Fresh Berry Tart NOTE: PICTURE IS BELOW

Pastry Cream Ingredients
¼ cup cornstarch
¾ cup sugar (divided)
2 cups whole milk (divided)
4 large egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 pinch salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Procedure:
1. Combine the cornstarch with ¼ cup of the sugar in a mixing bowl, then stir in ½ cup of the milk. Blend the yolks into the cornstarch mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until completely smooth.
2. Prepare an ice bath. Combine the remaining 1 and ½ cups milk with the remaining ½ cup sugar and the salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat.
3. Temper the egg mixture by gradually adding about one-third of the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly. Add the remaining milk mixture to the eggs. Return the mixture to the saucepan and continue cooking over medium heat, vigorously stirring with a whisk, until the mixture comes to a boil and the whisk leaves a trail in the pastry cream, 5 to 7 minutes. As soon as the pastry cream reaches this stage, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract and the butter. Transfer the pan to the ice bath. Stir occasionally until the pastry cream is cool, about 30 minutes.
4. Transfer the pastry cream to a storage container and place parchment or waxed paper directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Cover the storage container tightly and refrigerate until needed.


Tart Dough Ingredients:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
1 and ½ cups cake flour, sifted

Procedure:
1. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract on medium speed, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed, until smooth and light in color, about 2 minutes.
2. Add the egg yolk and blend until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes more. Add the flour all at once.
3. Option One: mix with the mixer on low speed for 20 to 30 second, only until blended. The dough will be very crumbly when you remove it from the mixer. (Note, when I made this, I went 30 seconds and it was too long; my dough was not crumbly but smooth and soft – therefore, not good)
Option Two: Use a wooden spoon to blended the dough to a crumbly stage
4. Use a gentle touch to press the dough into a disk, being careful not to work it so much that the pastry becomes tough.
5. Wrap the dough tightly and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes before rolling

Roll out tart dough
Place dough between two sheets of waxed paper that have flour scatter over the bottom and over the top of the dough. Roll out into an even round about 2 inches larger in diameter than your tart pan. To transfer the dough to the tart pan, fold the dough in half or roll it loosely around the rolling pin, and gently lift and position it over the pan. Unfold or unroll and ease the dough into the pan. Trim the overhang cleanly by rolling over the edge with a rolling pin. Gently use your fingertips to press the dough against the sides and bottom of the pan.
Note: I made this on a hot/humid day and honestly, I just patted the dough into the pan. My problem was I tried to fit a 8 inch crust into an 11 inch pan.

Step Two: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Fully blind bake your crust. Once the dough is in the pan, use a fork and poke holes in the bottom of the pan. Line the pastry with aluminum foil and add rice or beans to fill 1/3 to ½ of the pan. Bake for 11 minutes.

Remove from oven and set on a cooling rack. Remove foil and pie weights. Brush the bottom crust with whisked egg white. Check the edges for brownness and if necessary put foil strips around the edges. Return to the oven for 6 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on rack.
While the crust is very hot; sprinkle ¼ cup chocolate chips over the bottom so they will melt; then use a knife to smear and spread out the chocolate. Remove outside edge of tart pan.

When cool, add the pastry cream and spread evenly over the tart shell.

Arrange the fruit over the pastry cream.

Melt ¼ cup strawberry glaze in the microwave. Use a pastry brush and coat fruit with glaze.
Store in refrigerator