Strawberry Flan with Redcurrant Glaze

Ingredients:

For the Pastry:
180g plain flour
105g butter
pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp sugar
a little cold water, to bind

225g fresh strawberries
150g redcurrant jelly

Method:

Begin with the pastry. Sift together the flour and salt into a bowl. Dice the butter then rub into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Form a well in the centre and add the egg yolk and 1 tbsp cold water. Work this into the flour mix, adding just enough additional water to bring the mixture together as a stiff dough.

Turn out the pastry onto a lightly-floured work surface and roll out to 6mm thick. Place a flan ring on a baking tray then use the pastry to line the base and sides. Trim off any excess pastry that's hanging over the edge of the flan ring, line with a sheet of greaseproof paper then fill with baking beans. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for about 15 minutes, or until firm (but do not allow to colour too much). Remove the paper and the baking beans then bake for a further 5 minutes before removing from the oven and setting aside until cooled.

When the pastry is cold, hull and halve the strawberries then arrange very neatly, cut side down, in the pastry case.

Add the redcurrant jelly to a pan with 2 tbsp water and heat until molten. Immediately pour over the strawberries. Set the dish aside until the redcurrant glaze hardens, remove from the flan ring and serve with cream.

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