Rustic Strawberry Tart

Recently torrential downpours thwarted our dinner plans. This called for serious baking in the Wolf den. We had farmer's market strawberries approaching their almost-too-ripe mark, so into a tart they went.

I couldn't find my tart shell. So, rustic free form tart it was! 

Baking can be intimidating to people who feel like they can't improvise like they can when cooking.  They are right to a point, but at the end of the day, its all about having fun in the kitchen and having Boo shower you with compliments about how tasty your goodies are.   Just kidding...baking is one of those sciences that, while precise, can be affected by many factors. Humidity, age of flour, temperature of butter, the order in which you add ingredients, the baker's measuring abilities.   The one tool that will help you perfect your baking is a kitchen scale. Weighing your ingredients (instead of measuring by volume in a measuring cup) yields a much more exact ratio of ingredients to one another.  Here's a good, basic option. 

But trust me - this tart recipe is easy, and will give you the richest buttery crust. Wedding diet? Not tonight, folks. I'm too busy with this buttery goodness. 

What you'll need:

6oz flour + 1 tablespoon

2oz cold water

4oz cold butter, diced 

1/2tsp salt 

2C sliced strawberries

1tsp granulated sugar 

Egg wash 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl mix flour, salt and butter until you have formed pea-sized chunks 

2. Slowly add the water until the dough comes together

3. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes 

4. While the dough cools, slice strawberries and set aside
5. Mix the egg wash (1 whole egg well beaten with a small splash of water)

6. Remove dough from plastic wrap, flour a rolling pin and a cool surface (I use our clean kitchen counter since granite stays cool and doesn't heat the butter -- but marble slabs like this one can be purchased for this exact task) 

7. Combine sugar and sliced strawberries just enough to coat

8. Roll out the dough until you have the desired size (if you are making a free form tart, be sure you leave extra room around the edges so that you can fold the dough over for a crust)

9. Transfer to a greased baking sheet, pile the strawberries onto the crust, brush crust with egg wash and bake 30-40 minuets (baking time will depend on the heat of your oven and the thickness of the dough)

10. Serve as is or with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream

Ingredients set out:

Cold butter and flour:

Into the refrigerator to cool:

Flour your surface:

Roll the dough out as best you can:

Sugar and strawberries:

This step could be optional if you prefer more tart baked goods:

Be sure you leave enough space around the edges so that you fold the dough over and form a crust:

What's your favorite fruit to bake with? Hope you enjoy...

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf