Aberdeen’s Kitchen’s Strawberry Honey Custard Tart

Manageability – Not hard to make.

My doctor once told me I was supposed to eat three servings of fruit every day. Once I stopped laughing in his face, it occurred to me that eating that much fruit is difficult. Well, call me Nurse Martha, because I got you, babe. Make and eat this: Aberdeen’s Kitchen’s Strawberry Honey Custard Tart with Lemon Curd.

Aside from the fact that you are making several tiny pies, this recipe really isn’t bad – just time consuming. There’s a lot of “put it in the fridge and wait” in the instructions. But honestly, if that’s the worst thing the recipe makes you do, that’s not so bad. You should know that the curd was very soupy looking when you need to pour it into the crusts. Even after I refrigerated it, It was a little hard to get it to settle. Kinda like pouring syrup out of a bucket – didn’t exactly “pan” out. But once that was done these were delicious. Fruity, refreshing, while still very sweet and satisfying, as you want a dessert to taste. And you know what? They are damn good.

These are great from “tart” to finish~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~eye roll

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CRUST

• 1 plus 3/4 cups flour. So like, 7/4 cup of flour.
• 3/4 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 plus 1/2 teaspoon sugar. 3/2 teaspoons. You get it.
• 1/2 cup butter, chilled and cubed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons cup cold water

FOR THE FILLING

• 2 cups strawberries, sliced
• 1 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 eggs, from a chicken (ideally)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR THE LEMON CURD

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
• Pinch of coarse salt

INSTRUCTIONS

MAKE THE LEMON CURD

1. In a medium sauce pan over low heat, whisk together butter, sugar, lemon juice, zest and salt until combined.
2. Add eggs one at a time, whisking until fully mixed each time.
3. Cook over low heat about 8-9 minutes, whisking frequently, until somewhat thickened. Remove from heat and cool completely. Chill in the fridge until … later.

MAKE THE PIE DOUGH

1. Preheat the oven to 375˚Fahrenheit.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt until fully combined.
3. Add the cubed butter, and using either a pastry blender or two forks, cut the butter into the mixture until the pieces are around the size of a pea.
4. Pour in the vanilla extract, and cold water. Stir until the dough clumps together.
5. Move the dough to a floured surface (you can keep the dough in the bowl as long as you add enough flour to your hands) and fold the dough into itself until the flour is incorporated (if it is too sticky, add some more flour to the surface or your hands) and forms a ball.
6. Divide the dough into quarters and pat each one down into four discs, about 1/2 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes to an hour.
7. Remove the dough from fridge. Roll it out into 5-inch circles on a lightly floured surface and use to line four 4-inch tart pans. Crimp the edges as desired.
8. Prick the bottoms with a fork. Line the chilled dough crusts with parchment paper and fill each with baking beans. Or quarters. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the paper and beans. Remove from heat and let them cool completely.

ASSEMBLE THE TARTS

1. Make the filling: Whisk the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract together and then stir in the honey yogurt.
2. Place the strawberries on top of the cooled crust. Pour the filling over the strawberries.
3. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until crust is golden and custard filling is set. Use your judgment.
4. Cool for 5 minutes, drizzle with lemon curd, and serve.

NOTES

If you prefer one large pie to the individual tarts, simply pat the ball of dough in step 5 of making the dough into one large disc. Then follow the recipe as written except: instead of 4 4-inch tart pans, use a 12-inch single tart pan and cook the entire tart for 40-45 minutes.

If you prefer seven hundred tiny individual tarts, simply pat the ball of dough in step 5 of making the dough into 700 tiny discs. Then follow the recipe as written except: instead of 4-4-inch tart pans, use 700 0.00142857142-inch tart pans and cook them for 6 minutes.