Valentine’s day strawberry tart

As Valentine’s day is soon approaching I thought I will make a tart full of hearts. Strawberries and cream popped into my mind first (I know I know, that’s not very imaginative of me!). But then I thought how can I twist this classic dessert into something more creative and thats when I thought to add basil to it. Basil? Oh, it totally works! Remember how I made marmalade tart with rosemary crust? Well this one has a very similar concept except more hearts!Care to try?BAKED STRAWBERRY TART WITH BASIL CRUST

• 200g unsalted butter
• 6-8 tbsp sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 15-20 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tsp dried basil
• at least 200g strawberries, sliced (+ 2 tbsp sugar if you like them sweet)
• icing for dusting
• 300ml whipping cream
• 2 tbsp sugar

1. Make the pastry dough by creaming butter with sugar. Gradually add egg yolks, flour and basil. Wrap the dough into cling film and let it rest in the fridge for 15 min or so (it will be easer to handle it later). 

2. Roll out the dough and line prepared baking tin with it (lined with baking paper prior that).

3. Fill the tart with sliced strawberries as evenly as you can. Sprinkle some sugar on top if using. I did not use any sugar and I wish I did! However Joni said that he liked  the tart’s sweetness as it is. So your choice ;-).4. I tried decorating the top of the tart with the heart shapes, although I was suspecting that it won’t survive the baking. There is always a risk if you bake sweet butter pastry on uneven surface such as sliced strawberries!Therefore I baked some hearts using the same dough separately on baking sheet.5. I baked the tart in preheated 170C oven for 40min (other ovens varies so don’t wait if you see the crust is already golden after 30 min).  You see! The hearts came out all wobbly! Exactly what I predicted :-S.So after some dusting……and whipped cream with baked dough heart biscuits. Voila! I think it turned out quite alright :-). 6. To whip the cream all you need to do is mix some sugar with cream and whip away!(be careful and don’t over-beat it though) And have fun celebrating Valentines day ;-)

Rasa xoxo