Strawberries are one of my favorite fruits of all time, and is the fruit that reminds me the most of summer. Desserts like my matcha strawberry popsicles are best enjoyed in the summer in my opinion. I really wanted to make a dessert with strawberries at the center, so I decided to go with a tart. This strawberry tart with a MATCHA crust has been a recipe I’ve been wanting to try for a long time. But I didn’t know if the matcha crust would be any good. When I finally made it, I was super surprised. It was not only this vibrant green color, it also tasted really good. Best part was it was not too sweet because of the matcha. I’ll go into more detail about the crust below.
Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments
Matcha Crust
With this matcha crust, there are very few substitutions because all the ingredients play a role in the taste and texture of the crust.
- All purpose flour – This is the main dry ingredient in this crust. I would highly recommend sticking with all purpose flour since it has the right amount of protein for the crust.
- Matcha powder – Adds the color and slightly bitter taste of matcha.
- Powdered sugar – Adds sweetness and a little dryness to the crust. Powdered sugar is the perfect sweetener for tart crusts because it creates a firmer texture than granulated sugar. Crusts with granulated sugar are more crumbly.
- Salt – Brings out the flavor of the other ingredients.
- Unsalted butter – Butter adds richness to the crust. I used unsalted butter because I wanted to control the amount of salt in the crust.
- Egg – Adds richness to the crust and acts a binder to help the crust stay together.
- Vanilla extract – Adds flavor to the crust. Good substitutes are 1 vanilla bean or vanilla paste.
Filling & Toppings
- Heavy cream – The heavy cream will be whisked into whipped cream, so it will give the filling an airy texture.
- Cream cheese – Adds richness to the filling.
- Granulated sugar – Adds sweetness to the filling.
- Lemon juice & lemon zest – Adds brightness to the filling. If you want a more lemon-y flavor, feel free to add more lemon juice.
- Vanilla extract – Adds flavor to the crust. Good substitutes are 1 vanilla bean or vanilla paste.
- Strawberries – This is the topping on the tart. Feel free to substitute with any fruit you desire.
- Strawberry preserves – The preserves give the tart a pretty, shiny look. You can substitute with any fruit preserves you want.
Making the matcha crust
Forming the dough
Through this whole process, I found out a tart crust is very finicky. I ended up using this tart crust recipe as a base for this one. This resulting matcha tart crust is so easy to make and is really clean-up friendly. Combine all purpose flour, matcha powder, powdered sugar, salt, and unsalted butter in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is fine like sand. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Pulse until big chunks appear. Be careful not to over mix the dough. You don’t want a big dough ball to form. The best way to test out if the dough is ready is to pinch it between your fingers. If it sticks together, it’s good. Empty the mixture on a lightly floured surface and bring it together with your hands. Shape it into a small circular disc. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
Shaping and baking the matcha crust
After the dough has rested, roll out the dough into a 11-inch disc. Make sure the surface is lightly floured, so the dough doesn’t stick. Loosely wrap the dough around the rolling pin and drape it over a 9 inch tart pan. Gently press the dough into the pan. Use a knife to cut off any excess dough. If there are parts of the pan that are not covered with dough, use excess pieces to cover those areas. Cover and let it freeze for 30 minutes. A frozen dough reduces shrinkage.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. The last step is to prep the frozen tart dough for the oven. Press aluminum foil into the inside of the tart crust. Make sure the aluminum foil conforms to the inside of the tart crust. Pour pie weights/dried beans/dried rice into the center. This process allows the tart crust to keep its shape in the oven. Bake the tart crust for 20-25 minutes. After baking, let it cool for at least 20 minutes. A warm crust will melt the filling.
The filling and toppings
While the crust is cooling, make the filling. Use a hand mixer to whisk the heavy cream until stiff peaks. In a separate bowl, combine the cream cheese and granulated sugar. Whisk until combined. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract into a bowl. Whisk until everything is thoroughly combined. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Spoon the filling into the cooled tart shell. Top with thinly sliced strawberries. Combine the strawberry preserves and water in a small bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds. Brush over the top of the strawberries and serve!
Tips on how to make the perfect strawberry tart
- Freeze the matcha crust to prevent shrinkage – The matcha crust tends to shrink away from the tart pan in the oven. The best way to prevent or reduce this is to freeze it before baking.
- Put the tart pan on a baking sheet for easy handling – I tested this tart recipe 3 times, and I dropped my tart crust 2 times. It was difficult for me to take the tart crust out of the oven without dropping it. The third time I put it on a baking sheet, and this solved my dropping issue.
- Use room temperature cream cheese for the filling – The key to getting a smooth filling is to use room temperature cream cheese. If you use cold cream cheese, you will get clumps in your mixture. Make sure to take your cream cheese out a few hours before making your filling, so it has time to come up to room temperature.
Did you make this strawberry tart?
If you made this dish, I would love to see!
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Strawberry Tart with a Matcha Crust
Equipment
Ingredients
Matcha Crust
- 1 cup + 3 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp matcha powder
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter cold
- 1 large egg
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Filling
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 16 oz cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Toppings
- 1 ½ lb strawberries thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp strawberry preserves
- 2 tsp water
Instructions
Matcha Crust
- Combine all purpose flour, matcha powder, sugar, salt, and butter in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is fine like sand.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract. Pulse until small chunks appear. Be careful not to over mix. You don’t want to pulse it until a large dough ball forms. A good way to know if it’s done is to press some of the dough between your fingers. If it sticks together, it’s done.
- Empty the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Press the dough together into a dough ball. It should come together easily without sticking to your hands. Flatten slightly with your hands into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Lightly flour a flat surface. Roll out the dough into an 11 inch disc. I like to smack the dough a few times with my rolling pin to loosen it up.
- Loosely roll the dough around the rolling pin and drape it over a 9 inch tart pan (preferably with a removable bottom). Lightly press the dough into a 9 inch tart pan. Use a knife to cut off any excess dough. Cover and let it freeze for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Press aluminum foil against the inside of the tart. Make sure the aluminum foil is conformed to the shape of your tart. Pour pie weights/dried beans/dried rice into the center. This will help the crust bake evenly and keep it’s shape.
- Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Cool at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Filling
- While the crust is cooling, make your filling. Use a hand mixer to whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks.
- In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese and sugar. Whisk until combined. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Whisk until everything is combined.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture from step 1.
- Spoon filling into the tart shell and spread evenly.
Toppings
- Now it’s time to finish off the tart. Thinly slice strawberries and layer them on top of the filling.
- Combine strawberry preserves and water in a small bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds. Brush over the strawberries and serve!
This was my first time making matcha crust and it definitely won’t be my last. Loved how the crust turned out. Everything paired so well together. Next time I’ll probably add a variety of berries for color and I’m sure it’ll taste just as great!
That’s a good idea! I gotta try this with different berries. Thanks Sandra!