Tart

Strawberry Rye Tart and Review: Sweeter off The Vine

Let’s be honest. I only got Sweeter off the Vine for Yossy Arefi’s photographs. I follow her on instagram and love all her pictures. So I kind of already knew I would like this book.

I love baking with fruits and if you do too, this book is a gem. The book is categorized into different seasons and baking with fruits available during these seasons. Of course the fruit available will depend on the place you stay and these days some fruits are available throughout the year but the book focuses on seasonal fruits and baking with them, which I love.

The Spring section has herbs, rhubarb, strawberries and cherries based recipes. Summer uses apricots, mixed berries, melons, stone fruits, raspberries and figs. Grapes, permissons, pomegranates, apples, pears, quince, squash and pumpkins feature in fall recipes. And winter has recipes using cranberries, citrus and dates.

Initially I wanted to try a rhubarb based recipe since I have always wanted to bake with rhubarb but sadly it has not yet not arrived at my local grocery store’s shelves. So I went for the strawberry tart. Yossy mentions that this is the easiest tart to put together and she is right. Not only is it quick to make, the tart shell uses rye flour in it. That there makes me feel less guilty taking bite after bite of the tart.

I made a few small changes to the recipe- instead of mascarpone cheese, which I was out of, I used a mixture of cream cheese, sour cream and cream. I read that it is a good enough substitute for mascarpone cheese. Also I was out of strawberry jam and I thought of using some cranberry sauce I had, but when it came to assembling I forgot to add it before placing the strawberries. I realised too late, so instead I used this acai sauce I got in Try The World box. The results were great- the filling is not overtly sweet and the rye crust has a slight nutty salty taste to it which I loved. I can’t wait to try more of the recipes in the book.

Strawberry Rye Tart and Review: Sweeter off The Vine

Serves: 15 by 6 inch tart

Ingredients

Rye pie crust:
85 gms all purpose flour
85 gms rye flour
1/2 tsp salt
128 gms cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp ice water
1 large egg for egg wash
For the topping:
450 gms small sweet strawberries
225 gms mascarpone (or use my variation of cream cheese, sour cream and heavy cream)
2 tbsp vanilla sugar or plain granulated sugar, plus 1 tbsp for sprinkling
3 tbsp high quality strawberry jam

Instructions

In a bowl combine the flours and salt.
Add the vinegar to water.
Add the butter to the flour and toss to coat. Using your fingers press each cubes of butter into a flat sheet, tossing with the flour to coat each other until all the butter pieces are coated with flour.
Sprinkled about 4 tbsp of the ice cold vinegar water mixture. Combine with a gentle touch until just combined.
Press the dough together and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill dough for at least 2 hours or preferable overnight.
Preheat oven to 200 F.
Between two sheets of parchment paper roll the dough out to a 15 by 6 inch rectangle, just under 1/4 inch thick.
Use a fork to make marks on the dough, to prevent it from puffing up.
Transfer dough to a baking sheet.
Brush the surface with egg wash, and bake for 25-30 minutes. It will be golden brown when done.
Cool the crust completely on the pan.
While the crust is cooling, combine the mascarpone with the 2 tbsp sugar.
Slice the strawberries into 1/4 inch slices.
Move the crust to your platter. Spread the mascarpone evenly. Dot with the jam, then arrange the sliced strawberry. Sprinkle tart with the remaining 1 tbsp sugar. Serve immediately.