Strawberry Pie

Cream softened butter with sugar, almond meal, vanilla, and starch. Add the egg, and blend. Transfer almond cream in a pastry bag – use at room temperature.

Yields a 8''/21cm greased tart ring. Cream butter with salt, sugar, almond meal, and vanilla. Add the egg and flour; mix until just combined. Wrap up and chill to harden. Split dough in half, soften up onto your floured countertop, and roll out into a 0.12''/3mm thick disk. Use pastry ring to cut it out; chill. Save scraps and roll out the other half of the pastry and cut into strips that match the height of the pastry ring; chill for 20 min. Cover the edges of the pastry ring with pastry strips. Trim off excess dough if needed, and lightly prick dough with a fork. Place tart shell in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; uncovered.

Soak gelatin in cold water to soften; drain. Bring to a boil milk, heavy cream, and vanilla – cover and let infuse for 20 min. Meanwhile, mix egg yolks along with sugar and starches. Temper yolk mixture with a third of the hot milk, and pour mixture back into the saucepan. Bring to boil, and cook for 2 min, whisking constantly. Then whisk in cocoa butter. Remove from the heat, take vanilla bean out (rinse and dry out / use to enhance sugar and as a decoration for desserts). Throw in gelatin, butter, and mascarpone; blend thoroughly. Transfer custard onto a frozen tray lined with plastic wrap, and chill completely. Vanilla pastry cream can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Smooth out custard with a whisk prior using.