Strawberry Tart

Directions

• Make the shortcrust pastry
• Pulse the flour, butter, salt and icing sugar in a food processor until it resembles fine breadcrumbs and no large lumps of butter remain. Alternatively, rub in the butter with your fingertips. 
• Add the egg yolks and water to the food processor and whizz until the mix begins to clump together. Alternatively, mix through the wet ingredients with a table knife until it clumps together. Tip this out onto your surface and lightly work it together to form a smooth dough that isn’t sticky. 
• Cover with cling film or baking paper, flatten into a shallow disk and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 
• Blind bake the pastry
• Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/ 190°C conventional/ gas mark 5. 
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to about the thickness of a £1 coin. Frequently turn your dough 90 degrees while rolling to ensure it isn’t sticking to the surface and to encourage it to stay as round as possible. If the edges begin to crack, press them together or trim them off to prevent further cracking. 
• Gently lay your tart tin on the pastry and cut a circle of pastry about 3.5cm wider than the tin all around. 
• Roll up the pastry back around your rolling pin brushing off any excess flour from underneath as you go. 
• Unroll the pastry from the rolling pin, gently draping it over the tart tin, leaving overhang all the way around. 
• Simultaneously lift the overhanging pastry up with one hand and press it into the corner of the tart tin with the other hand. Do this all the way around. You can use a small piece of excess dough to press the dough tightly into all the edges of the tin. 
• Prick the pastry base all over with a fork. Place back into the fridge to chill for 20 minutes. 
• Line the pastry with a piece of scrunched and un-scrunched baking paper. Fill this about three-quarters full with baking beans or dried beans to weigh the pastry down. 
• Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and take out the lining and weights. Use a sharp knife pressed flat against the tart tin edge to trim away any overhanging pastry. Optionally, lightly brush the inside of the pastry with beaten reserved egg white. This will create a protective barrier for the pastry and keep it crisp when filled. 
• Place the pastry case back in the oven for about 10 minutes or until golden brown all over. If the edges of the tart case are browning too quickly, cover them gently with kitchen foil. 
• Make the custard
• Heat the milk in a non-stick pan and bring to a boil. 
• Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until slightly lightened in colour. Then whisk through the cornflour and vanilla. 
• Once the milk has come to the boil, slowly pour it into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour this back into the pan and stir vigorously over a high heat until the mixture boils and thickens. 
• Take the crème pat off the heat and stir through the butter. If there are any lumps in the custard, pass it through a sieve before chilling. 
• Pour into a dish and cover with cling film or baking paper directly over the surface to prevent a skin from forming. It will firm up when chilled in the fridge. 
• Make the maserated strawberries
• Cut the stawberries into sixths.
• Stir the sugar and lemon zest through the strawberries and leave to sit for 15-30mins.
• Strain the strawberries through a sieve to remove the excess syrup
• Assemble the tart
• Give the custard a good beat to smooth it out again once chilled and fill the pastry case with this.
• Cover the custard with a big pile of the strawberries and serve.