tart

(Sweet Cherries!) Rustic Cherry Tart

By in Fruit, Pastries, Sweets 4 Comments Tags: , , , , ,

rustic cherry tart

This post is part of a July series on sweet cherries. To see the other posts head here.

Sweet Cherry Pie. There’s nothing quite like it. Except maybe a sweet cherry tart that’s half the work with just as much flavour. This tart is so easy to put together. The dough gets mixed and rolled out immediately, then it’s filled with raw cherries that are tossed in sugar and a few other ingredients (no pre-cooking necessary!) and then all that’s left is to pop it in the oven. The whole tart is freeform so there are no special pans needed. It’s a perfect quick and summery pastry dessert that gets you out of the kitchen in a jiffy. The longest part of the prep is the pitting of the cherries, but that’s kind of a fun activity to do while you sit out on the deck enjoying the sunshine anyways. At least for me!

This uses my favourite pastry dough for tarts of this kind. It’s sweet, buttery and flakey. And, it’s a breeze to work with and roll out. If you’re new to baking pastries this is a great place to start. It turns out perfect every time.

Rustic Cherry Tart

Pastry Dough
  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 7 tablespoons cold butter, cut up
  • 3-6 tablespoons ice cold water
Cherry Filling
  • 1 pound (3 cups) sweet cherries, halved and pitted
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
To Finish
  • egg wash (1 egg white + 1 teaspoon water, whisked together)
  • 1/2 tablespoon sugar

For the Pastry Dough: Combine flour, sugar and salt. Using your fingers, quickly break up the butter, tossing it in the flour mixture, until the butter is roughly the size of peas.  Add water 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing together with a fork, until the dough sticks together to form a ball. (The amount of water needed depends on the humidity in your area. Just make sure it sticks together easily without being sticky to the touch.) Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, into a 14 inch circle. Transfer the parchment and dough onto a baking sheet.

Mix together filling ingredients until evenly coated. Pour onto the centre of the tart and spread out to within 2 inches of the edge. Fold up the edges to keep the filling snuggly inside.

Brush the pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 375ºF for 1 hour, or until filling is bubbly and crust is golden brown. Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Makes: 8 servings

Crust adapted from Taste of Home.

Butter Tart Slice a Canadian Treat made Simple

By in Cookies & Bars, Pastries, Sweets 23 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Butter Tart Slice a Canadian Treat made Simple

The first time I made this recipe was in my first year of marriage and I accidentally subbed three cups of flour for the three teaspoons called for in the recipe. It became more like a cake then a tart, but it was still delicious. You”ll never guess what happened this time I made it. I put in three tablespoons of flour instead of three teaspoons. Dang it! Why is three teaspoons so hard to remember! I have made it the correct way, I promise, and it looks and tastes just like this, just even more gooey.

Butter Tarts are considered a Canadian treat and are similar to the more familiar Pecan Pie in look and flavour. This recipe deviates from the norm and becomes more simple by being baked in a 9X13 pan, rather then into individual tarts. That coupled with the shortcrust bottom, makes this super quick and hassle free. It also makes a great party treat as it makes a large amount and can be picked up with your hands. You might consider making it for an Olympic party to show off your skills at Canadian cuisine. :)

It may not be the most attractive looking desert but after one bite of gooey goodness, you won”t mind.

Butter Tart Slice

adapted from Grand Slam

Crust

  • 2 cups flour

  • 1/2 cup sugar

  • 1 cup butter, softened

  • pinch salt

  1. Combine ingredients until evenly distributed (I like to use my hands in order to feel for clumps). Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9×13 pan.

Filling

  • 2 cups brown sugar, packed

  • 1 Tbsp. baking powder

  • pinch salt

  • 3/4 cup coconut

  • 1 tsp. vanilla

  • 1 cup raisins

  • 3 tsp. flour

  • 3 eggs, beaten

  • 1/4 cup butter, melted

  1. In a large bowl combine first 7 ingredients (the “drys”). Add eggs and butter. Stir until well combined. Poor over prepared crust.

