We had a house full of friends and family for dinner Friday. In honor of Presidents' Day (and what was already in the cupboard) I made our beloved Cherry Tart for dessert. Actually I made two. True to my current obsession with Instagram, I documented the making with posted photos. Here is an improved version of that effort with a real recipe too. You can also find it in our Winter craft book with Mary Engelbreit and Barbara Martin. Just in case you have that already, it's there.
And now it's here too. Easy, forgiving (if pie crust scares you) and memorably delicious! The tricky part is finding the canned cherries. Not the canned cherry pie filling, these cherries are red tart cherries packed in water. They're pricey, but make all the difference. When I first started making this twenty years ago, there was a brand called Raggedy Ann Cherries. Cutest tin can ever. Now I use this Oregon brand from the chain supermarket (still a cute can and a good product). If you can't find them, try another fresh fruit like apples, blueberries, strawberries or peaches.
Use a pastry blender (or two knives) to mix 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 5 tablespoons cold butter, 4 tablespoons shortening until the butter is broken into pea-sized bits. Add 4 tablespoons ice-cold water. Use a fork to draw it together into a ball. Chill. (Honestly, I often skip the chilling and it still works.)
Roll it out into a raggedy circle.
Gently transfer the pastry to a cookie sheet or pie pan. If it breaks apart, just push it back together. Better to have it be sloppy rather than overworked perfection because pastry gets tough when it's handled too much. Place the drained cherries in the center. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon almond flavoring and fold the pastry up around the filling. The center will be uncovered. I sprinkle a little bit more sugar over all before it goes into the oven at 425 for 35 to 40 minutes until lightly brown. Serves 4 or 5. They'll want seconds and some for breakfast too, so if you're up to it, consider making two.
xoxo
Hello Charlotte,
Yummy tart!
Gabriela
Posted by: Gabriela | February 20, 2012 at 02:35 PM
Wow, that looks delicious! I'm printing that off and trying it tomorrow....Thanks Charlotte!!! Xox
Posted by: Penelope | February 20, 2012 at 03:05 PM
Looks yummy! My mom used to always make cherry pie for Washington's birthday. Lovely memories!
Posted by: Mindy | February 20, 2012 at 08:04 PM
Looks yummy! I have seen this brand of cherries and wondered what I would do with it... now I know!
Monica Fullerton
Posted by: Monica Fullerton | February 20, 2012 at 10:11 PM
oh wow!!!
looks delicious and I'm thinking that maybe I can make this with pears. Dad loves pears and I would love to surprise him with something like this.
Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Mar | February 21, 2012 at 08:12 AM
We used this brand and one from Michigan for many of the "cherry" deserts over the years. Yours looks pretty appealing!
x
Posted by: Jane B | February 21, 2012 at 02:25 PM
That sounds delicious! Thanks for the recipe - much better than the store bought cherry pie we had. Hugs.
Posted by: Troy Louise | February 21, 2012 at 06:01 PM
I love this post Charlotte. Looks delicious and I'll definitely give your pie crust a try. We have that Oregon brand here too. Love it.
Posted by: nicki | February 23, 2012 at 01:11 PM
sounds yummy! i've done something similar with peaches (and bought crust....shudder!) but this looks even yummier! thanks for the recipe and how-to.
Posted by: sharon from farm and fru fru | February 23, 2012 at 10:48 PM