Farm Fresh Strawberry Tarts (with video)

Farm Fresh Strawberry Tarts, of buttery rich pastry, cream or coconut milk custard and lots of fresh strawberries, are a delicious way to welcome spring!

Easy Strawberry Tarts
Easy Strawberry Tarts

Farm Fresh Strawberries – The Gift Of Spring

When the earth has been frozen and asleep for winter, strawberry season seems the first fruit to announce that the lazy days of summer are to come. 

I live just outside the nation’s capital, tucked inside farm and horse country, between city life and coastal living. 

Just up the road from me is my favorite strawberry patch. During the long sleepy months of winter, these strawberry patches are covered and left to rest. 

Winter Strawberry Patch
Winter Strawberry Patch

Farm Life

When the black tarps, winter’s blankets, are removed from the strawberry plants, of nearby farms, I know spring is soon on its way. 

After a sunny month of growing, locals look forward to filling their baskets with as many strawberries as they are able to pick.

Consequently, a multitude of recipes created for this ruby red fresh fruit, will follow. 

Dare I say, I have indulged in many a recipe creation inspired by these luscious fruits of spring.  

Farm Fresh Picked Strawberries
Farm Fresh Picked Strawberries

What Is Needed For A Farm To Table Fruit Tart?

Basically, we need fresh fruits, fruits we can often shop for all year in order to adorn a lovely tart recipe. 

However, there is a wholesomeness many of us glean from taking a drive out to a local farmer’s market, or ‘pick your own’ nearby farm, and gather our own. 

Besides the freshness of the fruit, it reminds us of the laborious life a farmer endures in order to provide such delicacies to our table. 

While a fresh strawberry tart is what I’m after in spring, when autumn rolls around and strawberries are finished for the year, figs are the fruit that will wrap up summer, and so I began to grow my own. But that is a fruit story for another time.

A Strawberry Tart First Needs A Tart Crust

Sometimes a puff pastry, in a pinch, can be used but a basic butter and flour pie dough, or a nut pastry, formed into a tart crust, are my personal preference. 

Once a pastry has been decided on, a luscious creamy custard is going inside of the pastry.

The custard can be baked inside of the crust, or a cooked custard that is later added to a crust you might choose to blind bake. 

I prefer to bake the custard right inside of the crust; I find it easier. 

Blind baking requires weights placed in the crust while it bakes, an extra step I’m usually not interested in, especially when the strawberries are going to steal the show anyway!

Easy Pie Crust Hack

What Is A Tart Pan?

Tart pans are a metal baking pan with shallow sides and often a removable bottom, making them easy to remove once baked.

While there are many tart pans available, I prefer Mason jar lids as a mini-tart pan for a variety of reasons:

  • Inexpensive and varied in size
  • Designed for high heat and reusable
  • Removable bottoms make for easy individual servings
Mason jar lids as removable bottom tart pans.
Mason Jar Lids As Removable Bottom Tart Pans

Strawberry Tart Custards

Since there are several types of custards that can be used for easy strawberry tarts, we have choices:

I have chosen a coconut cream, egg custard, because it is fast and easy, and there are less worries about dairy when serving at a gathering. 

Farm Fresh Strawberry Tarts

How To Make Farm Fresh Strawberry Tarts

Besides the pastry, which I prefer to toss into a food processor to form the dough quickly, the rest is as easy as shaping a cookie dough.

Easily whisked by hand, is the custard that gets poured into the pastry lined tart pans, and baked. 

Once the tarts are cool, the sweet strawberries are sliced to lay on top with a strawberry glaze brushed over the top. 

Farm Fresh Strawberries and Strawberry Tarts
Farm Fresh Strawberries and Strawberry Tarts

Ingredients Needed

  • Butter
  • Flour
  • Sugar
  • Salt
  • Eggs
  • Whole milk Cream or Coconut milk
  • Vanilla Extract or a liquor of your choice
  • Strawberries
  • Strawberry jam
  • Confectioner’s sugar or shredded coconut
Farm Fresh Springtime Strawberries
Farm Fresh Springtime Strawberries

Equipment Needed

  • Food processor or hand mixer
  • Rolling pin
  • Mason Jar Lids or small tart pans
  • Cookie or biscuit cutter to size the dough for tart pans
  • Cutting board
  • Chopping knife
  • Baking sheet pan
  • Basting brush
  • Oven

More Fresh Strawberry Treats To Love

Once springtime arrives, the local farmer markets reopen their stands to bring to us, their labor of love fruits and vegetables.

