This stunning tart was inspired by the Christmas edition (Dec. 2010) of Australian Gourmet Traveller and we made it very late on Xmas night – when we clearly did not need anymore food! It was an absolute triumph and quite easy to bake, just a little time consuming. I changed the recipe slightly to make it gluten free and suit what I had on hand, however all due respect must go to the source – and cherry sauce!
Cherry-vanilla jam
300 gm cherries, pitted
220 gm (1 cup) caster sugar
Juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
Almond pastry
90 gm natural almonds
250 gm softened butter
110 gm (½ cup) caster sugar
300 gm (2 cups) rice flour
Filling
500 gm crème fraîche
100 ml pouring cream
20 gm pure icing sugar, sieved, plus extra for dusting
To serve: fresh cherries, pitted and seasonal berries
For cherry-vanilla jam
- Combine ingredients in a saucepan and stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture reaches setting point (6-8 minutes; see note), refrigerate until well chilled (1-2 hours)
For almond pastry
- process almonds in a food processor to form coarse crumbs (1 minute). Beat butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes), scrape down sides of bowl, add rice flour and almonds, beat to just combine. Form into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to rest
- Preheat oven to 180C. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface to 3mm thick and line a 28cm round fluted tart tin, trim edges and refrigerate until firm (30 minutes)
- Blind bake until light golden (10-12 minutes), remove paper and weights, bake until golden and crisp (6-8 minutes), cool completely
For filling
- Whisk crème fraîche, cream and icing sugar in a bowl until firm peaks form (2-3 minutes), refrigerate until required
To assemble
- Spread jam in base of pastry case, spoon over crème fraîche mixture, top with fresh cherries and berries, dust with icing sugar and serve
Note
To test for a jam’s setting point, place several saucers in the freezer before you start cooking the jam. When the mixture becomes thick, remove from heat, spoon a little onto a chilled saucer and return to freezer for 30 seconds. When you draw your finger through the mixture it should hold a trail. If it doesn’t, cook for 1-2 minutes longer and test again. Source: AGT