balsamic strawberries & marshmallow tart

I created this recipe a couple of years ago when my friend Milton and I had a "pie off" to see who was the best pie chef and unfortunately for Milton this was a winning combination. I have since turned the pie recipe in to a tart as the marshmallows are better when they crisp up on the outside and it is always fun to talk about tarts because there is usually a bad joke involved.

5 strawberries, quartered

1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of butter
2 1/2 large marshmallows
1/4 sheet of shortcrust pastry
Baking beads or lentils or rice for blind baking

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Cut 2 pieces of baking paper so they are approximately the same size as your quarter sheet of shortcrust pastry. Take your quarter sheet of pastry and place it on one of the pieces of baking paper. Gently mould your pastry into a muffin tray, paper side down first. Once moulded in, take the other piece of baking paper and carefully place it on top of the pastry and then fill the cup shape with baking beads or lentils or rice. Place in to your preheated oven for around 15 minutes.

Whilst your pastry is blind baking, place the strawberries, vinegar, sugar and butter into a small pot and cook over a medium heat until the mixture has thickened and is kind of like runny jam.

Remove the pastry from the oven, let cool for a couple of minutes and then carefully lift out the top sheet of baking paper and the beads/lentils/rice and discard. Fill the pastry cup with your strawberry mix so that the cup is filled about 3/4 of the way. Place the marshmallows on top of the strawberry and put back in to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes until the marshmallows are golden and puffy.

Remove the tray from the oven and again let cool for a few minutes. Carefully lift out the tart using the baking paper and place on a plate. You will be able to easily remove the paper from the outside. Serve and eat whilst still warm as the marshmallow is stringy and gooey and good.