  2. Bake at 350º for 35 min. or until filling is set. Cut into bars to serve.

* This tastes equally delicious served warm from the oven as it does at room temperature. Although, once it has cooled it will be easier to handle.

* Store in an airtight container at room temp.

Print Recipe

Almond Pear Tart

By in Fall, Fruit, Pastries, Sweets, Thanksgiving 12 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Almond Pear Tart

I am pretty sure that I have not yet had the chance to meet all of my lovely readers, and you know what? I would love to meet you! So why not introduce yourself? And, for those of you that I have had the honour to “meet” already, I would love to know more about you. To get the ball rolling I will fill you in on some tidbits about me that you may not know:

A couple of years ago I was a live host of an hour long radio show for young teens. I also script wrote and directed a short mini-drama for each show called “The Adventures of Bob and Alfred.”

I used to volunteer at a hospital where I accidentally dropped a frog on an immobile elderly lady. I promise we were only trying to add a little excitement to her life, just not that much.

I also used to be the bus driver for said hospital and ended up lost in the woods with 5 old people, trying to find my way back to the hospital, while one of them got up every time I stopped because she wanted to go to the bathroom in the woods.

I am extremely stubborn and if you tell me that I can”t do something, I will just have to prove you wrong. This is how I blacked out just before the finish line in the 200 metre dash in my high school track-meet. But, I still came in third, gosh darn it!

Now it”s your turn. You don”t have to get quite so personal. But, I would love to know something about you. So, fill me in people!

Almond Pear Tart

Now about this tart. Let me tell you, it is delicious. Neither me or my husband have stopped thinking about it since I made it. And, he doesn”t even like pears! We managed to polish it off the day after it was made. There is so much wonderful flavour in this flaky pastry parcel. The sliced almonds add a lovely nuttiness, while the lemon zest adds a brightness that make it taste fresh and inviting. The crust itself is amazing, I may just use it for all of my freeform tarts. It”s easy to work with, flaky and buttery. Just perfect! I will be making this again soon, and this time I think I might try it with apples, for my loving husband (even though he gobbled it down just fine with pears). :)

Almond Pear Tart

adapted from TasteofHome

  • Pastry dough

  • Pear filling

  • 1 Tbsp. butter

  • Egg wash (1 egg white + 1 tsp. water, whisked together)

  • 1 Tbsp. sugar

  • Glaze

  • 1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted

  1. Roll the pastry dough out to a 14 inch circle. Place on a large baking sheet.

  2. Spoon the filling over the pastry leaving a 2 inch wide rim. Cut the butter into small cubes and sprinkle over the filling. Fold the edges of the pastry over the filling, pressing the pastry together, to seal.

  3. Brush egg wash over the pastry and sprinkle with sugar.

  4. Bake at 375°F for 45-50 minutes, until golden brown.

  5. Pour glaze over the warm tart and sprinkle with almonds.

Serves: 8-10

Pastry Dough

  • 1 1/3 cups flour

  • 3 Tbsp. sugar

  • 1/4 tsp. salt

  • 7 Tbsp. cold butter, cubed

  • 2-3 Tbsp. cold water

  1. Combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut in cold butter until the mixture is crumbly.  Add water 1 Tbsp. at a time until the dough sticks together to form a ball. (You may need more water depending on the humidity in your area. Just make sure it sticks together without being sticky to the touch.)

Pear Filling

  • 3/4 cup sugar

  • 1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted

  • 1/4 cup flour

  • 1.5 tsp lemon zest

  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

  • 4 medium sized ripe pears, peeled and sliced

  1. Toss together all ingredients until pears are well coated.

Glaze

  • 1/4 cup icing sugar

  • 1.5 tsp. milk

  • 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

  1. Mix together until smooth. (Do this just before glazing so that it does not start to set)

*Note on toasting almonds: My preferred way to toast nuts is on the stove top in a frying pan. Just place over med. heat, stir occasionally and keep a close eye. As soon as you can smell the nutty flavour and see a bit of color they are done. You must keep a close eye because they can go from perfect to burnt pretty fast.

Print Recipe