Chocolate Strawberry Tart (vegan)

Crisp chocolate pastry filled with chocolate creme patisserie and juicy strawberries.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Keyword tart

Prep Time 50

Cook Time 40

Servings 8 people

Author Domestic Gothess

Make sure that you have prepared the vegan chocolate pastry cream before starting on the rest of the tart so that it has time to chill.
Place the flour, cocoa powder, icing sugar and salt either in a bowl or a food processor and mix. Add the butter and rub in with your fingers or pulse in the food processor until it resembles sand.
Add the cold vodka (if using) and mix to combine. Gradually add enough cold water to bring the pastry together into a ball. Shape the pastry into a disc (don't knead it), wrap and refrigerate for about an hour until firm enough to roll out.
Roll out the chilled pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is large enough to line a 23-25 cm (9-10 in) loose bottomed tart tin. Place the pastry in the tin and gently press it into the corners then trim off the excess.
Prick the base of the pastry shell all over with a fork then place it in the freezer for 20 minutes until solid. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4.
Line the pastry case with baking parchment, pressing it right into the corners, then fill with baking beans or dried rice, making sure that the sides are propped up.
Bake for 25 minutes then remove the parchment and baking beans and return the tart shell to the oven for a further 15 minutes until dry to the touch. Set aside to cool.

Place the tart case on a serving plate. Melt the 50g of chocolate and brush it all over the inside of the pastry case with a pastry brush, set aside until the chocolate has set (this helps to create a barrier between the pastry and the filling to stop the pastry from going soggy).
Once the chocolate has solidified, beat the chilled pastry cream until it is smooth and spreadable, then spread it evenly over the inside of the pastry case. Arrange the strawberry slices in concentric circles on top of the creme patisserie.
Gently heat the apricot jam (either in a small saucepan or in bursts in the microwave) until runny. Pass it through a sieve to remove any pieces of fruit and stir in a splash of boiling water to thin it slightly. Gently brush the strawberry slices with the jam using a pastry brush.
Keep the tart refrigerated, it is best served shortly after filling.

See post above for tips, details and step-by-step photos.
All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup coversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!