VANILLA TARTELETTES WITH AWESOME STRAWBERRY CREAM

First of all, I love vanilla creams: The Crème Pâtissière is just to die for. A humble French technique that makes every dessert a real star. However, it is not all. The strawberry beauty cream is just as good as ice cream as in combination with these lovely tartelettes.
Total Time: 45 minutes + few hours chill of the creams

SHOPPING LIST
The Dough* as per ½ of the amount of The Basic Dough Recipe:
175g of plain flour, sifted
75g of icing sugar, sifted
A pinch of sea salt
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
100g of butter, soft in cubes
1 whole egg
The Strawberry Cream:
150g of fresh/frozen strawberries, washed and cleaned
100g of white chocolate, mashed in small chunks
150ml of double cream

The Crème Pâtissière:
200ml of double cream
4 egg yolks
3 tablespoon of icing sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons of cornstarch
150g of butter, in cubes

The Strawberry Sauce:
150g of fresh/frozen strawberries, washed and cleaned
3 tablespoons of cane sugar
1 teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in a splash of cold water

INSTRUCTIONS
The Dough
After you prepare The Basic Dough Recipe, stir in the lemon zest and vanilla extract. Knead some more and let it chill wrapped in cling foil for about 30 minutes in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Next, divide The Dough equally accordingly the amounts of tartelettes you would like to make. I made 6 large tartelettes of 10 cm. Gently press The Dough into the forms and smoothen with your finger tips.

Poke with a fork and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes until they are baked through and light golden. Let them cool down entirely and take them out of the form gently.

The Strawberry Cream
Meanwhile the Tartelettes are baking, put strawberries into a small deep pan with a splash of cold water and dissolve until smooth on medium heat, for about 5 minutes. Then mold it through a sieve and pour the clear juice over the white chocolate.

Let it sit for about 1 minute and then start mixing with a balloon whisk until you get a very smooth texture and the chocolate is dissolved completely. Let it cool down entirely.

Meanwhile, whip the cream until soft peaks. Once the strawberries have been cooled enough, mold them slowly into the cream, few at a time. Incorporate well and taste.

The prepared cream you divide into your shape silicone molds and freeze for about 1 hour.

Crème Pâtissière
In a small deep pan pour in the double cream and bring it to boil slowly.

Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl place the egg yolks with icing sugar and whisk until it whitens and gets foamy, for about 2-3 minutes on high speed.

Afterwards, pour the cream slowly into the egg mixture. Constantly whisk with a balloon whisk. Then, mold back into a pan and cook on medium heat until it thickens for about 1 more minute.

Next, put The Crème into a clean bowl and let cool down. Stir occasionally. Once the Crème has been cooled down, stir in the butter and mix until smooth. Taste and cover with a cling foil. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

The Strawberry Sauce
In a small deep pan place the strawberries and cane sugar on a low heat. Cook until it becomes a syrup consistency, for about 5 minutes. Afterwards, mold through a sieve into a clean bowl. Put back on the fire and add cornstarch. Mix until it thickens for about 1 more minute. Take off the heat and let it cool down.

Presentation
First, take out the strawberry cream out of the freezer and gently place your shapes onto a rack. Pour over the sauce and let it drip for a couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, fill up The Tartelettes with a beautiful Crème Pâtissière.

Afterwards, gently place your shapes in the middle of each tartelette and refrigerate until serving.

Makes 6 large tartelettes.