With a creamy vanilla custard filling, fresh cherries, and a crust that doesn't require refrigeration or rolling before using, this cherry tart is the best. A dessert that comes together quickly and looks sophisticated.
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Originally published in December 2012, this post has been updated for images and text. The recipe remains the same (because it's the best!).
This recipe caught my eye because of the method for making the crust. And also the fact that I earnestly await the cherry season to make cherry caipiroska and cherry dump cake.
The recipe hails from Bill Granger, a perpetually grinning Aussie with a great television show I watched earnestly before the internet was a thing.
Sometimes I think nothing beats eating cold fresh cherries by themselves. Yet, some recipes make it worth baking them. This is one of them.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- Unsalted butter.
- Granulated sugar.
- All-purpose flour.
- Salt: I like to use kosher salt when baking. But regular table salt works just fine.
- Ground almonds: they will act as a barrier to prevent, as much as possible, liquid from seeping into the crust.
For the filling:
- Cherries: fresh or frozen, pitted.
- Vanilla: I use pure vanilla extract or pure vanilla paste when available, but a good vanilla essence (artificially flavored) also works.
- Cream: use heavy, whipping, or heavy whipping cream.
- Sugar: white or light brown sugar, both work.
- Eggs: fresh, large.
- Flour: all-purpose or cake flour, both work.
See the recipe card at the end of this post for quantities.
Crust ingredients
Custard filling ingredients.
The pie crust
Pie crusts usually require a stay in the refrigerator and involve a rolling pin, a floured counter, etc.
This one defies everything we're taught in pastry school or what you read about crust making. It starts with melted butter and doesn't need to chill before baking.
How's that for simplicity? And it is a fantastic crispy crust. It works; it just does.
You need a large bowl and a spoon or spatula.
The final mixture (image below) is soft, doesn't have floury spots, and is ready to use!
Lining the tart pan
This is super easy.
Have ready a 9-inch (24cm) tart pan with a removable bottom. You don't need to butter it; this dough is buttery enough.
Scatter small pieces of dough all over the bottom of the pie pan.
Press the dough, starting with the side and angles, and then work to cover the bottom.
Vintage Kitchen tip: the dough might look like it's not enough. But it is. You need a little patience. Distribute mounds all over the bottom and press the sides first, ensuring the angle is well covered with dough. Then move to the bottom.
The cherries
Cherries are small, round stone fruit usually available during hot months, but that can vary according to the weather.
They can be sweet or sour/tart. And their color ranges greatly, from bright reds to deep purples and scarlets.
This pie works way better with fresh ones. But you can use frozen cherries. It's such a pretty holiday tart that we should all be able to make it year-round.
Pitting cherries
Even if you only bake a couple of times a year with fresh cherries, I recommend you buy yourself a cherry pitter, like the one in the image below.
They are super handy to take out the stone from the fruit in seconds. And the cherry stays whole, which is wonderful for a tart recipe like this.
The vanilla custard
This cherry pie has a creamy, sweet, creamy filling that is very straightforward and comes together in no time.
Simply mix all ingredients with a hand whisk in a large mixing bowl. That's it. No stove or beating is involved.
Sugar: I have used brown sugar occasionally instead of white, and it works well. So feel free to use whatever sugar you have or like.
As with the amount of crust, if you follow the recipe, you will have exactly the amount of filling you need to fill this tart crust.
Assembling the tart
- Pre-baked crust: this is necessary to achieve a crisp crust. It will still be light-colored, but the surface will be dry.
- Almonds: they're scattered on the bottom to avoid sogginess as much as possible.
- Pan size: if you use the right-sized pan, there should be no pie dough leftovers, and the cherries and custard should fill it to the top without overflowing.
- Custard: I transfer the filling to a jar for easier pouring. Be careful and distribute it as evenly as possible.
Baking this pie
I recommend baking it until it barely jiggles in the center when custards are involved. They will continue to bake and set while the dessert is cooling. That way, the filling will be creamy.
If you wait until the filling is too firm, it will have a thicker consistency when it cools and not be as creamy, especially if there's refrigeration involved.
Variations
- Stone fruit: apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, they all work here. Choose fresh fruits with a little acidity to counterbalance the butter and cream.
