Strawberry Tart

Sweet, ripe strawberries shine on a bed of creamy filling and buttery crust. (Jennifer McGruther)

Perfect for spring, this simple dessert features fresh strawberries nestled inside a billowy, almond-scented filling all tucked into a crisp, slightly sweet tart shell. It’s essential to assemble this tart right before you serve it, as the juice from the berries will soak right through the tart shell if you let it stand.

You can find red currant jelly in many well-stocked gourmet shops and online. Bonne Maman sells a particularly nice version.

Makes one 10-inch tart or four 4-inch tarts

For the Crust

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup blanched almond flour
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 8 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 medium egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons cold water

For the Filling

• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
• 8 ounces temperature cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons honey

For the Strawberry Topping

• 1/4 cup red currant jelly
• 1 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Make the crust: In a spice grinder or by hand, grind the sugar to form a fine powder, and then spoon it into your food processor. Add the flours, salt, cold butter, and egg yolk. Pulse until the mixture resembles cornmeal, and then slowly pour in the cold water, processing until the dough begins to clump together.

Turn the tart dough out onto a floured surface, and then form it into a disk about 6-inches in diameter. Wrap the dough tightly with plastic wrap, and then refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Turn the chilled dough out onto a floured surface, and roll it out into an 11-inch disk, or four smaller 5-inch disks. Gently lay the rolled dough into your tart pan(s), pressing the dough into the sides of the pan and trimming the excess.

Line the tart dough with parchment paper and fill them with pie weights. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the crust begins to brown at the edges.

Remove the tart shells from the oven and remove the parchment paper and baking weights. Cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil, and then prick the bottoms of the crust with the tines of a fork. Return the tart shells to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes.

Transfer the shells to a cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature. Then gently remove the tart shells from the tins.

Make the filling and topping: Beat the mascarpone cheese, cream cheese, and heavy cream together with almond extract, vanilla, and honey until smooth and uniformly combined. Set aside.

Melt the red currant jelly in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, and then pour it over the strawberries. Stir in the almond extract.

Spoon the mascarpone filling into the tart shells, and then top with the strawberries. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and serve right away.

This recipe originally appeared on Nourished Kitchen and is reprinted with permission of the author.