TWD: La Palette's Strawberry Tart

I have to admit, I wasn’t too pumped up about this week’s Tuesday’s with Dorie recipe, “La Palette’s Strawberry Tart”. No disrespect to Marie of “A Year in Oak Cottage”, who’s pick it was this week, it’s just not the type of dessert I usually go for. I mean, where’s the chocolate, or caramel, or chunks and gobs of something gooey, creamy, or decadently sweet? I’m guessing some folks were looking forward to a light spring dessert. But me? Naaaah. I’ll take a triple chocolate brownie with dulce de leche ice cream topped with whipped cream, toffee bits, and strawberries please (hiccup).

I decided to be a good sport and give the dessert a chance, though. Who knows…? I might fall in love with it and swear off chocolate forever. But I wanted to play around a little too. So, after a pit-stop at the local cake-decorating store, I had four mini-tart pans in hand and I set to work in the kitchen.
The first tart was a tweaked version of the La Palette Strawberry Tart… I added a layer of pastry cream and a few blueberries . Next was a peach with pastry cream tart. Veering off in another direction, I turned my third tart into a baby pecan pie. The fourth tart shell is in the freezer patiently awaiting its fate. (I’ll blog about the latter two tarts another day.)

The verdict? I love, love, LOVED them! Wow, I am forever indebted to Marie and Dorie for opening my eyes and tastebuds to this luscious treat. Seriously, it was SO good.

According to Dorie, the tart shell is closer to cookie dough than a pie dough. I liked it a lot, better than typical pie dough. We were to press the dough into the tart pan, but I thought it was easier rolling it between two pieces of wax paper. Here it is before trimming.

Here's the peach tart being readied for it's fruit topping, first with a layer of pastry cream, then a layer of jam...


Clearbrook Farms peach fruit butter is to die for, by the way!

The photo shoot came to an end when my son and his little friend came nosing around...


Little thief!


If you have a hankering to try this recipe, you can check out Dorie's post on the blog, Serious Eats.

All right, see you next week with Peppermint Cream Puff Ring. Between now and then, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Dorie's book "Baking, From My Home to Yours". You will thank me, I promise!