Strawberry Mascarpone Tart Recipes

Steps:

• Make tart shell:
• Blend together flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Beat together yolk, vanilla, lemon juice, and water with a fork, then drizzle over flour mixture and stir with fork (or pulse) until mixture comes together.
• Gently knead with floured hands on a lightly floured surface until a dough forms, then gently knead 4 or 5 times. Press into a 5-inch disk. Place in center of tart pan and cover with plastic wrap. Using your fingers and bottom of a flat-bottomed measuring cup, spread and push dough to evenly cover bottom and side of pan. Prick bottom of tart shell all over with a fork and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.
• Line tart shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until side is set and edge is pale golden, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and continue to bake until shell is deep golden all over, about 20 minutes more. Cool in pan, about 45 minutes.
• Make filling while tart shell cools:
• Stir together strawberries and granulated sugar in a bowl and let stand, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Strain in a sieve set over a small saucepan, reserving berries. Add Port to liquid in saucepan and boil until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl to cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, whisk together mascarpone, confectioners sugar, lemon juice, zest, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until stiff.
• Assemble tart:
• Spread mascarpone mixture evenly in cooled tart shell, then top with strawberries. Drizzle Port glaze all over tart.

Steps:

• Special equipment: 3-inch round cookie cutter
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
• In a small bowl add 1/2 cup of sugar and the salt. Stir to combine and pour about half of it evenly onto a work surface. With your hands, press the dough into the sugar and roll out into a flat disk, about 1/2-inch thick. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 of the sugar evenly over the top of the dough and press it a few times to adhere. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a thickness of about 1/8-inch, turning and flipping as you roll to incorporate the sugar into the dough and to keep it from sticking to the surface. With a 3-inch round cutter, cut out 12 dough rounds and arrange them on the lined baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and bake until crisp and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool the crisp rounds completely on the pan.
• Meanwhile, pour the balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan and bring it to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer until thick and syrupy, about 4 minutes; it should still swirl in the pan. If too thick, simply add about a teaspoon of balsamic, stir, and remove from the heat.
• Put the strawberries in a small bowl and sprinkle them with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let them stand until juicy, 5 to 10 minutes. To assemble the tarts, spread about 2 teaspoons mascarpone on each crisp dough round with a spoon or small offset spatula. Using a spoon to drain any excess liquid, put about 1 tablespoon of diced strawberries on the top of each tart. Drizzle a little balsamic syrup over the tarts and serve immediately.
• Cook's Note: The sugared dough scraps can be tossed with cinnamon and baked in the 400 degree F oven until browned and crisp as a treat for the little ones. Leftover strawberries or balsamic syrup are delicious over ice cream!

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together the orange zest and sugar.
• Add the butter, salt and flour, and work mixture with your fingers until ingredients are course and crumbly.
• Next add the egg yolk and mix with you hands until the dough is pale yellow.
• Add vanilla, and work the dough until it holds together, adding a tbsp or two of the ice water as needed.
• Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least ½ hour.
• Preheat oven to 350.
• Roll out the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface.
• Place it into a 10" pie plate, crimp the edges, and poke the bottom of the crust in several places with a fork.
• Bake in oven for about 15 minutes, or until crust is light and golden.
• Set crust aside to cool.
• Chop the strawberries into bite size pieces.
• Next mix the mascarpone cheese, confectioners' sugar and oj concentrate (or liqueur) in a bowl.
• Fold in half of the strawberries, and refrigerate until ready to fill the tart shell.
• Dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water and combine with the orange juice concentrate and confectioners' sugar in a small saucepan. Heat until it bubbles; then stir on low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until it thickens to a syrup. Cool the syrup to room temperature, and then stir in the amaretto.
• Coat the remaining strawberries with the glaze.
• Spread the mascarpone filling evenly in the pastry shell. Arrange the glazed strawberries in one or two rings around the edge of the tart, reserving four large halves for the center. Drizzle on any remaining glaze. Chill the tart until ready to serve.