Scottish Strawberry Tarts
When it comes to summer baking treats, is there anything better than a homemade Scottish strawberry tart?
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Servings: 12 tarts
INGREDIENTS
For the Pastry:
- 175 g Block Margarine or Butter (at room temperature)
- 65 g Caster Sugar
- 250 g Plain Flour
For the Strawberry Sauce:
- 250 g Strawberries (hulled; halved)
- 100 g Caster Sugar
- 50 ml Water
- 1 tbsp Cornflour
For the Filling:
- 300 ml Double Cream
- 12 medium-large Strawberries (hulled; whole)
INSTRUCTIONS
For the Pastry:
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter/margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift in the flour and mix to create a soft dough, using your hands to bring it together as needed. Gently knead the dough on a clean surface to ensure it is fully combined, then wrap it in cling film before placing it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up a little.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C for fan-assisted ovens, Gas Mark 4 and 350°F). After 30 minutes, remove your dough from the fridge. Grease a 12-hole cup bun tray with a little butter/margarine and set aside.
- Roll your dough to about 5mm (¼ inch) thick, and using a round cutter which is a little bigger than the cups on your bun tray, cut 12 circles. Carefully transfer each circle to your pre-greased tray, gently ensuring no air is caught underneath each and pressing the bottom and edges into place.
- Prick a few holes into the bottom of each pastry cup before lining them (I used a paper cupcake case for lining) and filling with some baking beans. Bake for about 15 minutes, remove the baking beans and bake for a further 5 minutes, until the pastry cases are golden in colour. Allow to cool completely before adding the fillings.
This is then a good time to prepare the Strawberry Sauce (instructions below).
For the Strawberry Sauce:
- Place the strawberries and sugar into a large pan. Whisk the water and
cornflour together in a cup/bowl to create a slurry, then add it to the pan too. Bring the mixture to a boil before reducing to a simmer. Allow the mix to simmer for about 20 minutes, until the strawberries have macerated and are falling apart. - Allow your strawberry mixture to cool a little before straining it through a sieve into a bowl to remove the pulp and seeds. Let your sauce cool completely before using. If you find your sauce is a little thick when it comes to using, simply add a little boiling water to thin it out.
For the Filling & Finish:
- In a large bowl, whip the cream until you have medium-stiff peaks. Add a spoonful of cream to the bottom of each pastry casing.
- Place a strawberry on top of the cream in each pastry casing before spooning a little strawberry sauce on the top of the strawberries, allowing it to drizzle down onto the cream below. Repeat with all the other tarts.
- Transfer your finished tarts to the fridge to allow the sauce to set a little. Keep in the fridge until serving.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won't always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
RECIPE NOTES:
Substitutions:
- Pastry: You can use ready-roll shortcrust pastry for your strawberry tarts if you wish (but I always recommend homemade for the best flavour) - simply start the recipe from step 2.
- Strawberry Sauce: Some Scottish food producers do sell a ready-made strawberry tart sauce/glaze, if you'd prefer to use that. Alternatively, you could use strawberry ice cream sauce or even a watered-down jam.
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