Cherry Tarts

Think its about time for another recipe.  I LOVE cherries.  Strangely tho the fresh ones are always so lacking in flavour I think.  Now, a baked cherry....mmmmmm  Heavenly !  Marry that cherry with some vanilla and a buttery light pie crust and you have a desert worth swooning over.  Here is my Gluten Free take on a Cherry Tart.


I am going to use the Pie Crust Recipe from my first recipe post so I shall just post the ingredients but will refer you to that post for the method.

Ingredients - Pie Crust (makes 6 individual or one large pie crust)

162g  Plain GF Flour

38g GF Self Raising Flour

60g Pure Icing Sugar

1 level tsp Xanthan Gum

1/2 tsp GF Baking Powder

100g Cold Butter roughly chopped

1 large egg yolk (use an egg with a minimum whole weight of 59g)

A little of the egg white to aid binding

Ingredients - Filling

Morello Cherries in tin or jar (already pitted) About 450g tin.

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter

2 Tbsp of 100% Corn Cornflour
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1. Make one quantity of shortcrust pastry.  Rest it then press out into individual or one large pie crust.  You will have about half the pastry left over - this will form the lattice tops for your tarts.
2. Bake it in the oven at 160 Celsius for about 10 minutes then remove them and let them cool completely.  If you fill the shells while they are warm then they will absorb all the juice in the filling and make the base a bit soggy.
3. Set your case(s) aside to cool then prepare your filling.
4. Drain the juice from your tin of cherries into a small saucepan.
5. Add to the juice, your sugar, vanilla and 100% corn cornflour.  Stir it constantly over a medium heat until it boils gently and thickens.  Allow it to cook out for at least a minute once it boils - always stirring.
6. Then remove it from the heat and add your butter - this will gloss up the sauce.
7. Add the cherries back into the sauce and stir through.
8. Now carefully fill your cooled pastry shells with the cherries.
9. Take your pastry and cut long strips and work them into a lattice on the top of your shells over the filling.
10. Paint a little eggwash over the pastry and return it to the over for about 15-20 minutes.  Allow the tarts to completely cool before removing them from their cases - then dust with a little icing sugar.

Remember the flavour of tinned cherries varies A LOT.  Find one that you like.  You could also substitute tinned pie apple for this filling for a quick alternative.

Enjoy,

L x