Tarte aux Fraises (French Strawberry Tart)

Sweet pastry

• 250 g Plain flour
• 80 g Caster sugar
• 125 g Unsalted butter, cold
• 2 Egg yolk

Vanilla crème pâtissière

• 500 ml Whole milk
• 1 Vanilla bean
• 2 Egg
• 90 g Caster sugar
• 40 g Cornflour
• 25 g Unsalted butter

Topping and glaze

• 500 g Strawberry, ripe but firm
• 120 g Apricot jam
• 1 Lemon

1. Make the pastry: put the flour and sugar in a bowl, then rub in the cold butter until it looks like fine crumbs. Add the egg yolks and mix until the dough just comes together; if it seems dry, keep mixing for 30 seconds rather than adding liquid. Flatten into a disc, cover, and chill until firm.
2. Heat the oven to 180°C (355°F). Roll the chilled pastry and line a 23 cm tart tin, pressing it neatly into the corners, then chill again until firm. Bake until the case is golden and dry to the touch, then cool completely in the tin.
3. Make the crème pâtissière: split the vanilla bean, scrape out the seeds, and warm the milk with the seeds and pod until steaming. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar, then whisk in the cornflour until smooth. Pour the hot milk onto the egg mixture while whisking, then return everything to the pan.
4. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thick and bubbling; keep whisking for 1 minute to cook out the cornflour. Take off the heat, whisk in the butter, then scrape into a bowl. Cover the surface and chill until cold and set.
5. Hull the strawberries and pat them dry, then halve or slice larger ones so they sit neatly. Spoon the chilled crème pâtissière into the cooled tart case and smooth the top. Arrange the strawberries closely over the custard, starting at the outside and working inwards.
6. Warm the apricot jam with 1 tbsp lemon juice until fluid, then strain if you want a very smooth glaze. Brush a thin layer over the strawberries for shine. Chill the tart until the glaze is set, then slice with a sharp knife.

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