tart, creamy and crumbly..
Thanks for the metric conversions!
I’m glad you mentioned the book. I chanced upon it at the bookstore a few weeks ago and thumbed through it but decided against buying it because only a few recipes stood out. Your post makes me want to give it another chance.
Who could refuse such a beautiful tart?
Anita, this is an incredible looking dessert. I loved your description about the beauty of food. Gorgeous!
i am wanting this rigth now, i think i’m off to grab some strawberries now!
It’s funny because I saw this picture on Tastespotting and immediately thought it was the strawberry tart from Pierre Hermé’s “Plaisirs Sucrés” cookbook (sorry, not sure if the American name is “Sweet Pleasures”?). Either way your rendition of it looks lovely.
Very happy to find your blog after following your flickr link.
If only I lived in an apartment with an oven…
Until I do, I will just have to be satisfied enjoying your photos and wonderful writing.
Delicious!
As always, Anita,your descriptions and musings are as lovely as your desserts.
Were you crazy about the Breton Sable as a crust? I’ve always been partial to it because of its saltiness, which seems to add even more sparkle to some fruits and creams.
And if I may jump in: Ces, the Herme book, Plaisirs Sucres, has not been translated into English, so there is no American version – alas.
Veron,
Thanks! I know, it’s so hard to choose which one to make…the dacquoise was calling out to me as well!
Tanna,
Thank you! I love sharing my inspirations with all of you!
Kat,
Thank you! I love when clean and simple come together so well!
Biene,
Thank you! I am working on providing metric conversions for my future recipes!
Lori,
Thank you! I wavered about getting this book as well but I think I was won over by the fruit tart section!
Brilynn,
Thank you! It looked so cute in the cookbook I had to make it!
Meeta,
Thank you! Some desserts just inspire flowery description!
Ces,
I loved the tart, glad you like it too!
Hilda,
Thank you! Pierre Herme is one of my favorites, he’s got some gorgeous strawberry tarts as well!
Sally,
Thanks for visiting! Hope you get a chance to bake soon!!
Dorie,
Thank you so much for your kind words! I found the Breton sable crust a really nice change from the usual sweet pastry – it definitely set off the strawberries and gave the whole dessert a wonderful lightness. I’ll need to try it with other desserts!
i also love Eric’s tarts ans book. i tried lot of his tarts, all of them are so delicious! ans yours seems so yummy!
i am making a strawberry tart for a project we are doing in french class. im making it now, but we have to some how prove the country of origin. apparently there are different kinds like french and italian strawberry tarts, but how can i prove that strawberry tarts are from france?
Mel,
I’m not a food historian but I think the best way to prove where a dish comes from is to look in old cookbooks – if you can find an early form of the dish you can show that it was made in that country for a long long.
Strawberry tarts, I’m not sure how to prove where they come from because there are so many different kinds. The most French kind I think has a pate sucree crust filled with pastry cream and topped with strawberries, and I think you can find that the crust and cream are elements of classic French pastry. There may be similar style tarts in Italy or from other parts of Europe, but maybe you could point out that the basic elements were developed by the French and therefore the tart is French in origin.
Hope that helps! Good luck!
I baked this tart this morning for dinner with our friends. I was afraid that the dough will no turn out good without water. But it turned out just great! This dessert is so light and delicious, just right for hot weather. Our friends and my husband really liked the tart. It is one the easiest and best desserts i have ever made. Thank you for the great recipe!
Melissa,
I am so glad it worked out for you! Yes, it’s a bit of an unusual recipe, but the results are delicious and I’m glad your family and friends agreed! Thanks so much for visiting my site!