A heavenly combination of a puff pastry base, spread with tangy lemon curd cream, and covered in strawberries and toasted pistachios. I made this as a birthday cake for a outdoors picnic and can confirm that it goes well with paper cups of bubbly.

Strawberry & pistachio tart

Adapted from a Dish magazine recipe

puff pastry 400g, quality store-bought or homemade; I made a batch of Dan Lepard’s spelt puff pastry from Short & Sweet)

free range egg 1, lightly beaten

sugar for sprinkling

cream cheese 250g

icing sugar 2 tablespoons

sour cream, 250g

lemon curd 3/4 cup, store-bought or homemade; I made a batch of Annabel Langbein’s lemon curd

strawberries 3 punnets, hulled and sliced into thirds or quarters lengthwise

pistachio nuts 1/4 cup, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 180˚C. Cut pastry in half and roll each into a rectangle approximately 30 x 20cm. Don’t worry if they aren’t the same size, this is a rust tart and it all adds to the charm.

Brush the edges of each rectangle with beaten egg and fold over a 1cm border all the way around. Brush all over with egg and sprinkle with sugar. Place the tarts onto two trays and place in freezer or fridge until very firm. To bake the pastry you need to cook it on both sides, in order to get it really crisp.

I baked the tarts one at a time and for 10-15 minutes per side. To flip the pastry I took the tray out, put a piece of baking paper over the top and flipped the pastry over onto a chopping board, then I slide it back onto the tray.

In a food processor, beat the cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth. Add the sour cream and whizz until well combined. Scoop out into a bowl and fold through the lemon curd. Chill for one hour until firm.

Assemble the tarts just before serving to prevent soggy pastry. Divide the lemon curd cream between the two bases and spread almost to the edges. Cover with strawberries and pistachios.