Strawberry Almond Tart

If life is a tart, i'll be a strawberry tart.

Doesn't the bright red hue beguile you? I constantly keep a punnet or two of strawberries in my fridge and the turnover is rapid... I add them to my breakfast cereals, icecreams, dunk into chocolate or simply eat them fresh & unaltered. I could squat beside the refrigerator and pop in one after another until the punnet goes poof!

Strawberries can come from US, New Zealand, Eygpt, Korea, Japan & Aussie yada yada... but i especially love the korean breed (japanese is best but unaffordable here haha). Those juicy softies are pumped with a sweetness so fragrant it simply perfumes your mouth! Can never get enough of them.

The best time to make a strawberry tart is during the berry season. When in harvest, you start to see them stacking up on supermarket shelves with irrestibly low prices. That is the call.

This tart is merely frangipane (almond filling) on sable dough, sans custard or cream. It may sound plain or dry but i've gone a step further to flavor it with Bailey's so the result is perked & sufficiently moist. I also used New Zealand strawberries (happened to be the NZ berry season when i made it) which may not be as saccharine as the Korean ones but their firmer flesh can keep well much longer.

Tarte Aux Fraises
makes 1 large tart & a few small tarts

Sable is French for 'sand'. It is a crumbly, sandy dough baked just like cookies. For a perfect tart, go the extra mile to make a vanilla custard and spread inbetween the berries & baked filling... Your efforts will be rewarded.

Sable Dough
175g unsalted butter
pinch of salt
100g icing sugar
250g plain flour
35g finely ground almond
1 egg

Almond Cream
200g ground almonds
125ml cream
20g corn flour
150g unsalted butter
200g icing sugar
125g eggs
2 tbsp Bailey's (or replace with rum)

In a mixing bowl, cut butter into cubes and allow to soften at room temperature. Cream the butter, sugar and salt until pale. Beat in the egg ans make sure it is well-incorporated. Sift in the flour & almond powder and mix on low until the dough comes together. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before use.

For filling: Beat the ground almonds, corn flour, butter and sugar in a mxing bowl for 10 mintues and totally free of lumps. Add the eggs one at a time and ensure well blended in. Stir in the cream and Bailey's and mix into a smooth paste.


Roll out the chilled sable dough into a 0.2cm thick sheet and line the tart pan. Trim away and excess edges. Spoon in the almond cream to fill about half the pan then spread evenly with a palette knife. Bake at 180C for 30-35mintues or until golden brown. Allow to cool.

Brush the surface with sugar syrup if desired. Arrange strawberries on top and dust with icing sugar. To maintain the bright color, simply brush the berries with mirror gel or apricot glaze as a finishing touch.


Now's the Korean strawberry season btw, you can find them even at Fairprice & Giant so hurry go grab some!