Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the sugar. Add the egg and bring together to a smooth dough. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for one hour before gently rolling out on a lightly floured surface to 3mm thickness. Line a 20cm greased tart tin with the pastry. To bake the pastry blind, line with parchment, fill with baking beans, and bake in a preheated oven (180 degrees Celsius/gas 4) for 20 minutes, before removing the beans, brushing with egg white and baking for another five minutes to seal the case.

For the pastry cream, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick. Add the vanilla and whisk in the milk. Sieve together the plain flour and cornflour and whisk into the custard. Transfer the mixture to a heavy-based saucepan and heat, constantly whisking. Stand over it and keep whisking vigorously or you will burn the custard. Once it has boiled and is bubbling, remove or reduce the heat and continue whisking until it is smooth and like thick custard.

Transfer the custard to a bowl, press clingfilm over the top to stop a skin forming and set it aside to cool, then refrigerate it.

To assemble, spread pastry cream over the baked pastry case and top with strawberries.

Heat one tablespoon of apricot jam with one teaspoon of water and bring to the boil. Lightly brush the strawberries with the warm (not hot) apricot glaze.