May is one of my favorite months – blooming spring, beautiful flowers, delicious strawberries, and of course Mother’s Day! Strawberry Tart with Mascarpone Cream is perfect for Mother’s Day, with the start of the strawberry season. This tart combines the mellow sweetness of the strawberries, the richness of the cream filling and the buttery crust. You can be assured your mother will be delighted to enjoy this with you.
This is a classic tart that we make in Italy with different fruits depending on the season. This strawberry mascarpone tart has a buttery thin pastry, the mascarpone cream layer doesn’t overpower the taste of the fresh strawberries, which are flavored with rose water and are the delicious topping of this heavenly dessert.
Unfortunately, this year I will not be able to spend Mother’s Day with my mom, as the quarantines have altered what was a much anticipated trip home. Regardless of the circumstances, I decided to prepare this cake to celebrate with my mom over Zoom. My mom Edy is an extraordinary woman – she is very loving, kind and caring. And she has incredible taste – most of my sense of style I owe to her teaching.
This day our thoughts also go to Rob’s mother Marcelle, who is also a wonderful cook! Unfortunately, the celebrations with our mothers will be via Zoom this year – we can’t wait to visit them soon!
Why you will love this recipe
-Strawberry and Mascarpone are a classic Italian combination, where the sweetness of fresh strawberries meets the richness of the lavish mascarpone.
– it is made with seasonal ingredients, in line with Italian Kitchen Confessions’cooking philosophy.
– the crust is thin and buttery, making it easier to digest.
– it is a great spring dessert and perfect to celebrate Mother’s Day.
– you can adapt it accordingly to the season.
Strawberry Tart with Mascarpone Cream recipe ingredients
The ingredients for this Strawberry Tart with Mascarpone Cream for Mother’s Day are very simple. You probably already have many of them in your pantry, but I want to share with you more about 2 ingredients in particular.
Mascarpone: It is an Italian cheese somewhat similar to cream cheese. Its origin is in the Lombardy region of Italy. I usually use it to make cream-based desserts (such as tiramisu), to enrich a risotto, and to cook a creamy pasta.
Rose water: the second main ingredient is rose water, which is typical of the Middle East and has been used since ancient times for its tonic and restorative properties. As is common in the region, you can use it to flavor iced teas, syrups, and desserts – I added it to give this dessert a springtime flavor.
Strawberry Tart with Mascarpone Cream Recipe Variations
This recipe could also lead to different variations, based on whatever fruits are in season, giving life to an array of different recipes and flavors. In the summer, peaches would be great to sub for strawberries. As the weather gets colder, you can sub pears in the fall.
This tart stays good for 3 days if it lasts that long! Store it in the fridge and remove it 30 minutes before eating your portion, so that the butter in the crust will not be congealed.
OTHER RECIPES FOR YOU
Do you have extra strawberries left? Make your own jam, check my Strawberry Rhubard Jam, made with low and without pectin.
Which wine to pair with the Strawberry Tart with Mascarpone Cream
The Strawberry Tart with Mascarpone Cream pairs nicely with a sweet wine, given the contrast between the buttery crust, rich cream filling and acidity of the fresh strawberries. My top suggested pairing is with Spumante d’Asti Moscato, a white sparkling sweet wine from the Piedmont region of Italy. Of course, I have a personal bias towards sparkling wines. Another option – a bit more adventurous but a bit harder to find – would be the Recioto from Gambellara, which is a lovely white sweet wine from the Veneto region. This is not to be confused with Recioto from Valpolicella, which is a red sweet wine.
Equipment
- Blender
- Round baking pie 10 in/ 25cm
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
Pastry
- 1 ¼ cup plain all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup caster superfine sugar
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 pinch salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter chilled and cut into small cubes
- 1 egg yolk at room temperature
Mascarpone Cream
- 9 tbsp mascarpone cheese
- ¼ cup caster superfine sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp plain all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp rose water ( see notes)
Topping
- 3 cup strawberries
- 2 tsp rose water ( see notes)
- 2 tbsp strawberry jam
Instructions
To make the pastry dough
- Gather the first four ingredients in a bowl, with a pinch of salt and then add the egg. Work the dough with 2 tablespoons of water. At the beginning, some crumbles will form – do not worry, just keep on working the dough until you will reach a smooth consistency as pictured below:
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375° F / 190 ° C. Cut a piece of baking paper that fits a 10 in / 26 cm baking tin. Soak and squeeze the baking paper (see Notes).
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out the dough over the baking paper. Insert the baking paper with the rolled out pastry inside the tin. Trim the pastry edges with a knife or mold it nicely with your hands. It will look like this:
- Cover the pastry with baking paper and fill it with uncooked dry beans. Bake it for 15 minutes then remove it and allow it to cool down.
- Reduce the oven to 325° F / 160 ° C.
To make the mascarpone cream
- Blend all the ingredients together to obtain a spreadable cream.
- Cover the pastry with the cream and make sure to smooth the surface - it will look like this:
- Bake the pastry in the oven for 40 minutes.
To make the strawberry topping
- While the tart is baking, wash, dry, remove the stems and cut in half all of the strawberries. Keep one strawberry whole to place it in the center.
- Prepare the glazing sauce by combining in a small saucepan 2 tablespoons of strawberry marmalade, 2 teaspoons of rose water and a bit of water. Cook until the marmalade dissolves, as in the picture.Bake the pie in the oven, preheated at 325° for 40 minutes.
- Strain the sauce through a small colander.
- Remove the cake from the oven, put the strawberries in concentric circles until you arrive in the center and brush the top of the strawberries with the sauce. This will give them a beautiful glossy aspect:
Notes
- The rose water is a typical Middle Easter ingredient. You can find it at any grocery store in the region. If you live outside this region, I recommend you to look for it in a specialty store.
- I always soak the baking paper in water and squeeze it right after - this will avoid the paper from burning.
- If you want to reduce the total time, I recommend you use a ready-made pastry that you can buy at any grocery store. That said - I like to get my hands dirty!
- If you are on a gluten-free diet: I recommend you use a mix of almond and gluten-free flour in case of severe intolerance. Alternatively, you could just make the pastry lighter, using a mix of 65% all-purpose flour and 35% gluten-free flour.
- This tart is best consumed within 2 days left at room temperature. In the refrigerator it can last up to 3 days.
- Wine pairing recommendations: Spumante d’Asti Moscato in the Piedmont region, Recioto from Gambellara area in the Veneto region.
Nutrition
Recipe card powered by WP Recipe Maker
