Strawberry and Mint Tartlets

It's one of those premature pleasures that gets us all excited at the start of June, and now it's here: the Quebec strawberries are getting better and better at the markets. In partnership with the blogger Caillebot, we've come up with a recipe for seasonal tarts that combine strawberries with another flavour: mint. The pastry may seem heavy and overly sweet, but this recipe will fill you with freshness.

And if you've been won over by the combination of strawberry and mint, but only have a stalk of basil in your garden or on your balcony, you can use this herb just as well, as its combination with strawberry works just as well.

Ingredients

Baker's shortbread pastry (example: Première Moisson)
2/3 cup (150g) unsalted butter
1/3 cup and 1 tablespoon (75g) granulated sugar
3 eggs
20 mint leaves (or basil)
2 sheets of gelatine
A bowl of warm water

Preparation

tartlets

Roll out the shortbread pastry to a thickness of around 2cm.
Take 4 tartlet moulds and cut out discs of pastry slightly larger than the moulds.
Place a circle of pastry in each mould and press down with your fingers so that the pastry conforms to the shape of the mould.
Trim the excess pastry by rolling a rolling pin across the top. Prick the pastry base with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Ten minutes before taking out the tartlets, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place the tartlets in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.
Leave to cool before unmoulding.

Mint cream

Soften the gelatine leaves in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
In a bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs, then add the finely chopped mint.
Cut the butter into small pieces and set aside.
Heat the mixture in a bain-marie for around 15 minutes, whisking continuously.
Remove the container from the bain-marie and add the gelatine, previously squeezed dry.
Using an electric mixer, beat at medium speed, gradually adding the butter in chunks. Beat until the mixture is well blended.
Leave the cream to cool in the fridge for 30 minutes before using a piping bag (or a spoon) to fill the tarts.
Cut pretty slices of strawberries and place them on top of the cream.
Set aside in the fridge before serving.