Although this looks like a cake, it's a strawberry almond tart. Served upside-down, it's glazed and disguised with more strawberries, edible flowers and roasted rhubarb.
Can be prepared a day in advance then glazed and decorated on the day of serving.
How to Make a Cake Look From a Parisian Bakery
Take a good look at this almond tart. It looks more like a shiny strawberry almond cake out of a Parisian pâtisserie, doesn't it?
It's basically a simple French tart filled and baked with a delicious strawberry frangipane cream. Except it's turned upside down then dressed up with pink glaze and as much frilly decoration to fit the occasion. It's a nifty trick!
Inspired by French MOF (Meilleur Ouvrier de France) pastry chef Nicolas Bernadé 's raspberry "framboisier" (thanks to the Fou de Pâtisserie magazine, Spring 2016). Instead, I omitted his raspberries and vanilla cream on top and made an easier homemade strawberry version. I also added roasted rhubarb.
If you can't find rhubarb, just top with more strawberries.
Strawberry Almond Tart Recipe
To make the almond tart, prepare the sweet pastry dough as in the recipe for the Gâteau de Saint Germain.
Fill the tart base with the almond cream, press in some strawberries and bake for about half an hour.
When baked, leave to cool on a wire rack. When cool, turn the tart upside down.
Glaze, sprinkle the sides with dessicated coconut and decorate with roasted rhubarb, strawberries and edible flowers.
Strawberry Almond Tart with Rhubarb
An upside-down French tart baked with almond cream and strawberries, topped with a glaze, fresh strawberries and roasted rhubarb.
Ingredients
Tart Base
- 1 quantity sweet pastry (ready-made or see my recipe below)
Strawberry Almond Cream
- 3 Organic eggs (medium)
- 75 g (3oz/ ⅓cup) Sugar
- 100 g (3.5oz/ ½ cup) Unsalted butter softened
- 100 g (3.5oz/ 1 cup) Ground almonds/almond flour
- 200 g (7oz) Fresh strawberries washed, hulled and cut in 2 if big (about 1 ½ cups)
Quick Tart Glaze
- 6 tablespoon icing (confectioner's) sugar
- 3 tablespoon water
- pinch powdered dark pink (fushia) edible colouring
Decor
- 1-2 rhubarb sticks washed, leaves discarded
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- edible flowers (e.g. violas)
- 1 tablespoon small or wild strawberries
- 2 tablespoon dessicated coconut
Instructions
Tart Base
- Make the tart base by following the classic pâte sucrée (sweet pastry dough) and set aside to cool.
Roasted Rhubarb (optional as decor)
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/360°F/160°fan (gas 4).
- Cut the rhubarb into 4-5cm lengths. Place in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle over the sugar and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes until soft. Set aside to cool.
- Turn down the oven to 170°C/340°F/150°C fan (gas 3).
Strawberry Almond Filling
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the butter and sugar. Gradually add the eggs and ground almonds (almond flour) until smooth and creamy.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and pipe out a spiral to fill the tart base (alternatively, spoon the mixture and spread evenly with a palette knife).
- Press the strawberries into the almond cream and bake for about 25-30 minutes until the cream is golden. Set aside to cool on a wire rack.
Glaze Icing
- Dissolve the icing sugar in the water and add a tiny amount of red or deep pink powdered food colouring (just a tiny heap at the end of a knife is enough).
- Decor: turn the tart upside down on the rack and coat with the glaze, spreading smoothly with a spatula or warmed palette knife. Add the coconut to the tart sides by patting it on with the palm of your hand. Decorate with the roasted rhubarb, extra strawberries and edible flowers of your choice.
Notes
Sweet Pastry Tart Base: For my favourite sweet tart base and pâtisserie-style glaze, see the whole tart chapter in my book, 'Teatime in Paris' (pages 69 and 106). Otherwise follow the classic pâte sucrée recipe (sweet tart pastry base) below.
Make-ahead dessert the day before: The strawberry almond tart can be prepared a day in advance then glazed and decorated on the day of serving.
Drinks: Serve with an off-dry Champagne or Darjeeling tea, the Champagne of teas.
I highly recommend using the measures in grams & ml (instead of cups)
for more accuracy and better, consistent results
for more accuracy and better, consistent results
Pâte Sucrée Recipe (Sweet Pastry Dough)
French Pâte sucrée is the best all-round sweet pastry dough for tarts. This is the most basic and easiest French pie crust recipe to work with - taken from my book's tart chapter in Teatime in Paris (2015). The result means no soggy tart bottoms, just a delicious tart pastry base with a touch of vanilla. It's perfect as a base for fruit tarts, chocolate and almond tarts. Makes 500g pastry dough for 1 large tart or 8 tartlets.
Equipment
- loose-bottomed tart tin or tart ring (27-28cm/11" diameter x 3cm)
- stand mixer with paddle attachment optional as dough can be mixed by hand
- Rolling Pin with optional end rings to roll out evenly
- baking beans or washed coins, rice or dried beans
Ingredients
- 125 g (4.5oz/½ cup) unsalted butter at room temperature (not melted), cut into cubes. Chilled if mixing by hand.
