A Dish and A Bev

Cherry and almond tart recipe by Emma Nkunzana

South Africa’s cherry season is quite short. It’s only from October to December, these fruits are highly sought after and enjoyed by most South Africans. They are versatile. You can pair them with other produce or ingredients to create sweet, savoury, or fruity dishes.

Balance cherries’ tartness and sweetness with rich, velvety chocolate. Use cherries as the hero ingredient in sauces for rich meat dishes such as pork, duck, and venison. Pair them with citrus like lemons, oranges, and limes to amplify cherries’ natural tartness and balance sweetness. Here is a recipe from Emma Nkunzana in collaboration with Juicy Delicious that celebrates the versatility of cherries.

• Easy
• Serves: 6 – 8
• Preparation time: 20 minutes
• Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 Roll Store Bought Shortcrust Pastry
• ½ cup castor sugar
• 120g butter
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 Tbsp cake flour
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp almond extract or 2 tsp almond essence
• 200g cherries, pitted and halved, plus extra for garnishing
• To serve: ½ cup cream, lightly whipped

Method

Pastry

1. On a lightly floured surface, ever so slightly roll dough out and lay it into a 23cm fluted tart dish with removable bottom.
2. Bake blind in a preheated oven at 200 ̊C for 8 minutes.
3. Allow the pastry to cool before filling.

Filling

1. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, combine butter and sugar together.
2. You don’t need to aerate the mixture just enough to combine.
3. Fold in flours until incorporated, then add one egg at a time, mixing after each addition followed by almond extract.
4. Pour almond batter into a pre-baked tart dish, smooth over with an offset spatula.
5. Stud cherries into the batter.

Baking

1. Bake in a preheated oven of 170 ̊C for 40 – 45 minutes, until the middle is firm.
2. Cool on a wire rack and remove the outer rim of the tart dish.
3. Serve with fresh cherries, a drizzle of cream and a dusting of icing sugar.