Strawberries and Cream Tart with Frangelico

It is almost strawberry season here in Virginia and I am dreaming of all these cakes and pastries that you find in polish bakeries or on polish tables.  They were light but rich.  Made with 5 basic ingredients no preservatives or fillers.  Fresh fruit mixed with airy dough or creme put together in a tart or cake.  This one is one of those recipes that starts my taste buds in a childhood memories.  Running in the spring flowering fields, making flower crowns and weaving them through our hair, eating wild berries.  Guilt free pleasures, yummy.

You will need: 1lb container of strawberries, 1 stick (minus 1tbs) of unsalted butter (7tbs), 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, 1/2 cup sugar (or less), Frangelico (hazelnut liquor). 

You can use other nut liquors like: Amaretto (Almond), Dumante (Pistachio) etc.  You can also opt out of heavy whipping cream and use ready whipped cream available in your grocery store.  There is something very special about using your own cream first it is not as sweet, second it is not as processed and not as heavy.

In a mixer mix together flour, powdered sugar and 7tbs of butter.

When it is all incorporated roll into a ball and chill for 30 minutes. 

When the dough is chilling cut up all but 4 of the strawberries and add 2 tbs of sugar (more or less depending on the sweetness of the fruit)

and 2tbs Frangelico.  You can omit it, subsitute with vanilla or add some dried lavender for extra layer of flavor.

Cook over small heat until soften.

Fill a muffin tin (approx 8 muffins) with chilled dough, poke with fork bake in 200 deg oven for about 30 min.

When the shells are cooking, whip the heavy cream with 3 tbs of sugar

 After about 30 seconds add 3 more tbs of frangelico to the whipped cream

Do not overwhip or you will end up with this?  What is this you may ask… This is the best tasting butter evrrrr and if by any chance you end up at this stop sign do not throw it out.  Use it on your raisin toast/bagel in the morning, make french toast with it, or just use it as butter in your next baking project.

Once the shells are ready remove from the pan and cool.  Top with strawberry mixture making sure you have drained the liquid before hand (you can just drink it or use in an oatmeal/cereal next morning).

Place on a nicer plate.

Top with the cream and a strawberry for decoration

The crisp crunchy shell and the fluffy inside will melt you away.  Cheers to the childhood memories that involved real food and not a package of twinkies, poptarts or whatever “food” we seem to be eating lately.