Old Fashioned Strawberry Tart

-PASTRY CREAM-
1 c Milk
1/4 c Sugar
3 Egg yolks
3 tb Flour
1 ts Vanilla
2 pt Strawberries; up to 3

-GLAZE-
1 c Strawberry preserves
2 tb Kirsch

GARNISH
1/2 c Toasted; sliced almonds
Confectioners sugar

For the dough, beat the butter and sugar with the paddle on medium speed
until very soft and light. Beat in the vanilla and the yolk and continue
beating until smooth and shiny, about 3 more minutes. Stop the mixer, sift
the cake flour and add to the butter mixture. Pulse the mixer on and off to
incorporate the flour. Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic, wrap and
chill it until firm.

For the pastry cream, combine the milk and half the sugar in a saucepan
over low heat. Whisk the yolks with the remaining sugar and sift the flour
over and whisk it in. Beat 1/3 of the boiling milk into the yolk mixture
and return the remaining milk to a boil. Beat the yolk mixture into the
boiling milk and continue beating until the cream thickens and comes to a
boil. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Scrape the cream onto a
clean plate, cover with plastic wrap and chill.

Roll the dough and fit it into a 10- to 11-inch tart pan or several
individual tart pans. Cut a disk of parchment paper to fit the inside of
the dough and fill with dried beans. Bake the tart shell at 325 degrees
about 20 minutes, until set. Remove the paper and beans and continue baking
5 minutes more to color the pastry. Do not over-bake. Cool the shell in the
pan.

Spread the cooled pastry cream on the cooled tart shell. Rinse, hull and
halve the berries and arrange them on the pastry cream. Bring the preserves
and Kirsch to a boil and strain. Reduce to thicken if necessary. Brush the
glaze on the berries. Edge the tart with the almonds and sprinkle the
almonds with the confectioners’ sugar.

Notes: Recipe courtesy of Nick Malgieri