Sour Cherry Tart Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C
• For the pastry: Put the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter pieces, and pinch with the fingers to create a crumb texture. Make a well in the middle, and add the eggs. Quickly work in the flour mixture to create dough. Do not over-mix. Pat into a disk and refrigerate 15 minutes before rolling out. Fit into a 9-inch tart pan.
• For the filling: Arrange the cherries in the crust. Beat the eggs with the sugar, and then stir in the creme fraiche and vanilla. Pour the custard over the cherries. Bake until set, about 25 minutes. Cool before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• To make the crust, pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until it resembles a coarse meal. Stir in the yolk and pulse again until the dough forms clumps and curds.
• Turn the dough out onto a work surface and very lightly and sparingly, knead just to incorporate dry ingredients.
• Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Freeze crust at least 30 minutes before baking.
• Bake blind for 15 minutes, remove the weight and let cool.
• For the filling, pulse almonds, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add butter and the whole egg and process until the mixture is smooth.
• Spread the mixture on the partially baked tart dough. Smooth the top and place the sour cherries.
• Reduce the temperature to 350° F and bake for another 25 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and filling is just beginning to brown around the edges. Serve warm.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Place cherries in an ungreased 9-in. pie plate. Sprinkle with sugar. In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over cherries. , Bake, uncovered, until top is bubbly, 30-40 minutes. Serve warm.

Steps:

• Pre heat oven to 350 degrees, butter a 9" spring-form pan dust with ground almonds (or fine, dry unseasoned bread crumbs), shake out extra, set aside.
• Drain cherries, then spread in a single layer on several thicknesses of paper towel, while you continue to prepare the torte.
• Melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave, watch carefully, don't allow any water to get in the chocolate or it will seize.
• Cream the butter, add extracts and sugar, beat well; add eggs one at a time beating after each until mixed.
• On low add chocolate, beat until mixed, add almonds, then flour mixing just until incorporated.
• Spread about half or a little more of the batter into the pan (it is thick, using an offset spatula helps) place cherries one at a time over batter in a single layer, they can touch the sides, spoon and spread the remaining batter over the cherries, going slow helps prevent pull up.
• Bake 45 -50 minutes, the cake will be dry and crusty on top and a toothpick will come out clean. Cool for 15 minutes on a rack, then remove sides of the pan, let stand until almost cool ( to serve warm this is about 30 minutes).
• To remove bottom of the pan - cover cake with a rack and flip over, remove pan bottom - you may need to slip a thin spatula between the torte and pan bottom to loosen, cover cake with serving plate and flip back over ( I've been know to serve from the pan bottom, just keep your thin spatula handy).
• Note: Almonds should be finely ground in a blender or food processor, they should be almost powdery). Almond meal or almond flour (fancy names for ground almonds) can be found in some health food stores or at Trader Joes, though it can be very pricey under some labels. I prefer the freshness of grinding the almonds myself.
• Use real whipping cream unless you have dairy issues; a little kirsch added as you whip it is a nice touch.

Steps:

• For the pate brisee, place the flour, sugar, salt and butter pieces in owl and crush the butter into the dry ingredients with the tips of your fingers until combined somewhat but with pieces of butter still visible in the mixture. Add the ice water and stir with a fork just until the mixture holds together. Gather it up, pressing it between your hands to flatten it and make it round, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for one hour.
• Rub a small amount of flour into a pastry cloth and roll the dough into a very thin circle, about 12 1/2 inches in diameter. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and gently fit it into the bottom and up the sides of an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough against the sides of the pan to fill in any holes and make it adhere to the metal. Remove any excess overhanging dough by rolling the rolling pin across the top of the pan. Refrigerate the tart shell for one hour.
• Meanwhile, in a bowl combine the cherries, tapioca, sugar and almond extract. Sprinkle the ground almond-sugar mixture in the pastry shell and arrange the cherry mixture on top. Place the tart pan on a cookie sheet and bake in a 400-degree oven for one to one-and-a-quarter hours, until the dough is nicely browned. Unmold and serve with strong coffee.

Steps:

• Toss together cherries, sugar, and lemon juice in a large bowl.
• Wrap cherry pits in a paper towel and crack them with a rolling pin or pestle just enough to extract inner white kernels. Discard outer shells and tie white kernels in a cheesecloth bag. Stir bag into cherry mixture and chill, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.
• Sterilize jars and lids .
• Pour cherries with liquid and cheesecloth bag into a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot (sugar will not be completely dissolved). Bring to a rolling boil over moderate heat, then boil, uncovered, stirring frequently, 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer cherries with a slotted spoon to a sieve set over a bowl to catch juice. Drain cherries 5 minutes, then add juice from bowl to juice in pot.
• Drain jars upside down on a clean kitchen towel 1 minute, then invert. Divide cherries among jars using a slotted spoon.
• Return juice in pot to a rolling boil, skimming off any foam. Continue boiling until juice registers 220 to 224°F on thermometer, 7 to 10 minutes. Discard cheesecloth bag.
• Gradually add pectin, whisking constantly. Return juice to a rolling boil, then boil, skimming off any foam, 1 minute. Ladle juice into jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at top, then run a thin knife between fruit and jar to eliminate air bubbles.
• Seal, process, and store filled jars , boiling preserves in jars 10 minutes.
• Let preserves stand in jars at least 1 day for flavors to develop.

Steps:

• Make pastry dough:
• Beat together butter and 1/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reserve 1 tablespoon beaten egg, chilled, for egg wash and beat remaining egg into butter mixture, then add vanilla, beating well. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour, salt, and zest until mixture just forms a dough.
• Halve dough and form each half into a 5- to 6-inch disk. Wrap disks in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.
• Make filling:
• Heat butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then add fresh or frozen cherries with any juices and sugar and simmer, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. (Cherries will exude juices.) Continue to simmer until cherries are tender but not falling apart, about 8 minutes. Stir together water and cornstarch to form a thick paste, then stir into simmering filling and boil, stirring frequently, 2 minutes. Cool filling quickly by spreading it in a shallow baking pan and chilling until lukewarm, about 15 minutes.
• Assemble and bake crostata:
• Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining piece chilled) between 2 sheets of wax paper into a 12-inch round. Remove top sheet of paper and invert dough into tart pan. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch and fold inward, then press against side of pan to reinforce edge. Chill tart shell. Roll out remaining dough in same manner and remove top sheet of paper, then cut dough into 10 (1-inch-wide) strips and slide dough, still on wax paper, onto a baking sheet. Chill strips until firm, about 5 minutes.
• Put a foil-lined large baking sheet in middle of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Spread filling in chilled tart shell and arrange 5 strips 1 inch apart across filling, pressing ends onto edge of tart shell. Arrange remaining 5 strips 1 inch apart diagonally across first strips to form a lattice with diamond-shaped spaces. Trim edges of all strips flush with edge of pan. Brush lattice top with reserved beaten egg and sprinkle crostata with remaining tablespoon sugar.
• Bake crostata in pan on baking sheet in oven until pastry is golden and filling is bubbling, about 1 hour. (If lattice and edges look too brown after 30 minutes, loosely cover with foil.) Cool crostata completely in pan on a rack, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, to allow juices to thicken.