The final flourish to your easy three-course dinner for Valentine's Day: strawberry tarts. They look fantastic but are, as always, easier than they seem.
For this recipe, I cut my strawberries into eight slices and fanned them out in a circle on top of my tarts, but you can cut and arrange yours however you prefer!
Strawberry Tart Recipe with Lemon Gin and Basil Glaze
Makes 6
Ingredients:
1 sheet ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
100g butter
120g caster sugar
2 eggs
150g ground almonds
65g plain flour
250g strawberries
15ml Lemon Gin
A couple of fresh basil leaves
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°/ fan 160°/gas 4.
Grease 6 miniature fluted tart cases. Cut circles from your pastry that are larger than the top of the tart cases and gently lay one into each case. Be sure to push them down slightly so that they take the shape of the case as they cook.
To make the frangipane: In a bowl, beat together 100g of the caster sugar with the butter until it is light and fluffy. Then add the eggs and mix until combined. Finally, stir in the almonds and plain flour. Use two spoons to deposit the frangipane mixture evenly across the six tart cases – you want them filled just under halfway at this point as they will rise in the oven. Be careful not to overfill them, but if you have leftovers you can freeze frangipane for up to one month.
Place the tarts on a baking tray and cook in the oven for around 30 mins. Keep an eye on them as you don’t want anything to burn! Once the pastry and frangipane are both cooked all the way through, remove them from the oven and set aside to cool.
While the tarts cool down, it’s time to make your glaze. This will help the strawberries shine. In a small pan, add the remaining 20g caster sugar and gently heat. Pour over enough cold water to cover the sugar completely and stir it to dissolve.
Once the sugar is completely dissolved, bring the mixture to a low bubble. As it begins to thicken a little, add the gin and basil. Keep gently cooking for 5-10 minutes, allowing it to thicken more. Set it to one side and let it cool for a few more minutes – this will help it thicken, too. Remove the basil leaves once it’s cool enough to touch.
As that cools, cut your strawberries up. You can do this however you like! Quarters or eighths work very well as you can arrange the pieces neatly on top - Pictured are 1/8th slices, fanned out in a circle.
Once you have arranged your strawberries on top of your cooled tarts, you can begin spooning over some of the cold glaze mixture. This will give your strawberries a beautiful, glossy shine and add a light, herby flavour to cut through the sweetness.
Best served with freshly whipped cream!
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