Sour cream strawberry tart

alexmcvinnie.com

The baked shell for this tart can be made several days in advance and stored in an airtight container. If it becomes soft, put it back into a 200C oven for a few minutes to crisp up, but be careful it doesn’t burn.

Ingredients

500 g	Sweet short pastry, (use a brand made with butter) (Main)
400 g	Sour cream (Main)
500 g	Strawberries, hulled (Main)
1 ½ cups	Strawberry jam (Main)

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 200C. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface and line a round loose-bottomed 23cm diameter tart tin.
2. Cover with foil and fill with rice or baking beans and place in the oven for about 20 minutes or until well browned.
3. Remove from the oven, cool completely and remove from the tin.
4. Spread the sour cream over the base.
5. Place strawberries, pointed side up, side by side to fill the tart.
6. Gently melt the jam over moderate heat and brush it all over the strawberries and pastry so there are no gaps. Place in the fridge for 1 hour.
7. Serve in wedges.

You could also fill the baked tart shell with:

• Thick custard topped with sliced ripe apricots, peeled peaches or nectarines on top and then brushed well with gently melted apricot jam
• Whipped cream well-sprinkled with chopped dark chocolate and covered with a layer of pitted fresh cherries and brushed with melted cherry jam
• With ganache made from 300ml cream brought to the boil with 500g chopped dark chocolate stirred into it until there are no lumps, cooled until thick, spread into the tart shell and served sprinkled with raspberries.