Sweet, Summer, Strawberries

It's that time of year, when beautiful strawberries and fruit pop up at supermarkets, with their glorious bright colors and luscious smells. Strawberries are one of my favorite fruits, and while they're just great on their own, they also bake down to a delicious jam in this buttery tart.

With a classic tart base, the sweet jam filling and crisp, cinnamon crumb topping, this tart will be a favorite all summer. You can make it in one large 10" circle tart pan, or in little mini tarts – but I made it in two rectangular pans and cut it into squares.

Crust:

21⁄2 cups (300 g) flour

1 cup (200 g) butter or margarine

1⁄2 cup (100 g) sugar

1 large egg

Topping:

3/4 flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

6 tablespoons butter or margarine

Filling:

12 ounces strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Zest of one lemon

For the crust: Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat to combine, then add the flour and mix until no streaks remain. Gather the dough together into one cohesive ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

For the topping, mix together the flour, salt and brown sugar. Using a pastry cutter or with your hands, cut in the butter until evenly mixed and only pea-sized pieces of butter remain. Set aside.

Remove the dough from the fridge, and roll out on a well-floured surface (and continuously reflouring) until about 1⁄2 centimeter thick. Roll the dough to 2" larger than your tart pan on either side,gently drape over it, fit the dough in to the corners then trim the edges. Prick the bottom of the shells with a fork several times and put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes.

Mix together the strawberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon. Spread the strawberry mixture evenly over the bottom of the tart, then sprinkle the topping mixture on top until almost the strawberries are almost completely hidden from sight.

Bake on 400 F for about 40-45 minutes until the crust and topping are golden brown and crisp.

Amy Spiro is a journalist and writer based in Jerusalem. She is a graduate of the Jerusalem Culinary Institute's baking and pastry track, a regular writer for The Jerusalem Post and blogs at bakingandmistaking.com. She also holds a BA in Journalism and Politics from NYU.