Classic French Strawberry Tart

In a food processor, pulse the flour, powdered sugar, and salt to combine. Add the cold cubed butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Add the cold egg and vanilla extract. Pulse just until the dough begins to clump together. Do not overmix.

Turn the dough out, gather it into a cohesive disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

To begin the pastry cream, combine the whole milk, vanilla seeds, and the scraped vanilla pod in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until it just begins to simmer, around 82 degrees C or 180 degrees F.

In a separate heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, granulated sugar, and cornstarch until pale, thick, and smooth.

Remove the milk from the heat. Slowly pour half of the hot milk into the yolk mixture in a thin, steady stream while whisking continuously to temper the eggs.

Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens significantly and comes to a gentle boil. Boil for 1 minute to fully cook the cornstarch.

Remove from heat, discard the vanilla pod, and pass the pastry cream through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Whisk in the room temperature butter and salt until fully incorporated and smooth.

Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the hot pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours until completely cold and firm.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled tart dough to a 3mm or 1/8-inch thickness. Carefully drape the dough over the rolling pin, transfer to the tart pan, and press it gently into the corners. Trim excess dough overhanging the edges and freeze the lined pan for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C or 340 degrees F. Line the chilled tart shell with crumpled parchment paper or foil, making sure it extends over the edges, and fill completely to the top with pie weights.

Remove the tart pan from the oven, carefully lift out the parchment and weights. Return the shell to the oven and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the bottom is a deep golden brown and completely dry. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the tart shell is at room temperature, remove the chilled pastry cream from the refrigerator and whisk it vigorously to loosen the structure until it is entirely smooth. Spread it evenly into the bottom of the tart shell.

Arrange the halved fresh strawberries generously over the surface of the pastry cream in concentric circles, starting from the outside edge and working inwards tightly.

In a small saucepan, gently heat the apricot jam and water until simmering and liquid. Strain out any fruit chunks. Using a pastry brush, gently glaze the tops of the strawberries to give them a brilliant shine. Chill for 1 hour before serving.