September 8, 2013
Rob
0

Recipe: Strawberry and pistachio tart by Michalak

Normally, in bakeries you can often find a traditional round tart with pastry cream and fresh strawberries cut in half and arranged in circle.

Well, after preparing I-don’t-know-how-many traditional tarts for my exam, I got fed up and decided to try something new. When looking for inspiration, the world champion Christophe Michalak never disappoints me, so I became eager to make his Strawberry and pistachio tart as soon as I discovered it.

Strawberry-pistachio-tart---10

Strawberry-pistachio-tart---06

The recipe comes from his TV show and required quite some time as the tart is made of several layers, very nicely summarised by my illustration below… 🙂

illustration-strawberry-pistachio-tart

In particular, for the first time I made my own pistachio paste for the whipped pistachio ganache.

Strawberry-pistachio-tart---09

The final result was very rewarding and I think it’s the best-looking tart I’ve ever seen! 😛 (not taking any credit, I didn’t invent it unfortunately)

Strawberry-pistachio-tart---02

I like this strawberry and pistachio tart because it is very original: first of all, it is square! Then the dough has a slightly salty after-taste which goes perfectly with the tartness of strawberries and the sweetness of the ganache.

Believe me: it’s not difficult to make, it just takes some time, but it’s definitely worth it!!!

 

Strawberry and pistachio tart

Print recipe
Strawberry and pistachio tart

Ingredients

Tart shell

215gRich shortbread

Almond cream

1Egg
50gBrown sugar
50gSalted butter (softened)
50gAlmon flour
25gHeavy cream

Filling

75gStrawberry jam

Garnish

400gFresh strawberries
100gWhipped pistachio ganache

Decoration

100gCrushed pistachios (unsalted, untoasted)

Directions

1
The day before, prepare the pistachio ganache. Whip it a couple of hours before starting to prepare the tart and refrigerate directly in a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
2
To make the tart, start by preparing the rich shortbread
3
Roll the shortbread dough out into a square (read here how) and place it inside a bottomless square mould on parchment paper. Bake at 160°C for 15 minutes
4
In the meantime prepare the almond cream: soften the butter and blend in the brown sugar with a spatula
5
Add the egg and whisk the ingredients together with a whisk
6
Incorporate the almond flour
7
Finally add the heavy cream as well and whisk well until all ingredients are combined
8
Spread or brush the almond cream on the rich shortbread and finish baking for 25-30 minutes at 170°C or until the surface is golden brown
9
Place 2/3 of the jam in a saucepan with 1-2 tablespoons of water, bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat. Mix with an immersion blender to get a smooth texture.
10
Brush the remaining third of jam on top of the tart shell (i.e. shortbread with almond cream)
11
Arrange the whole strawberries on the tart shell (don't forget to remove the green leaves!). For a square tart, there should be an equal number of strawberries on each side; I used 36 strawberries in total. I also suggest to arrange alternately big and small strawberries: I piped the pistachio ganache only on the small ones to have a tidier look.
12
Brush all the strawberries with the warm, mixed jam...
13
and the sides too.
14
Lift the tart with one hand then take a handful of crushed pistachios in your other hand and stick them to the sides of the tart
15
You can finally place the tart on a serving platter
16
Pipe the whipped ganache alternately on the small strawberries (see step 11) using a piping bag fitted with a star tip (Technique: pipe vertically on a strawberry - stop piping - lift the piping bag vertically - repeat with another strawberry)
17
To finish, sprinkle the ganache "tips" on the crushed pistachios

More Posts Like This One