Rustic Cherry Tart

My friend/cousin/neighbor has some cherry trees on family property, and they are heavy with fruit!  The other day we picked about 50 quarts of cherries!  She pitted them, while I made jam and these fabulous tarts.  One for her family and one for mine.  The cherries went from tree to table in just a few hours, and oh, these tarts!  The tarts have an egg-washed puff pastry crust, lined with homemade almond paste and topped with freshly-picked cherries.  I can't tell you how delicious they are. 

You will just have to make one yourself.  

The recipe comes from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook, which after all these years continues to reveal a few surprises now and again. I swear I've never seen this recipe before, but I am so glad I found it.  I made my own almond flour out of blanched slivered almonds, ground as finely as possible in the food processor.  I did not roll out the pastry and cut into a circle, I just flattened the dough a bit with my fingertips (I didn't have a rolling pin available) and then rolled up the edges for these imperfect squarish tarts, which I think look better than a circle ever could anyway.  Not to mention, there is no wasted dough.

We are picking more cherries and making more tarts on Thursday!

 

Rustic Cherry Tart
Makes one 9-inch tart
Martha claims this will serve 8 to 10, but I disagree.  I'd say 4 to 6, maybe!

1/2 cup blanched almond flour (see method above), plus more for dusting
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, from a 17 1/4-ounce package, thawed
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup plus 4 teaspoons sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 pound fresh cherries, pitted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, sprinkle lightly with almond flour.  Gently flatten (by hand or with a rolling pin) to 1/8" thickness.  Roll up the edges, making roughly a 10" crust.  Transfer to the refrigerator to chill, about 30 minutes.

Place butter, 1/3 cup sugar almond flour, egg, and almond extract in a bowl; mix until combined.

Remove crust from refrigerator; prick entire surface with a fork.  In a small bowl, combine egg yolk and heavy cream to make an egg wash; brush the egg wash evenly over the surface and edges of the crust.  Using a spatula, spread the almond mixture evenly in an 1/8-inch-thick layer in the bottom of the crust; chill 15 minutes more.

Remove the tart from the refrigerator, and spread the cherries in a single layer over the almond mixture.  Bake 15 minutes.

Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of sugar over the tart, and continue baking until the edges turn deep-golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

*If you have any tart leftover, I found that it's best to refrigerate it.  Bring to room temperature before serving, or just eat it out of the fridge with a fork...have i said too much?