Sour Cherry & Almond Tarts

Once I get the first whiff of spring, I immediately want to do the following, all day every day: 1) stroll along Whyte Ave, coffee in hand; 2) sit on a patio, any patio, and get day-tipsy; and 3) go to the farmers' market, namely the Old Strathcona Farmers Market. The Strathcona market is great because it's indoors, so even if you have premature spring fever and it's still -10 degrees outside, you can get that lovely market experience without freezing your buns off. 

We went to the Strathcona market a few weeks ago, and it was packed with equally eager market-goers. Among the goodies I picked up was a bag of frozen sour cherries from Rainbow Acres farm. I can never find cherries in the grocery store that aren't candied or swimming in sugar, so this was exciting. Real cherries are such a rare treat. Plus these were already pitted! Since then I've browsed what feels like hundreds of cherry recipes, until I finally landed on this cherry almond tart from the Joy of Baking. It was a tough decision, but someone had to make it. 

These tarts have a buttery shortbread shell and a sweet almond filling contrasted brightly with tart, juicy cherries. They take a little bit of effort, but the result is very pretty and totally yummy. As with most things in life, they're best with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. 

Sour Cherry & Almond Tarts
Adapted from the Joy of Baking's Cherry Tart recipe
Makes six 4-inch tarts

Sweet Pastry Crust
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten

Almond Cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup ground almonds (almond meal)
1 tbsp all-purpose flour

~1 cup frozen tart cherries, thawed and drained (if they haven't already been pitted, do that too)

To make the crust: in a small bowl, sift the flour and salt together. In a large bowl (or the bowl of a mixer), beat the butter for a minute until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the beaten egg gradually, but stop mixing just when it becomes incorporated. Add the flour mixture and mix until the dough comes together and forms a ball. Flatten and shape the dough into a disk and cover with plastic wrap; chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Have your tart tins ready to go and remove the dough from the fridge. Tart tins with removable bottoms work best. On a lightly floured countertop, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 3 mm or 1/8 inch. Keep rotating the pastry as you roll to make sure it's not sticking to counter. To measure the right size of pastry for each tart, flip a tart tin over on top of the pastry, and cut out a shape that is about 1/2 inch larger than the tin. Gently place this cut out pastry in one of your tins, and lightly press it into the tin, pinching off any excess at the top. Prick a few holes in the bottom of the pastry. Once you've lined all your tins with pastry, place them on a cookie sheet and chill in the fridge for another 20 minutes. While they're chilling, preheat the oven to 400°F/205°C.

Line each of the unbaked pastry shells with aluminum foil to make a little reservoir, then fill this reservoir evenly with rice, dried beans, or pie weights. (I used rice and it worked just fine). This will weigh down the crust slightly and keep it from puffing up. Bake the crusts for about 20 minutes, until they're dry and ever so slightly golden. Remove the tin foil and the weights and let the crusts cool completely. Reduce your oven temperature to 350°F/180°C.

To make the filling: In a small bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth and creamy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the ground almonds and flour, and mix vigorously until a smooth paste forms. Spread this mixture evenly on the bottom of each of your cooled tart shells. Place 7 or 8 cherries on top of the almond cream, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the almond cream has puffed up and turned golden. 

These are best served at room temperature with some softened vanilla ice cream. Delicious!