For the pastry:
100 ml milk
1 tsp of apple cider vinegar
380 g Italian type 00 organic flour
30 g sugar
1 tsp of salt
220 g butter
For the pie filling:
400 g strawberries
70 g icing sugar
15 g cornflour
zest of 1 lemon
60 g dry biscuits – these can be amaretti biscuits or sponge fingers
To glaze:
1 egg
vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, to accompany the pie
Prepare the pastry for the strawberry pie: mix the milk with the apple cider vinegar in a bowl. This will give the cooked pastry a flaky consistency.
Put the type 00 organic flour, sugar, salt and butter cut into small pieces into a large bowl. Work it all with your fingertips until it forms crumbs. Gradually add the milk mixed with the vinegar and knead until you get a ball of pastry. You may not need all the milk to make the pastry: add it little by little.
Work the pastry dough lightly, wrap it in cling film and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. After the resting time has elapsed, remove the pastry dough from the refrigerator, knead it a little on a floured pastry board and roll it out with a rolling pin until it is half a centimetre thick. Line a round 22 – 24 cm pie tin with the pastry, remove the excess pastry by cutting it off with a knife and set aside as you will need it to cover the pie.
Place the pastry in the tin in the refrigerator and in the meantime cut the strawberries into pieces. Put them in a bowl with the icing sugar, cornflour and lemon zest. Mix everything well.
Remove the pastry from the refrigerator, crumble the dry biscuits in a liquidiser and sprinkle them on top of the pastry base. In this way they will act like a sponge” and stop the pastry from getting too moist. Then spread the chopped strawberries over the biscuit crumbs.
Roll out the leftover pastry with a rolling pin and cover the cake sealing the edges well. Do not forget to pierce the centre of the cake with a cutter in order to let the moisture from the fruit out during cooking. With any leftover shortcrust pastry you can decorate the surface of the pie.
Brush the surface with beaten egg. Heat the oven to 180 ° C in fan-assisted mode. Bake the strawberry pie for 40 – 50 minutes.
Once golden, remove from the oven and leave to cool completely. Serve in slices with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Recipe Of The Month – October
It’s strawberry season! Whatever you are celebrating, nothing can beat a stunning strawberry tart – and you can make individual ones that are perfect for serving at Diwali celebrations! You may use any type of strawberries: big fat ones or tiny fragrant ones—whatever is available in the market or garden.
The crust is tender; a layer of amaretti or sponge fingers helps keep the crust crisp and not soggy by soaking up any excess liquid from filling. Serve the tart with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream alongside, and accompany it with unsweetened coffee, tea, or with a sweet lassi.
