Strawberry Citrus Tart with Fresh Berries
Warm weather means delicious berries and bright citrus. Well, if you could taste the weather, that’s what it would taste like. So I decided to make an easy Strawberry Citrus Tart to capture the flavors of the day. And for bonus points, it’s super cute looking too.
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Story Time
My husband can’t take me anywhere. I’m an impulsive buyer and will always try to throw things into the cart that I just NEED right now or I will NOT be able to function. Did I also mention that I’m a Drama Queen?
So, months ago, we were at Trader Joe’s (oh how I miss grocery shopping…) and I found these adorable little jars of Italian strawberries and Amarena cherries. I’ve seen Cupcake Jemma do amazing things with those cherries, so naturally I HAD to have them.
Italian Strawberries & Amarena Cherries
Thing is, I had no idea what to do with them. So they’ve been keeping my tea company in the pantry. But finally, I decided to use those strawberries to make the strawberry gelee on my Strawberry Citrus Tart. While I planned on using the strawberries as a pretty decoration on the tart, they actually looked very un-pretty.
Do you have any ideas for the Amarena cherries? It took me like five months to figure out how to use the strawberries, so I’m all ears! Leave a comment below to help inspire a future recipe!
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Strawberry Citrus Tart
This Strawberry Citrus Tart features a citrus infused pastry shell, citrus cream cheese mousse, and a strawberry gelee. It’s a perfect balance of flavor and sweetness that you are going to love.
Related Reading: Lemon Blueberry Cake
Personally, I love this recipe because it is practically a no-bake dessert. You will have to bake the pastry shell, but that’s it for any hard work. After the shell is cool, you can quickly whip up the filling and let that chill before making the gelee.
Citrus Infused Sweet Shortcrust Pastry Shell
I used orange zest to infuse the sweet shortcrust pastry and cream cheese mousse with bright citrus notes. You could absolutely swap that out for another citrus. Lemon would be delicious and grapefruit might be interesting. If you try a different citrus, let me know how it goes!
This is the same pastry dough that I used in my Cherry Almond Tart. It’s simple to make and tastes incredible. I used the zest of half an orange to flavor the crust, but you could back it up a bit for a more mild take. This crust smells ah-mazing and adds so much flavor to the tart.
Related Reading: Custard Tart with a Chocolate Pastry Shell
Citrus Cream Cheese Mousse
Originally I planned on making this with mascarpone cheese, but our grocery store only had cream cheese. Use whichever you can get your hands on because it will be delicious either way! I ended up only using about ⅔ of the mousse. Use up that extra goodness as a fruit dip for fresh berries! Or dollop it on pancakes or waffles.
This recipe came from the same pastry school textbook as my Almond- Pecan Spice Muffins and French Bread recipes. It is supposed to be flavored with mint, but using the zest of half an orange was perfect for my Strawberry Citrus Tart. It’s light, creamy, and not too sweet!
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Strawberry Gelee
Full disclosure, this gelee did not work for me. It tasted crazy good, but it was more like a soupy, saucy mess than a gelee. That didn’t stop Ben from lapping it up while I finished my photo shoot!
For the recipe in this post, I slightly increased the gelatin amount and did a little research. According to Recipe 52, some fruit juices will prevent gelatin from solidifying. You can heat the fruit juice first so that this doesn’t happen. Then the juice will have to be chilled in order to bloom the gelatin.
Tart Assembly
Fill the citrus infused tart shell nearly to the top. You’ll want to have room for that gelee. Use a small offset spatula and a turntable (if you have one) to get a perfectly smooth mousse. A flat, even top will give your gelee a better finish.
I chilled my tart in the fridge for an hour before making the gelee, but I feel like 20 minutes in the freezer might work well too. Pour the warm, not hot, gelee over the back of a spoon onto the filling. This just prevents it from disrupting the surface of the mousse. Set in the fridge for two hours before decorating with orange slices and berries.
Enjoy!
Heavy desserts can be a little too much during the hot days of summer. Instead, whip up this light, bright Strawberry Citrus Tart. Orange zest flavors the crust and mousse filling and intense Italian strawberries top this beautiful tart. And if beautiful desserts are your kind of thing, follow @bakesandblunders on Instagram!
