Strawberry
"Pizza" with Almond Cream
Yield:
4 servings
Most
people put strawberries on tarts after the pastry is cooked.
I like to cook the strawberries because I think they have
a delightful flavor when warm, which is concentrated as they
lose moisture during baking. A nice, easy variation is to
make an apple pizza; simply replace the strawberries with
2 apples very thinly sliced and fanned evenly over the surface.
|
Wine
suggestion
Our own Röcken'kir (fresh, seedless, unsweetened homemade
strawberry juice with sparkling wine)
|
1
pint best-quality vanilla ice cream
Frangipane
1/4
cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup superfine sugar
2 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon almond extract, or 1 Tablespoon Amaretto
1 cup finely ground, blanched almonds (almond meal)
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
Pizzas
1
pound fresh or thawed frozen puff pastry
2 pints whole strawberries, stemmed
1 large egg yolk
4 sprigs mint
Confectioners' sugar
For the Frangipane, in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer,
beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down
the bowl as necessary. Add the egg yolks, beat well, then add
the almond extract. Remove the beater and stir in the almonds
and flour until evenly blended. The mixture should be the consistency
of a thick paste.
For the pizzas, preheat the oven to 400°F. On a lightly floured
surface, roll out the pastry to a 1/8 inch thickness and, using
a plate or cardboard circle as a template, with a very sharp knife
cut four 7-inch circles. Transfer to two Teflon baking sheets
or baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Spread a circle of
frangipane in the center of each, leaving a 1-inch border. Place
the strawberries stem end down on the frangipane. (They should
be touching each other so that you can fit as many as possible
onto the circles of frangipane.) Beat the egg yolk lightly with
a fork and brush the border of the pastry with it. (Try not to
let any yolk dribble down onto the cut sides of the pastry, otherwise
it will not rise as high.) Bake the tartlets for 20 minutes, until
the edges are golden and the pastry is baked through.
Place a sprig of mint in the center of each pizza and dust them
lightly with confectioners' sugar. Serve hot with a scoop of vanilla
ice cream.
