Nutty About Strawberries Tart

Finally, it is here! The recipe I'm using for an upcoming cake/tart/pie competition. This strawberry and pistachio tart is to die for! I couldn't get enough of the pistachio and white chocolate cream. I was testing this recipe and I made way too much of the cream, lesson learned! I think I gained a pound only looking at it. But ohmy was it yummy and SO worth it. Best YOLO-food ever - did I just say that? Oh yes I said it!

As mentioned before, I was inspired by Christophe Michalak. For those of you unaware, Michalak is a world class patissier from France, I believe he even won the World Cup in patisserie! Unfortunately, I didn't get to his patisserie in Paris, but I sure as heck will next time, seeing what he churns out. In a tv show, he featured on of his recipes for a strawberry and pistachio tart. It's a tart made up of shortbread, strawberries, strawberry jam and this delicious pistachio cream. I went off of that, using a base recipe from Il était une fois la patisserie and created this beauty.

Whenever I make cakes, pies or tarts, I'm having trouble getting people to eat it. I live on the country and there are only 4 people in my household (excluding my grandma, who lives next door). None of them (except for me) have a sweet tooth, my brother even refuses to eat anything sugary. He just doesn't like it apparently. I'm always scouting my next "victim". Luckily, my mom was going to work the day I made this and so her colleagues got the change to scoff on some of my baked goods. My mom keeps posting picks of my baking on her Facebook page so they have been waiting for this for a long time! It went down really well, someone even had two slices! That bodes pretty well for the competition, I think (or rather, I hope..). Let's hope the judges can appreciate this nutty strawberry goodness!

Nutty About Strawberries Tart Recipe

yields: 10 slices of heavenly strawberry and pistachio tart

Tools: tart tin (24cm in diameter, 2.5 cm high), (immersion) blender, mixer, pastry brush, piping bag + nozzle of choice (I used 1M/star)

Ingredients:

Pastry:
300  gr pâte sablée

Almond-pistachio filling (adapted from Il était une fois la patisserie):
100  gr unsalted butter, at room temperature
100  gr caster sugar
2     tablespoons pistachio paste*
2     eggs
100  gr ground almonds

White chocolate and pistachio cream (adapted from Christophe Michalak):
80    gr white chocolate (good quality), drops or chopped into small pieces
1     tablespoon pistachio paste
180  gr whipping cream (35% fat)

200  gr (homemade) strawberry jam
500  gr fresh strawberries
50   gr pistachios, finely chopped

* I made mine using Pierre Hermé's recipe (found on many blogs). You can also find pistachio paste in specialty food stores (but it's a bit pricier there).


1. Make the white chocolate and pistachio cream preferably the day before as it has too cool for a good amount of time. To make the cream, mix chocolate and pistachio paste in a bowl. In a saucepan, bring whipping cream to a boil. Once boiling, take off the heat and pour into the bowl with the chocolate. Using a whisk, stir until all of the chocolate has melted. Use an immersion blender (or regular blender) to get the mixture as smooth as possible. Cover bowl with clingfilm and leave to chill in the refridgerator for at least 4 hours.

2. Make the pâte sablée. Once chilled, roll out to 3-5mm thickness and line tart tin. Chill in refridgerator for at least 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 180C.

4. To make the filling, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add pistachio paste, egg and ground almonds and mix until everything is incorporated. 

5. Fill chilled tart crust with the pistachio and almond filling. Smooth the top over. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until the filling has set and has a good, brown color on top. Leave tart to cool in the tin, then turn out onto a plate.

6. Once tart has cooled, heat the strawberry jam in a saucepan with a tablespoon of water stirred in. Use an immersion blender to smoothen the jam. Brush or spread a thin layer of strawberry jam on top of the tart.

7. Cut the tops off the strawberries. Slice into 2-3 mm slices. Arrange the slices on top of the tart in circles, each slice overlapping the former somewhat. Brush some of the heated jam on top of the strawberries for a nice glaze. Cut the tart into 10 even slices.

8. Whip the white chocolate and pistachio cream as you would whipping cream. It should be firm enough to pipe. Fill piping bag with cream, pipe even amounts on the edge of each slice. Sprinkle some chopped pistachio over each slice before serving. Enjoy!