It’s easy to create dozens of recipes around these ruby red strawberry gems that are the first fruits to peel back winter and remind us of the delicious months ahead.

Here are just a few of the strawberry recipes I look forward to each spring and throughout the summer months.

Button Cups with Homemade Almond Butter and Homemade Strawberry Jam
Button Cups with Homemade Almond Butter and Homemade Strawberry Jam
Farm Fresh Strawberry Tarts

Farm Fresh Strawberry Tarts

Farm fresh strawberries with a dairy or coconut milk custard for the first bites of spring’s strawberry tarts.
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Pies
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Strawberry Tarts
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 10 servings

Equipment

  • 12 Mason jar lids or tart tins
  • Rolling Pin
  • Baking sheet pan
  • Mixing bowl and whisk

Ingredients

  • Crust
  • 8 oz Butter cold, unsalted
  • 1 3/4 cup All purpose flour more for dusting
  • 2 tbsp Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 Egg fork whipped
  • 1-2 tbsp Cold water as needed
  • Custard
  • 2 cups Whole milk, heavy cream or full fat coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup Sugar
  • 3 Eggs room temperature
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Extract or liquor
  • Topping
  • 2 dozen Whole Strawberries about 1 1/2 strawberry per tart
  • 1/2 cup Strawberry jam
  • 1 tbsp Rum or liquor
  • 2 tbsp Powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to medium heat of 350
  • Crust – To prepare the tart shell place the butter and dry ingredients into a food processor, blender or with an electric mixer and give it a whirl to combine the ingredients.
    Slowly whisk in the egg and water until the pastry comes together into a ball. The right amount of texture can be obtained by adding a sprinkle more of either flour or water, until a soft ball forms.  
  • On a floured surface, with a rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness.
    Shape and fit the crust into the tart pans. 
  • For a creamy filling, whisk the cream (of choice), sugar, eggs, salt and extract in a medium bowl until creamy and light. Pour evenly into prepared tart shells, about halfway up the sides. 
    Transfer tart pans to a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  • Bake about 20 – 25 minutes until pastry is golden brown and the custard is firm. Cool on a wire rack.
  • Topping – Slice the strawberries very thin and place across the tops of each baked tart, keeping the shape of the strawberry.
    Mix strawberry jam and rum together and brush a little across the tops of the strawberries. A dusting of powdered sugar can be added just before serving. 

Video

Notes

  • While a glaze is traditionally brushed on top of the strawberry tarts, a beautiful fresh, plump ‘sweet’ strawberry needs nothing on top because it is already beautiful and sweet enough to serve just like that!
Farm Fresh Strawberry Tarts
Farm Fresh Strawberry Tarts
Robin
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pegasuslegend
6 years ago

What an over the top elegant yummy tart! I love these.. they look pretty easy to make too ! 🙂

foodhuntersguide
foodhuntersguide
6 years ago

What a wonderful treat

Christine
Christine
6 years ago

Yummy tart.

Michele Eggert Phillips

These tarts look wonderful, Robin! And that creamy coconut… Yum!

cookingwithmaryandfriends

Love the recipe and your video! I have canning jar lids and rings here all the time, going to try this recipe soon. Strawberries are in season now in SC so it’s the perfect time.

rdaumit
6 years ago

Thank you Mary. Those lids are my new favorite toy!!

Lynn Elliott Vining
6 years ago

Makes me think of my Mama! She loved everything and anything with strawberries!

Alice D'Antoni Phillips

Totally clever w/the canning jar lids! Only my Miss Pea can do a cool ‘hack’ like this!! And, the fruit tarts…well, that goes w/o saying!! Deeeeeelish! xo

michaela403
michaela403
5 years ago

I adore these!! They are the perfect summertime dessert!

Hadia's Lebanese Cuisine
Hadia's Lebanese Cuisine
5 years ago

You are so clever to use mason jar lids to make these tarts, Robin! They look unbelievably good.

Christine
Christine
5 years ago

Great idea using the lids. Great dessert too.

mamabatesmotel
5 years ago

Reblogged this on mamabatesmotel.

Helga
Helga
10 months ago

5 stars
These are delicious and the temptation is to eat too many!

Judy
Judy
10 months ago

5 stars
Put thought of calories aside; one won’t hurt!