Why wait for Valentine’s Day to celebrate your love? Say it every day in little things. And what’s a better way than food? Bake these heart-shaped strawberry tarts for your loved one and surprise them with a cute, sweet picnic platter, movie night, or a quiet evening at home.
If your partner’s love language is an act of service, nothing will charm them better than you baking a dessert for them. Since “Did you eat anything?” says much more than “I love you,” you cannot go wrong by declaring your love with a baked treat. And if you want to make a romantic gesture or you’re planning a date at home, heart-shaped strawberry tarts would be the perfect option.
With a crumbly crust, cream cheese filling, and strawberries on top, this baked treat has all the right things. Pleasing every sweet tooth, the mouth-melting tarts are also not very hard to make. Whether you’re a pro baker or a beginner, this guide will help you navigate through every step and bake an impeccable batch of strawberry tarts.
#1 The secret to making a flaky tart crust is butter. Before mixing the ingredients, make sure the butter and egg yolk are refrigerated. Since these ingredients create steam once you bake the dough, the vapours create a flaky texture.
#2 One of the most common mistakes people make while making the crust is kneading the dough. If you knead it like how you prepare the dough for rotis, the crust will turn out to be tough and chewy. To ensure that the tarts are crumbly, use a food processor to combine the ingredients.
#3 Baking requires patience. So, after you take the dough out of the OTG oven, don’t rush the chilling process of the dough. While the refrigeration process allows the gluten to relax and prevents the crust of the tarts from shrinking at a high temperature.
#4 Once the crusts are baked, wait for them to cool down. Whip some cream using a hand blender, but don’t add it to hot tarts; otherwise, the whipped cream will melt, and the tarts will turn soggy.
#5 To master the cream cheese filling, ensure that the heavy cream is very cold and the cream cheese is at room temperature. This will help you get stiff peaks in the whipped cream and a smooth cream cheese.
Whisk all-purpose flour, icing sugar, and salt together. Chop the refrigerated unsalted butter into cubes and mix with your fingertips until it looks like coarse crumbs.
Whisk an egg yolk and add it to the mixture. Add the vanilla essence and combine all the ingredients to form a dough. Don’t knead, simply press, shape it into a ball, and wrap in cling film. Next, flatten the ball into a disc and refrigerate the dough for about half an hour.
While you’re chilling the dough, preheat the oven to 180°C. Roll the chilled dough to a thickness of about 0.25 inches. Take a heart-shaped cookie cutter and cut the dough into tart bases.
Transfer the heart-shaped tart crusts to a baking sheet and prick the surface with a fork. Bake for about fifteen minutes and check that the edges are golden brown. If not, continue baking for an additional five minutes.
Once the crusts are crunchy, take them out of the oven and let them cool on a wire rack.
In the meantime, beat the cream cheese, icing sugar, and vanilla essence with a hand blender or an electric mixer. Keep beating until you get a well-combined mixture.
In another bowl, whip heavy cream till stiff peaks start to form. Fold in the cream cheese mixture into the whipped cream and mix well.
Pipe the cream filling on top into the freshly prepared tart crusts. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can also use a spoon.
Rinse fresh strawberries and slice them into halves or smaller pieces. Arrange the chopped strawberries on top of the icing.
If you’re using strawberry jam, add a teaspoon of water to it and drizzle it on top of the strawberries to give the tarts a glossy finish. You can also use pink-coloured sprinkles to decorate the baked treats.
Yes, for an eggless recipe, you can replace the egg yolks with 2-3 tablespoons of very cold milk.
Yes, to cut down the preparation time, you can use store-bought pie crust. Just ensure that the dough isn’t too thick to be evenly shaped or baked.
Of course, if it’s not strawberry season, you can use the frozen strawberries. Just thaw them and get rid of the excess liquid before adding them to the tarts.
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