Strawberry Tart Entremet

A tart entremet (cake) is a pie topped with a mousse, or light ganache or other fruits mixtures according to the theme and season. It offers endless possibilities. The tart entremets is a great alternative for those who want more than a classic tart or pie. For this recipe, I used a 9''/23cm diameter tart ring, and 6.5''/16.5cm tart ring for the soft strawberry jelly. Always choose the best strawberries, rather small, sweet and with a distinctive parfum. Clean strawberries at the last minute. Immerse them with stems on in cold water for a couple of minutes, and carefully transfer onto a baking tray lined with paper towels. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Soak gelatin sheets in cold water to soften, and drain. Heat up fruit puree with water. Mix sugar and pectin, and add it to the hot fruit puree. Add chopped strawberries, and bring to a boil. Add lemon juice and zest. Remove from the heat, and stir in gelatin. Choose a tart ring that is about an inch (2.5cm) smaller in than the pie. Tight up a piece of plastic wrap at the bottom of the tart ring. Fill it up and freeze for a few hours.

Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Blind bake tart shell for 25 minutes. Remove pie weights, and pipe out almond cream along with chopped strawberries (optional). Bake for 35 minutes more. Note that if you want to obtain a distinctive brown and glossy finish crust: remove pie from the oven after 20 minutes, take out the ring and egg wash it. Put back in the oven and finish baking. Let cool and chill.

Top chilled pie with a thin layer of Chantilly. Place the frozen strawberry jelly in the center of the pie. Arrange strawberries around the edges. Decorate with Chantilly rosettes using the #827 open star pastry tip. Strawberries can be lightly glazed with neutral glaze if desired. Refrigerate the tart for a couple of hours before eating making sure that the jelly is thawed. Enjoy!