Summer is here and English fruit is already at its best.
June is the best time to eat strawberries; here is a simple but effective way of using them.
Method:
1.Sieve flour and cut butter into cubes, rub together like crumble mix.
2.Make a dip in the middle, add sugar and break in 1 egg, mix sugar and egg together and then bring flour into egg mix. Bring it all together into a nice ball, pat it down like a cow pat shape and cover with parchment paper or clingfilm and let rest in fridge for half an hour.
3.When half an hour is up, lightly flour a clean work surface and roll out pastry to fit a 20cm/8in flan ring which has been lightly buttered.
4.Lightly flour rolling pin and roll up pastry onto pin, move pin to flan.
5.Allow pastry to fall into flan ring and ease pastry into all sides of the ring.
6.Roll pin over ring to cut off any excess pastry, if some of the flan looks a little thin use the trimmings to patch it up.
7.Using a dinner fork, lightly push into pastry, this allows moisture and air to escape.
8.With some parchment paper into flan, pour on some baking beans or dried peas to cover flan completely and bake in an oven gas mark 5/175 C for 15-20 minutes.
9.After 10 minutes turn flan around and finish off in oven.
10.Take out flan and remove paper and beans, place back in oven for 1 minute to dry out.
11.Remove flan from ring and place on a pastry wire.
For pastry cream:
1.Mix together the eggs, flour, custard powder and vanilla essence to paste with a little milk.
2.Bring remainder of milk to the boil and whisk milk into paste.
3.Whisk together then return to the stove, lower heat and cook for 2-3 minutes. The mix will thicken quickly, allow to at least bubble, maybe for 1 second then remove and allow to cool.
4.Place pastry cream into cold flan base and smooth the surface.
5.Slice strawberries quite thin and arrange a pattern on top.
6.Make gel as per manufacturer’s instructions and brush over strawberries from middle out.
7.Serve chilled on its own.
Option for glaze:
You can melt a little apricot jam with some boiling water and bring to the boil and strain and brush it on, or you could just sprinkle the top with icing sugar.