Valentine's Day Tart

17/11/2023

The Valentine’s Day Tart is a romantic version of the classic tart, often decorated with hearts and other love symbols. To make your culinary intentions special, I will suggest a tart with a shortcrust pastry base and a strawberry jam filling – strawberries are a symbol of Venus and thus of love. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

For the shortcrust pastry:

300 g of ‘00’ flour
150 g of cold butter, diced
150 g of sugar
1 whole egg + 1 yolk
A pinch of salt
Grated zest of 1 lemon (optional)

For the filling:

Strawberry jam as needed (about 300 g)

For the decoration:

Leftover shortcrust pastry
Icing sugar (optional)

Preparation

Begin with the preparation of the shortcrust pastry: in a bowl, mix flour and butter until a crumbly mixture is achieved.
Add sugar, a pinch of salt, and lemon zest to flavour.
Incorporate the whole egg and yolk and knead until a homogenous dough is formed. Wrap it in cling film and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
In the meantime, grease and flour a tart tin, preferably heart-shaped if available.
Roll out the shortcrust pastry on a lightly floured surface and gently lay it into the tin, cutting off the excess.
Prick the base with a fork to prevent it from puffing up during baking, then spread an even layer of strawberry jam.
With the leftover pastry, cut out strips or heart shapes and arrange them on the jam for decoration.
Bake the tart in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
Let it cool before dusting with icing sugar if desired, then serve your sweet creation.

Curiosity

The tart is a dessert with very ancient origins, dating back even to the times of the Roman Empire. The modern version, with jam, became popular over the centuries and is personalized according to the holiday with thematic decorations as in the case of Valentine’s Day. Sharing a homemade sweet is a way to show affection and care for a loved one.

Happy Valentine’s Day and enjoy the preparation!