Chocolate Strawberry Tart

This Chocolate Strawberry Tart features a dark chocolate cookie crust filled with chocolate pastry cream and it’s topped with fresh strawberries. If you love chocolate covered strawberries (and who doesn’t) you’ll love this dessert.

When strawberries are in season you’ve got to eat as many as you can, in as many ways as you can. After eating them out of hand by the quart, it’s time to get baking.

Obviously, chocolate and strawberries are a marriage made in heaven. So here’s yet another way to celebrate one of the greatest flavor combinations.

Except for slicing the fresh berries, the components of this tart can be prepared ahead of time. It’s a great make-ahead dessert.

How to make a Chocolate Strawberry Tart:

• Pour the warm chocolate pastry cream into the pre-baked chocolate tart crust.
• Spread the pastry cream until it’s smooth.
• Cover the pastry cream with wax paper so a skin doesn’t form on the surface. Chill.

• Slice the berries to 1/4″ thick.
• Arrange the sliced berries over the chocolate pastry cream.
• The slices will form a pretty floral pattern.

• Warm the strawberry jelly.
• Brush the jelly over the strawberry tart. Chill until set.

Tips for making the best Chocolate Strawberry Tart:

• Because you can’t use visual cues to know if the tart crust is baked (can’t see the browning) press the center of the tart to make sure it doesn’t feel doughy.
• Spread the chocolate pastry cream into the shell while the custard is still warm. Cover the pastry cream with wax paper, buttered parchment or plastic. This will prevent a skin from forming on the surface as the custard chills.
• If your strawberries are not all the same size (they almost never are) start with the largest strawberries around the outside edges of the tart and use gradually smaller berries towards the center.
• If your strawberry jam has chunks of fruit, strain it after you warm it up. The glaze is prettier without the random bits of fruit marring the surface.
• When strawberries are out of season you can top the tart with raspberries, mandarin oranges or the fruit(s) of your choice.

How to work ahead to make this recipe:

• The chocolate tart dough can be made several days ahead and and stored in the refrigerator. The dough can be frozen for up to a month.
• Once the dough is rolled and in the pan you can bake it and keep it at room temperature for a day.
• The pastry cream can be made a day ahead and placed in the prepared tart shell. Cover the tart and keep refrigerated for a day before adding the strawberries.
• It’s best to slice the strawberries just as you put them onto the tart. If you slice them ahead they’ll loose too much moisture as they sit.
• The finished tart is best the day it’s made but will keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. After the first day the crust may soften from the strawberry juice.

Here are 10 strawberry recipes for you to try:

• Classic Strawberry Shortcakes
• Chocolate Strawberry Mousse Cake
• Strawberry Tall Cake
• Strawberry Mousse
• Fresh Strawberry Pie
• Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream
• Roasted Strawberry Hand Pies
• Tempura Strawberries
• Strawberries & Cream Bundt Cake
• Strawberry & Rose Wine Macarons

If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a 5-star review.