At the beginning of June, the Gariguettes arrive, and they don’t stay long. Three weeks, four if the summer is kind. This tart is the most honest way to showcase them — without drowning them in cream or overcooking them to death.
Ingredients :
- Gariguette or Ciflorette strawberries — These two varieties have a natural acidity that holds up even with sugar around them. Mara des bois also work but are more fragile to handle. Avoid calibrated Spanish strawberries — too much water, not enough taste. For the final garnish, choose them of uniform size, you’ll spend less time fighting with the assembly.
- NH Pectin — This is what gives the confit its supple and shiny texture. Unlike classic yellow pectin, NH is heat-reversible — you can reheat the confit if it sets too much. You can find it in organic stores, on Amazon, or in specialty pastry shops. Without it, replace with 1:1 gelling sugar and reduce the recipe’s sugar by 10g.
- Unsalted butter 82% fat content — The percentage really matters here. An 80% butter contains more water, and you can feel it in the dough — it will be less crumbly, less crispy. Charentes-Poitou AOP or Président butter are good. For the almond cream, it must be softened (pommade) — taken out 2h before or 15 seconds in the microwave, not melted.
- Almond flour — It works in two places in the recipe: in the dough for the sandy texture, and in the cream for the softness. Get it fresh — rancid almond flour smells like wet cardboard and it shows in the final taste. If you want a more pronounced flavor, you can toast it for 5 minutes in the oven at 160°C before use.
