Name: Roasted strawberry tarts with cannoli cream
Prep time: 65 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: Cannoli cream; 300 gram ricotta; 100 gram mascarpone; 1 small lemon, zest; 1 small orange, zest and juice; 3 tablespoon icing sugar; 3 tablespoon crushed nuts (i used pistachios); 1/4 cup full-fat cream; Tarts; 1 cup caster sugar, plus 2 tbsp extra for sprinkling on fruit; 2 sheets flaky pastry (i used the paneton brand); 50 fresh strawberries

Roasted strawberry tarts with cannoli cream

Punnets of deep red strawberries stacked high and deep outside fruit shops and dairies epitomise the Kiwi summer. But by the tail end of the strawberry season, as the fruit quality wanes, I’m left looking for ways to keep this less flavoursome berry exciting. Here’s my new trick: a short session in a hot oven and strawberries morph into fragrant domes bursting with flavour. These roasted berries are sublime over ice cream but even better topping a flaky pastry base smeared with zesty cannoli cream. End-of-berry-season blues sorted. Photographs by Jani Shepherd and styling by Fiona Hugues; Gatherum Collectif.

Serves 10

Prep

1H 5M

Ingredients

Cannoli cream

300 gram ricotta

100 gram mascarpone

1 small lemon, zest

1 small orange, zest and juice

3 tablespoon icing sugar

3 tablespoon crushed nuts (i used pistachios)

1/4 cup full-fat cream

Tarts

1 cup caster sugar, plus 2 tbsp extra for sprinkling on fruit

2 sheets flaky pastry (i used the paneton brand)

50 fresh strawberries

Method

Cannoli cream

1.Heat oven to 200°C fanbake.

2.To make the cannoli cream, place ingredients in a bowl and stir until incorporated. Refrigerate until required.

Tarts

3.Sprinkle half the sugar onto a work surface and lay one of the pastry sheets on top.

4.Sprinkle rest of sugar evenly over the top then cover with second sheet.

5.With a rolling pin, press down gently to seal the sugar inside the pastry layers. Flip ‘sugar sandwich’ over and roll again until all sugar is in contact with the pastry.

6.Cut 10cm discs out of pastry and lay on a lined baking tray.

7.Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned. Leave to cool.

8.Turn oven down to 170°C fanbake. Cut green tops off strawberries and stand, points up, on a lined baking tray.

9.Sprinkle with the extra sugar and bake until fragrant but still holding their shape (about 15 minutes).

10.Using the back of a spoon, spread cannoli cream onto the base of each pastry disc.

11.Arrange five roasted strawberries on each tart. Drizzle with roasted strawberry juices and serve immediately.

Fiona Hugues