Fresh Cherry Frangipane Tart
Fresh cherries, in my opinion, a very under rated fruit but one that I adore to eat and whenever I can get my hands on them, I have ruby fingers from the juice.
I come across a few wild cherry trees on my daily dog walks, but they’re those tiny wild cherries, too small for me to cook with, so I inevitably fill my pockets with as many as I can get away with foraging, and snack on them on my way through the fields and hills around my house.
This recipe needs big, juicy cherries, fresh and full of flavour.
Adding the cherries directly to the top of the tart while the tart is still hot, lets the juices of the cut cherries and the glaze, drizzle in an artistic and beautiful way, down into the hot frangipane.
This all goes to make this tart moist while adding to the subtle flavour of cherries permeating all through the tart.
If you’re looking for a pastry to have in your arsenal, this is a perfect one to get in your family recipe book.
It’s a very soft and forgiving pastry!
It comes together really easily and as I mention in the Tip Box (and I always recommend to read this before making any of my dishes) it lets you make mistakes with it.
If it’s tearing, its easily fixed in the tin with a bit of patchwork. Making sure there are not holes in the case.
I hope you enjoy this Fresh Cherry Frangipane Tart as much as I do.
Go on, give it a go and enjoy your sweet life!
Cut yourself a slice
What You Need
Pastry
225g Plain Flour
100g Butter – Cut into small pieces
1Tbsp Castor Sugar
1 Egg
Cold Water If Needed – See Tip Box
The pastry is very forgiving , so patch it up if necessary
Frangipane
140g Castor Sugar
150g Ground Almonds
140g Butter – Melted
1 Large Egg
1 Large Egg Yolk
Te melted butter makes the raw frangipane quite wet.
Fresh Cherry Topping
500g Fresh Cherries – stoned
2 Tbsp Kirch or Good Sherry
2Tbsp Cherry Conserve
1Tbsp Water
I use a metal straw to push out the cherry stone
How It’s Done
Oven 180c
Pastry
Place the flour, caster sugar and egg into a food processor.
With the food processor running, feed the small pieces of the butter into the top of the food processor.
Let the processor run until the mix starts to resemble soft breadcrumbs.
Give some of the mix a squeeze between fingers, and if it comes together into an easy soft ball, its ready.
If not, add a teaspoon of the cold water and pulse again to mix
Bring the pastry together quickly, without over handling it, wrap in cling film and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
I use baking beans to blind bake the pastry case
Frangipane
Add the sugar, ground almonds, egg and egg yolk into the bowl of an electric mixer.
Switch the mixer on to medium and mix for a couple of minutes until it all comes together
While the mixer is running, gently pour in the melted butter and the Sherry/KIrch and mix again until it’s all combined
Chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes before using.
Prepare a loose bottomed 23cm tart tin by buttering the entire inside, making sure to get into all of those dents in the tin.
Dust the entire inside with a little flour, making sure that every bit if the inside is covered.
Tap the excess flour out of the tin
Remove the pastry from the fridge, unwrap it and with a little dusting of flour on the worksurface, rollout the pastry to fit the tin, with an overhang of about an inch
Don’t panic if the pastry breaks when putting it into the case, it’s very forgiving and can be patched up with leftover pieces of pastry.
Use a fork to gently poke holes in the bottom of the pastry case.
Place the pastry case back into the fridge to chill for 20 minutes
After 20 minutes remove the pastry case from the fridge, lay some non-stick baking parchment inside so all the pastry is covered.
Pour the baking beans or uncooked dry rice inside and into the hot oven to bake for 15 minutes
Make sure the top is level and smooth before it goes into bake,
After 15 minutes, take it out of the oven, remove the baking beans and paper and out the pastry case back in the oven to bake for another 7-10 minutes until the base is firm – See Tip Box
Tip the frangipane filing into the pastry case and use a spatula to make the top even and smooth.
Place it into the hot oven and bake until the top is a deep golden brown approx. 25-35 minutes – See Tip Box
Once baked, the top should be a deep golden colour and firm to the touch.
Once the tart is cooked, remove it from the oven
While the tart is baking, prepare the fresh cherries by stoning them and slicing them in half. – See Tip Box
Place the cherries on top of the warm tart, cut side down.
Cherries chopped side down so that all of the juice drips into the hot frangipane
Place the cherry conserve along with the water into a small saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer.
As soon as it begins to simmer, remove it from the heat.
Use all of the cherry conserve and using a pastry brush, glaze each of the cherries with the warm cherry liquid so that they all have a sheen.
Bring the cherry conserve and water to a simmer and then use imediatley to glaze the cherries.
Wait until the tart has cooled completely before taking from the tin and slicing.
Serve at room temperature.
The pastry is a fabulous golden brown holding up the delicious filling
Tip Box
Pastry and cold Water – More often than not, I don’t need to use any water to bring the pastry together. So, before adding any cold water, try the squeeze test. Take a little of the pastry in your hand and give it a gently squeeze. If it comes together, no need to add water.
Baking – Pastry - If the edges get to brown as the base is blind baking, tear a strip of foil and lay it loosely over the edge of the pastry case.
Frangipane – The top of the frangipane should be a deep golden-brown colour and the time it takes to get there will vary on the oven in your kitchen.
Stoning the cherries – If you have a cherry stoner, that’s what to use. But as I don’t, I use a metal straw and push the cherry stone out.
Cut yourself a nice big slice
