Strawberry Tart

Maida Heatter; you will need a 9-inch flan ring, ¾ or 1 inch deep.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Yields: 1 nine inch tart

Ingredients

• 1 (9 inch)  unbaked pastry shells, french tart pastry dough (French Tart Pastry)

• Filling

• 2 -3  lbs fresh strawberries
• 1  cup sugar
• 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
• 2  teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 1⁄2 cup water, plus
• 1  tablespoon water
• 1  tablespoon lemon juice
• 3  tablespoons cornstarch

• Whipped Cream

• 2  cups heavy cream
• 1⁄4 cup sugar or 1⁄4 cup powdered sugar
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Pastry: Prepare French Tart Pastry; flour the ball of dough lightly; roll out (Maida recommends rolling out on floured pastry cloth with floured rolling pin) into a 12-inch circle.
2. Place the flan ring on a cookie sheet; transfer pastry to flan ring, centering carefully; with your fingers, press in into place.
3. With scissors, trim excess, allowing ½ to ¾ inch overlap; fold excess inside to form a double thickness on the rim and press together firmly (the rim should be upright a scant ¼ inch above the flan ring.
4. Place the pastry shell on the cookie sheet in the freezer at least until it is frozen .
5. When you are ready to bake, adjust oven rack to the center of the oven; preheat to 375°; line the frozen shell with foil and fill it with dried beans or pie weights to keep the shell in place.
6. Bake for 20 minutes; remove from oven and carefully remove foil and beans; return the shell to oven and bake 10-15 minutes until the shell is thoroughly dry and lightly browned.
7. Remove shell form oven and let stand until completely cool; remove the flan ring by lifting it off.
8. Place the berries in a large bowl of cold water; agitate them briefly, and then immediately remove them from the water (the sand will settle to the bottom; pick off the stems and hulls and drain on towels.
9. In a blender or food processor, puree 1 pound of the berries to make 2 cups puree.
10. Strain the puree through a large strainer set over a large bowl.
11. Place the strained puree in a 2-quart saucepan and add in sugar and salt.
12. In a small custard cup, sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tablespoons of the water; let stand.
13. Place the remaining ½ cup water minus 1 tablespoon of water and the lemon juice in a small bowl with the cornstarch; stir to dissolve.
14. Add the cornstarch mixture to the strained berries.
15. Place over medium heat; stir constantly but gently with a rubber spatula for about 6-7 minutes until the mixture comes to a low boil, thickens, and becomes rather clear.
16. Then decrease the heat to low; add the softened gelatin, and stir to dissolve.
17. Continue to cook and stir gently for 3 minutes.
18. Remove pan from heat and gently transfer to a wide bowl to cool.
19. While the cornstarch mixture cools, place the berries in the baked shell (if berries are very large, you can cut them in half).
20. They may stand upright, in a pattern of concentric circles.
21. Or, if they are large, they may be cut in half and placed on their cut sides, overlapping one another in concentric circles; either way they should completely fill the shell.
22. With a teaspoon, gently spoon the cooled gelatin mixture evenly all over the berries and the spaces between them.
23. If the berries are halved and are overlapping, it may be necessary to raise some of them a bit to allow the mixture to run under and around them, and to fill up all the spaces.
24. Refrigerate the tart for at least a few hours.
25. Whipping Cream: in a chilled bowl with chilled beaters, whip all the ingredients until the cream holds a soft shape but not until it is stiff.
26. Serve the cream separately, placing a spoonful alongside each portion.