The skies are darkening to a steel grey making everything seem dull and barren in its wake. It’s that time of year. February tests our patience making the shortest month of the year sometimes seem like the longest with cold, dark days. No wonder Valentine’s Day falls smack in the middle of February. We are all craving something bright, cheery and rosy.
Last week during a particularly dreary day, I found myself in a different grocery store in a pathetic attempt to shake up my mundane routine. I welcomed a change of scenery in any form, even if it was just another grocery store.
However, while reaching for a tin of baking powder, out of the corner of my eye on the lowest shelf, I caught sight of a row of beautifully packaged cans of Oregon red tart cherries. It was the fabulous retro packaging with black labels that attracted me but the promise of juicy summer cherries immediately seemed to cast a rosy glow on the rest of my ordinary day. La Vie en Rose, indeed.
At home, I decide to use some other impulse buys to make an almond meal marzipan crust. The Almond Meal is from Trader Joe’s and the marzipan, which is a sweet almond paste, is available in a tube in the baking section of most grocery stores (usually on a high shelf).
Making Cherry Tarts with an Almond Marzipan Crust may seem too precious to try at home but really is not. The dough couldn’t be easier and nothing has to be planned in advance. Frozen or very chilled butter and shortening (or just butter if that’s all you have) make the best crusts.
You might be tempted to use prepared pie crust, and that is fine. However, I like that by using almond meal I’m reducing the amount of flour and adding some protein. Additionally, I’ve learned that almonds can even help lessen the surge of blood sugar after eating.
Good health aside, the reason to make these tarts is that the combination of almonds and cherries is perfection. Each rounds out the other’s flavors, balancing tart against sweet finishing with a poignant twang from the marzipan.
Pulling our individual tarts from the oven, they are everything we desire on a bleak winter’s day. The ruddy cherries are juicy and glisten unctuously as they appear to burst out of their diminutive shells. We are tempted to devour on the spot but wisely let them cool enough so as not to be scalding.
Sinking your teeth into a warm cherry tart brings a rosy glow to the day, making summer seem a little bit closer. At the very least, February now seems at least a little more tolerable.
- 1 stick unsalted butter chilled or frozen
- 4 Tablespoons shortening, chilled or frozen
- 1- 7-oz tube almond paste
- ⅔ cup almond meal
- 1- ¼ cup unbleached flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2-3 Tablespoons ice water
- 2- 14 oz cans tart cherries (not pie filling), drained, reserve juice from one can
- 3 Tablespoons corn starch
- ¼ cup sugar
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
- Cut the butter, shortening and marzipan into small cubes and add to a food processor bowl fitted with the steel blade.
- Add flour and salt to the bowl.
- Pulse to combine until flour mixture is pebbly
- Add ice water in a thin stream until the dough starts to come together.
- Dump bowl contents onto a pastry board (or cutting board) and press together into a flat oval about 2-inches thick. Wrap in cellophane and put in the fridge.
- On the stovetop, mix together sugar and corn starch and add cherry juice to combine. Stir over medium heat until thickened. Gently mix in cherries and remove from heat.
- After at least 30 minutes, remove dough from the fridge and roll out into a circle about ¼-inch thick. I used non-stick individual tart pans (tartlet). I pressed each pan down into the dough as if it were a cookie cutter, then pressed the cutout into the tart pan, turned it all over and and pressed dough into the pan. Put tart pans on a cookie sheet.
- If using a pie plate, press crust into a greased or non-stick pie dish or tart pan.
- Place crusts in the oven to bake for about 15 minutes. I've never had much luck using pie weights to prevent the crust from bubbling up. I just keep a close eye on it and when I see a crust start to bubble, I open the oven and give it a few gentle stabs with a fork to deflate. Just stab the upper layer, not all the way through. Works for me every time.
- Remove crusts from oven, spoon in filling and return to oven to bake until heated through, about 15-20 minutes.
- If using a 9-inch pie dish or tart pan, bake for about 30-40 minutes.
- Pie filling adapted from Oregon Red Tart Pie Cherries Web site: http://www.oregonfruit.com/of.pl?pg=rp&rcp=Cherry%20Pie