Amaretto cherry tarts

Hey guys!

I’ve just made this quick and easy recipe that is a great treat for anyone that wants a more wholesome and unrefined dessert that is still really indulgent and full of flavour. Cherries and amaretto (Disaronno) are a great combination…and as soon as I started thinking what should I make with cherries, all I could think about is the incredible Amaretto Sour cocktail that is creamy, cool, smooth and deep in a rich flavour of nuts, aroma and sweetness. In this recipe I’ve used Bruny Island cherries which were given to us by a family friend – they adopted 3kg worth of cherries. I think that is a great initiative that Bruny Island Cheese and Co have going on! I’ve used them to make a cherry and amaretto puree placed on the base of the pastry and then for the cream base, I’ve combined sour cream and pure cream. You could of course just use pure cream…but it’s not the same. Sour cream is heavier, it holds the mixture for longer and of course the slight sour flavour brings in a savoury flavour that balances out the sweetness of the amaretto and the cherries. In fact, my grandmother and great grandmother from Ukraine always used sour cream in there cake recipes, it was the main ingredient! Here I’ve use cream from Burraduc Farm.

For a sweet pastry base I always use an adaption of Mary Berry’s recipe. The ratio of ingredients that she used is so easy and super consistent in working out every time! Here though I have made some adaptations in terms of using a different sweetener and flour. I used purple flour for the first time which I found on the shelves at Harris Farm Markets a couple of weeks ago. Serve this on a summery night as a light end to a meal.

Ingredients

Makes 7 tarts

You need 7 small pastry shells (see photo)

Pastry

175g purple flour (or any other flour)

1 egg yolk

25g honey

1 tbsp water

100g butter (cold and diced into small squares)

Filling

1 cup pure cream

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup cherries for puree (deseeded and roughly cut in half)

1 tsp honey

2 tbsp water

extra cherries for topping (approximately 27, 3 per each tart)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees.
2. Prepare the pastry by placing all the ingredients into a blender. Blend for 1 minute until roughly combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and use the palm of your hands to bring together into a ball.
3. Lightly flour a roll out pin and roll the pastry out into an oval shape. I like my pastry quite thin so the cooking times below are based on thin pastry.
4. Use a knife to carve out circles that are slightly larger then the pastry shells and then carefully lift them up and place into the shells, pressing down lightly with your fingers, in particular around the edges. Use a fork to create mini breathing holes so that the pastry cooks through well.
5. Repeat the process by bringing together the leftover pastry and rolling out again until you have used most of it up.
6. Blind bake 15 minutes.
7. Remove baking beads or rice and paper and bake again 15 minutes.
8. Allow to cool before assembling!
9. Place the whole cherries into the disarrono and soak until assembling the tarts.
10. For the cherry puree, place the cherries and the amaretto into a saucepan and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes until the cherries have softened. Add some water and add honey, cook for 2 minutes, not much longer as the sugars will caramelise enough by this stage. Using a stick blender puree and then pass through a sieve. Return to the heat for a minute or so if the mixture is too watery. Set the puree aside and allow to cool. 
11. Whip the pure cream until soft peaks. Whip the sour cream until soft peaks.  Fold the two creams together with a spatula.  This mixture should be nice and fluffy!
12. Allow all ingredients to cool before assembling! (The pastry shells and the puree)
13. To assemble the tarts begin by filling the pastry shells with the puree (approximately 3/4 tbsp), follow by adding a large tbsp of the cream, then the amaretto soaked cherries on top! 3 per tart.
14. Serve and enjoy! You can refrigerate overnight (the cream will hold but of course the pastry is always best when freshly served).

Anastasia xx