Strawberry Citrus Tart
Ingredients
Citrus Infused Sweet Shortcrust Pastry Shell
- 113 grams unsalted butter cubed and chilled (1/2 cup)
- 180 grams all-purpose flour (6.3 oz)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 50 grams sugar (1.75 oz)
- Zest of half an orange
- 1 egg yolk
- 2-3 Tbsps cold water
Citrus Cream Cheese Mousse
- 96 g sugar (3.2 oz)
- 48 ml water (1.6 oz)
- 240 g cream cheese (8 oz)
- Zest of half an orange
- 240 ml heavy whipping cream (8 oz)
Strawberry Gelee
- 3/4 cup strawberry syrup
- 1 1/2 tsps unflavored gelatin
Instructions
Citrus Infused Sweet Shortcrust Pastry Shell
- Cube the butter and place in the fridge to stay cold while you gather the rest of your ingredients. Place the flour, salt, sugar, and orange zest in your food processor and pulse until combined.
- Scatter the cold, cubed butter evenly over the flour mixture. Pulse 3-4 times. Scrape down the bowl, then pulse 3-4 more times. The mixture should look like sand.
- Add the egg yolk and pulse another 2- 3 times. The mixture will look about the same, but with a slight yellow tinge.
- While the food processor is running, drizzle in 2 tablespoons of the cold water. If the dough is too dry to hold itself together, add up to one more tablespoon a little bit at a time. You don't want the mixture to become too wet.
- Once the dough is finished. Dump it onto some cling wrap. Use the cling wrap to shape it into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disc, wrap and chill for 30 - 45 minutes. You can chill the dough for longer, just let it warm up on the counter until it is pliable, but still cold.
- After the pastry dough has had enough time to chill, roll the dough into a 12 inch circle on a lightly floured work surface. Continue to move the dough around to make sure it is not sticking. Add more flour underneath if it begins to stick.
- Either drape your rolled out dough over your rolling pin, or fold it up into quarters and place it into your tart pan. Gently press the dough into the corners and along the ridged sides of the pan. Once the dough is how you like it, run the rolling pin over the top of the tart pan to trim off the excess dough. Chill the tart shell in the fridge for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 380°F.
- Once the dough is chilled, prick the bottom of the shell all over with a fork to prevent it from puffing up in the oven. Use an oven bag or parchment paper and cover the shell with pie weights. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove the pie weights and bake for an additional 10- 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the shell to cool completely before assembling.
Citrus Cream Cheese Mousse
- Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and heat for one minute. Set aside to cool for 5- 10 minutes.
- Cube the cream cheese and microwave on half power until it reaches 90°F. It should take 2- 3 30 second bursts, stirring between each burst.
- Stir the sugar syrup into the cream cheese until the mixture is smooth. Use your spatula to flatten and smooth out any lumps. The mixture will be warm, but should not be hot.
- In a chilled bowl, whip the orange zest and heavy cream until you have soft- medium peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
- Fill your cool pastry shell nearly to the top with the mousse. Leave space for the strawberry gelee. There will be extra mousse. Place the tart into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
Strawberry Gelee
- Heat the syrup in the microwave or in a saucepan until just before it begins to boil. Transfer the syrup to a container and let it cool in the fridge. You can do this step in advance.
- Place half of the scalded and cool syrup into a small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin on top and let it bloom for 5- 10 minutes, or until completely absorbed.
- Heat just until the gelatin is dissolved. Do NOT let it boil! Whisk in the remaining syrup and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
- Pour the gelee over the back of a spoon onto the chilled tart. Chill in the fridge for 1- 2 hours before decorating and serving.
Notes
- I used a jar of Trader Joe's Italian Strawberries for the syrup.
- Decorate with fresh red berries and orange slices.
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Colleen
Hi there! I’m Colleen, a novice baker with a passion for learning and improving my bakes… and blunders. On Bakes and Blunders, you can find all sorts of tasty recipes that range in difficulty, but most importantly, I’ll try to explain the reason behind important steps. If you know why a recipe works, you can tweak and adapt it to suit your unique tastes, and you’ll be able to reliably produce some very delicious treats. If you love baking and want to expand and grow your skills, or if you are a casual baker and just need some pointers, my blog is right up your alley! Join me on my baking journey and we’ll learn how to make more impressive recipes together.
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