Cherry and almond tart (la tarte amandine aux cerises)

Stage 21 – Sèvres - Grand Paris Seine Ouest/Paris Champs-Élysées: This appetising cherry and almond tart was traditionally made with cherries grown in orchards just outside of Paris. If fresh cherries aren’t in season, you can use frozen or tinned, but make sure you defrost or drain them to get rid of any excess liquid.

• serves

  6

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 350 g sweet shortcrust pastry
• 60 g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
• 2 eggs
• 50 g caster sugar
• 50 ml pouring cream
• 100 g almond meal
• 600 g pitted fresh cherries (see Note) 
• icing sugar, for dusting
• fresh cherries, to serve

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Lightly grease a 23 cm tart tin with removable base.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface until about 3 mm-thick. Line the prepared tin with pastry and blind bake for 8-10 minutes with baking weights. Remove the weights and bake for a further 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, using electric beaters, beat the butter, eggs, sugar, cream and almond meal until well combined. Spread the almond cream over the pastry, then scatter with the pitted cherries, pressing them slightly into the almond cream. Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Remove the tart from the oven and allow to cool, then dust with icing sugar and serve with a few fresh cherries on the side.

Note

• If substituting frozen cherries...

Photography by Benito Martin. Styling by Jerrie-Joy Redman-Lloyd. Food preparation by Alice Storey. Creative concept by Lou Fay. 

Taste le Tour starts Saturday 4 July 2015 on SBS ONE and finishes 26 July 2015. Visit the Taste le Tour website to catch-up on episodes online, scroll through recipes or find out more about the show. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.