Some decoration + heavenly strawberry tartlets

The Easter decoration has only been cleared away today (while “cleared away” has to be interpreted very generously: all the eggs have been placed on the ground and I am waiting until they move themselves to the basement thanks to pure willpower. Let’s see whether it’s going to work.) – replaced by simple and classy glass cases.

People who still have young children, but value living with style all the same, will love theses classics:

All finds like little sticks, pebbles and other treasures can be perfectly displayed in them!

During the summer flotsam and jetsom will find a place there, in the fall chestnuts etc.

Somehow everything, once placed inside, immediately takes on a look of higher value!

Naturally the cases are perfectly suited for keeping favorite pieces of jewelry.

We used strawberries for baking today for the first time this year – while the little tartlets require some preparation time, they taste so damn good that it feels like taking a bite out of heaven.
On the bottom paper-thin shortcrust, juicy strawberries on top and capping it all: delicate meringue.
Oh. my. God. so. yummy.

I brought some white-blossomed branches in from outside and distributed them in single vases – everything feels airy and fresh!

Heavenly Strawberry Tartlets

Bottom:

¾ cup flour

2 Tbsp confectioner’s sugar

pinch of salt

7 Tbsp cold butter

1 egg yolk

1 Tbsp cold water

Filling:

1 and ½ cup strawberries

3 Tbsp cornstarch

5 Tbsp strawberry jam

Meringue:

3 egg whites

½ cup sugar

2 Tbsp cornstarch

Also: dry beans, lentils, rice or something similar, for blind-baking

1. Either grease 1 cake tin (9” diameter) or 6 little ones and dust them lightly with flour.

Mix flour with sugar and salt, add butter in small cubes and knead quickly until everything is crumbly.

Then add egg yolk and water and continue to quickly knead until a smooth dough forms.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place into refrigerator for about 1 hour.

2. Roll out the dough between two layers of plastic wrap and line the tin/s with it.

Poke a few holes into the dough, cover the dough with aluminum foil and distribute beans or rice on top of it (freshly cut apple pieces work as well – something to weigh down the bottom).

Bake for about 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 350F (conventional oven, no convection oven), then remove the foil and the beans and bake for approx. another 13 minutes, until dough is golden.

Herausnehmen, den Ofen au ???

3. Wash and dry the strawberries and cut into slices. Mix with cornstarch.

4. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks and trickle in sugar spoonful by spoonful (do not reduce the amount of sugar, as meringue will not come out right) and keep beating.

After all the sugar has been incorporated keep beating for another 2-3 minutes, finally adding the cornstarch.

5. Spread jam thinly onto the pastry bottoms, distribute strawberries on top, finishing by adding the egg white mix.

Bake another 20 minutes at 350F, until meringue has a light brown tint.

Remove from oven and let cool.

If eaten when lukewarm the strawberry filling is still liquid, it will stiffen once the tartlets are completely cooled.

But I wanna see the person who manages to wait until then!

Display cases: LaMaison

With love,
Joanna

p.s. It didn’t work – the teleporting.
I’ll keep at it, though, I promise.
It will serve us ALL in the end, because mind you:
a blog author isn’t just lazy for herself, purely for the fun of it – she is lazy for all readers!
Which in turn furthers world peace and all that.