Ingredients
- 4 sheets brik pastry
- melted butter
- caster sugar
- hulled strawberries
- Title:Almond cream
- 40g softened butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp Grand Marnier or cognac
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 1/4 cup ground almonds
- Title:Mascarpone cream
- 1 cup mascarpone
- 1 cup whipped cream
- seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
Method
Preheat oven to 210ºC. To make the almond cream, beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until very light and fluffy.
Add the egg, Grand Marnier, flour and ground almonds and whisk well to combine.
Cut each pastry sheet into 4 rounds about 10cm in diameter. Put 1 round on a baking tray, then brush on melted butter and sprinkle with caster sugar. Cover with a second round. Butter and sugar as before.
Spread evenly with almond cream, leaving a border as the cream will spread. Cover with a third round of brik, buttering and sugaring as before, then repeat with a fourth round. Repeat with the remaining 12 pastry rounds, to make 4 tartlet bases altogether. Cover with foil, then lightly weight with a detachable flan base or similar. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove the tin base and foil and bake for a further 3-5 minutes to colour well. Allow to cool.
To make the mascarpone cream, work the mascarpone with a fork until soft, then fold in the cream and vanilla seeds. Spread the cooled tartlet bases with mascarpone cream and cover with whole strawberries.
For a delicious variation, cover the tartlets with stoned fresh cherries instead of strawberries.
