strawberry-buttermilk-tart
It seems to me that the Grand Diplôme program has about 47 lessons in pastry which, in my book, may just be 45 too many. But at the very least, I’ll be learning the difference among them, which is probably a basic culinary knowledge requirement.
We begin, class, with Pâte Sucrée, a rich, slighty sweet pastry made with flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. This is the backbone for sweet tarts and pies (though people also make pies, of course, with pâte brisée, a pastry dough made without sugar and sometimes without egg). It’s nice to have options.
I made this tart to bring to a barbecue on Saturday night. This means I spent hours on a rainy Saturday afternoon, listening to Lauryn Hill, showing off my mad rapping skillz, slicing strawberries, rolling out dough, and admiring the silver shine of a tart pan. My meditation practice, sadly, has never really made the jump from “sporadic thing I do” to “part of my daily routine” but weekend baking is a great stand-in. In the relaxed assemblage of a baked good, it seems we have no choice but to be in the moment and enjoy the crack of thunder and hiss of rain on the black pavement.
Continue reading “Pâte Sucrée: Strawberry Tart with Buttermilk Vanilla Pastry Cream” »
