Cherry tart
( Crostata di ciliegie )

Cherry tart recipe

Preparation

• - Remove stone from your cherries.
  Wash and pat dry with absorbent kitchen paper.
  Put them apart.
• - Preheat oven to 180 °C (350 °F).
• - Meanwhile butter a baking tin or dish.
• - Roll 400g (14 ounces) shortcrust pastry out to a thickness of 1/2 in.
  Line your baking tin with shortcrust pastry and sprinkle chopped wafers over.
  Remember to put apart a little of your pastry to garnish.
• - Fill up with cherries.
• - Brush fruits with jelly.
• - Create some decorations with the rest of shortcrust pastry, according to your fancy.
  Arrange them on the top, near the edge as you can see on the photo.

Cooking

• - Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the surface is golden.

Just before serving

• - Remove your cherry tart from the oven.
• - Let your tart cool very well before serving

Note

Tips

• - You can use ready-to-bake shortcrust pastry or you could make it by hand following my directions or your favorite recipe. Link to my recipe below!
• - You could prepare this cherry tart the day before. It's even tastier!
• - You can keep your cherry tart two or three days in the refrigerator.
  But remember to bring it back to room temperature before serving.
• - This tart is tastier with cherries still with their stones but if you prepare it for formal meal it is better to remove them especially i made for children ;)))

Menu planning

• - Cherries are in season in the late spring and early summer. So this cherry tart is perfect to close a menu based on meat dishes and seasonal ingredients. Here it is a menu of mine! Links to suggested recipes in the next paragraph!
  Starter: an assorted antipasto platter (made with salami and cheese).
  First course: the short pasta you prefer dressed with sauce with ham and peas.
  Second course: beef stew, Tuscan-style accompanied with fried artichokes
  Dessert: this cherry tart
  What about my menu for a birthday dinner or a get-together with your favorite friends?

Useful links for this recipe

• - Interested in my recipe for shortcrust pastry?
• - And now let's talk about suggested recipes for my menu. Look for starter ideas, Italian style in our page inspired by Italian antipastos.
  In this site there is a directory dedicated to pasta sauces in which you can read how to make cotto ham and pea sauce.
  Beef stew is a traditional dish in Italy but every region has its own secret to cook it. Have a look at Tuscan way! The perfect side dish for me is deep-fried artichokes!

Healthy eating

• - This cherry tart is definitely not a dessert to prepare for your daily breakfast or snacks.
  Although its calories don't seem excessive, please compare them with an average daily diet of 2000 calories for an adult. You can't eat this cherry often.
  Choose it seldom, for exampe for a special occasion. A birthday menu, a dinner with your friends, a Sunday lunch in spring when cherries seem to call you with a force that does not know any resistance ....
  Anyway prefer raw cherries to make full use of their nutrients especially their vitamin content.
  For every day you should choose dry or baked cakes wit a low content in fat and sugar as recommended in the guidelines of a healthy diet.
• - Cherries have a high water content and sugar variables from 11 to 22%. They have a preventive action against heart disease and stroke according to some American studies on their use, but it must be a diet rich in cherries ;)))
  Cherries are diuretic, refreshing and have a slight laxative action too.
  Besides, keep in mind the presence of flavonoids, ie those antioxidants substance capable of slowing the aging process.

Loretta

What's the right wine for " Cherry tart "?

Carlo and I like to pair Brachetto d'Acqui (a red sparkling wine of Piedmont - Italy) to this cherry tart.