Ina Garten's Strawberry Tarts Will Transport You to a Parisian Bakery

We can always count on Ina Garten to share seasonal and delicious recipes, and she's done it again! Garten recently took to Instagram to share her strawberry tart recipe, just in time for strawberry season. We love a good tart recipe, so we were all over this!

"Strawberry tarts always make me think of springtime in Paris when gorgeous berries take over the street markets," said Garten. And isn't this the most beautifully imagined way to transport us to the bustling Paris streets where enthusiastic vendors sell fresh and colorful produce?!

With strawberry season upon us, the sweet, juicy orbs are at the peak of perfection. Strawberry tarts, known in France as "tarte aux fraises," are a classic French dessert that showcases the seasonal berries. Ina's version uses a more traditional butter crust, then layers in an infused pastry cream with a secret ingredient. It's not the easiest recipe, but it's also not that difficult to work through. So if you're a strawberry lover who also happens to love pastry (or you want to learn how to make pastry), add this recipe to your list!

First, we start by making the crust. This particular type of shortcrust pastry is known as pâte brisée, but don't let the French name intimidate you. Think of it as pâte "breezy," because it's made with a few ingredients and happens to be easy, with the use of a food processor. The most important consideration is that your ingredients are COLD. First, whisk together the dry ingredients—flour, sugar and salt—and put them into the freezer for 30 minutes. Once they've chilled, transfer them into your food processor along with diced cold butter and shortening. Work quickly so both fats stay as cold as possible. Pulse it until the butter is pea-sized, then add the ice water bit-by-bit until the dough comes together. Ina then recommends transferring it to a well­-­floured surface, forming it into a disc, wrapping it in plastic wrap and chilling it for another 30 minutes before rolling it out and transferring it onto 4 tart pans. Specifically, you'll need 4½-inch tart pans with removable sides.

After shaping the dough into the pans, you'll need to "blind bake" the crust. This means covering the pastry with buttered foil and filling it with pie weights, like dried beans or rice, then baking at 375℉ for 10 minutes. Remove the bean-filled foil, prick the bottoms of each shell with a fork and bake until lightly browned, an additional 15 to 20 minutes. That's it! You can now pat yourself on the back because you just made buttery, flaky pastry. Set the tart shells aside to cool and move on to the pastry cream.

For this step, you need an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. A mixer is a godsend of an appliance and makes easy work of beating the egg yolks and sugar together until it's very thick. You'll then turn the speed down to low and add in the cornstarch and eventually, the hot milk. Adding the milk requires patience because adding heat to eggs will scramble them, if you're not careful. Exercise caution and drizzle your milk in very slowly, ensuring that the mixer is still running the entire time. Now you're making custard!

Pour that milky egg mixture into a medium saucepan and cook it over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until it thickens up. This will take about 5 to 7 minutes and, for it to be successful, you'll need to be really attentive to it. Ina adds, "Don't be alarmed when the custard comes to a boil and appears to curdle; switch to a whisk and beat vigorously." Then continue cooking and, she says, "whisking constantly, for another 2 minutes; the custard will come together and become very thick, like pudding." Now stir in your flavor-enhancers—vanilla extract, a little more butter, a touch of heavy cream and Ina's secret ingredient—cognac. These add-ins make it ultra flavorful. To sift out any accidental eggshells or inadvertent scrambled eggs, pour the custard through a sieve. Finally, place plastic wrap directly on the silky custard so it doesn't form a skin, and refrigerate until ­it's completely cold.

While you can prep both the tart shells and pastry cream ahead of time, fresh pastry is always best! When you're ready to eat these exquisite little desserts, hull and halve the freshest strawberries you can find. You'll need 2 whole pints because we're all about the berries, after all. Fill each shell with pastry cream and top each tart with those juicy gems. The final touch is to brush the berries with a little melted apricot jelly, which gives it a pretty shine and preserves the moisture and color of the fruit, which is helpful if you're making the tarts a little ahead of time. Then you can sprinkle each tart with halved pistachios, but this is completely optional.

There are so many reasons to make this dessert! You can make it ahead of time and assemble just before serving, it's an incredible way to showcase perfectly ripe strawberries, and pastry is always a good idea. Now all you need to really feel that Parisian bakery experience and place yourself in a charming Paris café, is a café crème, otherwise known as a latte. But we're feeling the French café vibe right now, so café crème it is!