As mentioned yesterday, Crowley refers to himself in the third person on the 9th day of his Paris Diary. “12.20. He has walked, reciting the Ritual, to Dr. R— and H— for lunch. They have forgotten the appointment, so he continues and reaches Lavenue’s at 12.4 after reading his letters and doing one or two necessary things. He orders Epinards, Tarte aux Fraises, Glace au Caf, and 1/2 Evian. The distaste for food is great; and for meat amounts to loathing. The weather is exceedingly hot; it may be arranged thus by Adonai to enable John St. John to meditate in comfort. For he is vowed solemnly ‘to interpret every phenomenon as a particular dealing of God with his soul.’”
Tarte aux Fraises (Strawberry Tart)
Shortbread
2 cups flour
- 9 tbs butter
- 1 egg
- ½ cup sugar
- pinch of salt
Custard
- 2 cups milk
- 4 egg yolks
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract)
- ½ cup flour
- pinch of salt
Topping
- 2 tbs fruit jelly or jam
- 1 ¾ pounds strawberries
Prepare the pastry:
- In a bowl, beat the egg, sugar and salt.
- Add all the flour at once and mix with your fingertips. Crumble the dough until it takes on the appearance of sand or small crumbs.
- Add softened butter and knead the dough by hand until it gets a doughy appearance.
- Put the dough into a ball, wrap in a cloth and let stand 1 hour in a cool place.
Meanwhile prepare the custard:
- In a saucepan heat the milk, vanilla, and add a pinch of salt.
- While the milk heats, mix in sugar and yolks with a wooden spoon, until the mixture whitens.
- Stir in flour.
- Put on low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens.
- Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Place the pan into a container of cool water, and whisk the custard while it cools.
- Pour into a serving dish, cover with wax paper or plastic wrap, and chill.
Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Roll out the dough on a floured surface. Place the dough in a pie pan and cover with parchment paper. Cook for 15 minutes. After about 10 minutes, remove the parchment. Be careful not to over bake. Cool on a wire rack about 1 hour.
Wash strawberries, drain and remove stems.
When the pastry has cooled, spread with cooled custard, the arrange the strawberries on top of the custard.
In a small saucepan over low heat, mix the fruit jelly (or jam) with 1 tbs of water. When the jelly spread is warm and evenly mixed, pour over the strawberries. Allow to cool for 15-30 minutes before serving.