- 75 g (2.75oz/½ cup) icing/powdered/confectioner's sugar
- ½ teaspoon sea salt fleur de sel
- 1 medium egg organic (room temperature)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla powder or extract
- 240 g (8.5oz /1.9 cups) T45 French all-purpose/cake flour or plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer with a paddle beater (otherwise mix by hand with cold butter), mix the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt until pale and creamy.
- On low speed, gradually add the egg and flour and mix until combined. Half way during mixing, push the dough down the sides of the bowl and paddle with a spatula. Continue mixing just until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl and stop.
- Form the dough into a ball. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for an hour. Normally you will only need ⅔ of this dough quantity - either freeze the rest or keep it chilled for up to 3 days.
- Remove from the fridge and after 5 minutes (as easier to work with), roll out the pastry to 3-4mm (⅛ inch) thickness on a lightly floured surface. When completely rolled out about 3cm (about an inch) bigger than the tart tin/ring, transfer the dough by rolling around the pastry roller and cover the tart tin. If using a tart ring, place the ring on baking paper or a silicone mat.
- Press well into the tart tin or ring, leaving no air holes around the edges. Trim off excess pastry by rolling over the edges with the rolling pin. Prick evenly with a fork.Leave to set in the fridge uncovered in the tin/ring for at least 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4/360°F.
- Blind bake (top with baking parchment and baking beans - see NOTES) for 15 minutes. Remove baking paper and beans.
- Bake uncovered for a further 5-10 minutes or until the pastry is golden. This step may be optional, depending on the recipe filling's instructions (such as this almond rum tart, which stays in the tin and is baked further with the filling in it).
- Leave to cool for about 5 minutes then remove from the tart tin/ring. Set aside on a wire rack to cool completely before filling.
Notes
For the original detailed step-by-step recipe, see the tart chapter in my book, 'Teatime in Paris' (2015) along with many more tart recipes.
Storage: although this dough can be prepared on the day of baking, it can be made 1-2 days in advance. Keep chilled rolled in cling film until ready to roll or prepare the tart shell and keep covered in the fridge. Otherwise freezes well - either the raw dough or the baked tart shell. Just defrost thoroughly before use.
Flour: Although all-purpose flour is good, I generally prefer a finer T45 (French all-purpose) cake flour for tarts. For more, see FAQs
For chocolate pastry, add 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder to the flour in step 2.
This post was first published 13 June 2016 but has now been updated.
Valentina
Jill, It's almost hard to cut into this tart because just looking at it makes me happy. It's so beautiful and festive and the flavors are perfection. ~Valentina
Jill Colonna
You're so kind, Valentina. It is a jolly tart and makes me happy making it too! Glad you love the flavours.
Bea
That's a wonderful recipe that I can't wait to try. What a gorgeous tea kettle. Quite fitting for the tart. I love it.
Jill Colonna
Have to admit, Bea, I love this too! Hope you make it. I adore the almond and strawberry filling but the best part is having fun in decorating at the end.
tony
beautiful recipe and reads easy to make even for a dummy cook like me…
Jill Colonna
Hehe, lovely. Thanks, Tony. Hope you make this soon!
Mardi (eat. live. travel. write.)
This is absolutely spectacular Jill! A fitting celebration for the Queen! You could give any pâtisserie a run for their money!
Jill Colonna
You're too kind, Mardi, but not at all - have you noticed I just stick to the easy pastries? I leave the complex creations to the pastry chefs.
Mardi (eat. live. travel. write.)
Ah but the thing is it LOOKS harder to make than it is - the perfect dessert!
Jill Colonna
OK, hehe, I'm with you, Mardi. Thank you x
Janice
That looks fantastic, I love almonds and they go really well with rhubarb. Such a pretty hat, shame to eat it...but I would anyway!
Jill Colonna
Totally, Janice. I added some rhubarb compote to almond financiers the other day and it was a dream - this is on the same note.You'd need to eat this pretty fast really, just for the viola flowers 😉
Christina | Christina's Cucina
OMG, it really does look like you made the cake to exactly match the Queen's outfit!
I know I'd love this dessert because there's rhubarb involved! It looks absolutely gorgeous, and I'm sure it tasted the same! I'm curious about the shiny fondant as I've never made one like that before. Will have to look up the recipe in your Teatime in Paris book as we can't buy the other kind here. Merci for another fabulous treat!
Jill Colonna
Thanks Christina. I can't believe I forgot to mention I also made a small tartlet version (see the small photos in method). Lucie just made some simple icing (confectioner's sugar/icing sugar with a dash of water and a TINY spot of pink powdered food colouring) and it worked. Without the fabulous gloss but since it was smaller, it didn't matter. Just cover it with pretty decor like the big one.