Recipe for Decadent Fruit Tart

For the Breton shortbread: Preheat your oven to 160°C with convection. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together. Add the butter (make sure it is very soft, remember to take it out in advance) and then mix with a spatula or wooden spoon. Add the flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Mix again until the dough is smooth. Form 2 balls, then roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to form 2 disks about 24 cm in diameter (simply check by placing your ring on top). Place your ring, adjust one disk of dough by removing the excess or gently pressing it to the edge of your ring. Add the fruit coulis on the first disk. Then place the other disk of dough on top and press the edges together. If you want to use a regular pie pan, simply place the dough in your pan while keeping the parchment paper. Without it, you will have a hard time removing the dough from your pan after baking. Press gently so that the paper and the shortbread best fit the shape of your pie pan. Bake for about 30 minutes at 160°C with convection. Remove the ring immediately after taking your shortbread out of the oven. Let it cool completely before moving it. If you are using a regular pie pan, do not touch anything until your shortbread is completely cool, or you risk breaking it. Keep the shortbread at room temperature until assembly.

For the mascarpone whipped cream: Pour the mascarpone, liquid cream (30% fat), and powdered sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer or a large mixing bowl. Scrape the seeds from your vanilla pod and add them. Whip everything together until it forms whipped cream using the whisk of your stand mixer or an electric whisk. Make sure the mascarpone is well mixed, as it tends to stick to the bottom of the bowl; feel free to mix your whipped cream a bit with a spatula before continuing to whip. Keep the whipped cream cool if you are not assembling immediately.

Assembling the indulgent fruit tart: Place the shortbread crust on your serving plate. Make sure it is completely cold before continuing (if it is still warm, the whipped cream may melt). You can either spread the whipped cream over the shortbread with a spatula or pipe it like I did using a piping bag with a round tip (the difference is purely aesthetic). Chill the tart while you prepare the fruit (especially if it is warm, this will ensure the whipped cream holds up well). Wash, drain, and then cut the fruit. Arrange it on top of the whipped mascarpone. Decorate with mint leaves and small meringues.

Finally, refrigerate the tart. You can take it out about ten minutes before serving so that the strawberries are not too cold when tasting.