Fraises des Bois, otherwise known as "Alpine or Wild Strawberries" are a delicious and dainty treat. While they grow in many places, they are frequently found in French pastries such as this Tarte aux Fraises des Bois from Ladurée.
To make your own Tarte aux Fraises des Bois, use our recipe (pie sized 9'')
First, procure 400 grams of Fraises des Bois, if you cannot find any, substitute any berry. It wont be as charming, but it will still be delicious! Wash and dry them, be sure to remove any stems or greenery.
First, make your pie crust. We like to make ours Pâte Brisée.
This most is exactly how we make ours
You will need:
200 g of flour
125 g of butter
(we leave ours out all morning to soften it as opposed to microwave)
1 pinch of salt
1 organic egg yolk
a touch of water
We then put our dough in a bowl, cover it with a dishcloth, and leave it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour. Then, roll out the dough and place carefully in your pie mold, folding over the rim and carefully cutting the excess dough off. (If you end up with too much dough, freeze it and use for another pie later) Be sure to poke holes in the bottom of your dough with a fork to prevent it from bubbling. Weigh your pie down by placing parchment paper (or worst case with aluminum foil) along the bottom and using either uncooked beans or pie weights.
You will then bake your pie crust at 300 degrees for aprox 10 minutes or until slightly darker.
If making your own pie crust sounds like too much work, you can also purchase a frozen one. We like to use this 9 inch delicious organic pie crust. You can search your zip code on their website to find a store that caries them near you.
The next step is making the home made whipped cream that will fill your pie and hold the strawberries.
You will need:
12 Oz (1 1/2) cup organic heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 tbsp Vanilla Sugar (William Sonoma)
You can also substitute the sugar with 1 tsp of Vanilla Extract
We like to use the Organic Valley Heavy Whipping Cream. It comes in both a 16oz and 8 oz size depending upon how decadent you want your pie to be!
For 16 oz:
Whip about 10-12 ounces of cream, mix in the vanilla sugar, and then slowly add the confectioners sugar to avoid clumping. Continue whipping until you reach the right consistency.
Once your pie crust is ready, let it COOL DOWN to room temperature or your whipped cream will melt!
Fill your pie with whipped cream and then gently place your strawberries on top of your cream.
For a polished finish, you can gently heat Wild Strawberry jam and brush (with a pastry brush) the strawberries for a glossy look.
You can use any left over confectioners sugar to lightly dust the top and enjoy!
We recently bought this little Wild Strawberry plant from Organic Bouquet and will plant it next to our other bushes. What a pleasure it is if they grow wild in your area, but we have planted them so that we can grow and pick them ourselves!
Au Revoir!