- Berries: blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries work very well in this recipe.
- Flavorings: use spices, citrus zest, or extracts to flavor the custard to complement the fruit you use.
- Oil: I have a friend who makes this crust with oil instead of butter, the same amount. She says it's great. I never tried it but thought you might want to know just in case.
Kitchen notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier!
- Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer(like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
- Serving: I suggest sprinkling powdered sugar and a small pile of wonderful fresh cherries. A spoonful of fresh whipped cream and some grated chocolate on top of it works well.
Related recipes you might like:
Let me know in the comments below if you made this recipe and loved it and if you had issues so we can troubleshoot together. I love to hear what you think, always. Thanks for being here. It's much appreciated.
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Fresh Cherry Tart
An easy cherry tart with a vanilla custard filling, fresh cherries, and a crust that doesn't require refrigeration or rolling before using!
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 slices
Ingredients
For the crust:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- Scant ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- A pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons almond meal (ground almonds) or ground vanilla cookies
For the filling:
- ¾ cup whipping cream
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 pound cherries, pitted (fresh are best)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180°C.
- Have ready a 9-inch (24cm) round tart pan with a removable bottom.
- Have the pitted cherries in a bowl.
For the crust:
- Stir together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. I use a spatula.
- Add the flour and salt and stir to make a soft dough.
- Transfer the dough to the pan in small pieces, distributing them on the bottom, and press evenly into the sides first, and then the base, with your floured fingertips. The dough seems like it's not enough but it is.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes, until beginning to brown.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle the almond meal over the base.
For the filling:
- Whisk together the cream, eggs, vanilla and sugar.
- Add the flour and whisk until well mixed.
- Arrange the pitted cherries over the pastry base and slowly pour the cream filling evenly over the cherries.
- Return the tart to the oven and bake 40-50 minutes until the filling is barely firm, still jiggling slightly in the center.
- Cool completely on a wire rack and serve dusted with powdered sugar and fresh cherries.
- I like to refrigerate it for a 1-2 hours, well wrapped, before serving.
- Refrigerate leftovers, wrapped so it doesn't dry out.
Notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier!
- Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer(like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
- Baking time: I recommend baking it until it barely jiggles in the center. Or until it just stops jiggling, at the most. That way, the filling will be creamy.
- Serving: I suggest sprinkling powdered sugar and a small pile of wonderful fresh cherries. A spoonful of fresh whipped cream and some grated chocolate on top of it works well.
- Fruit: use other stone fruit (nectarines, apricots, plums, or peaches) or berries (blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries).
- Flavorings: add spices or extracts to the custard to complement the fruit you use.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Refrigeration time:
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: International
Nutrition
- Serving Size: â…›
- Calories: 383
- Sugar: 25.3 g
- Sodium: 45.1 mg
- Fat: 21.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 43.8 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5.5 g
- Cholesterol: 101 mg
BeeGee says
Can I use cherry pie full and how could I substitute?
Paula Montenegro says
Hi, I don't understand your question. What do you need to substitute?
Robert Darling says
Made this to celebrate our bonus Cherry season. Finally our Sweet Cherry Tree "Stella" produced a stellar harvest. We began with a Clafouti which was great — Latest Joy of Cooking recipe. Using a smaller tart pan than 9" for the two of us, there was a bit of left over dough, not a problem, used it up as a cookie with an almond pressed into the top.
The dough mixes as noted, and makes a good crust. Incorporated 2/3 Regular all purpose flour and 1/3 almond flour + 1/2 tsp. Almond extract. But not having the levening agent of bits of butter pressed through the flour, the texture is very different easy to mix and press into the pan, it tastes good. But in another opportunity I'd vote for the additional time needed to mix / freeze a different Tart Crust.
The custard also tastes good — but do believe the admonishing note to not overbake (which I did) so it lacked the nice custard. contrast. Will do again when the plums ripen in a week or so. See if I can get it right next time.
LRR says
Delicious outcome- for me I added extra crust forto fill the bottom and up the sides of my pan, In found the ingredients were short. Next time I would bake much less, by 40 min my custard was brown and overcooked. Still delicious and I would definitely make again!
Catherine says
Easy and delicious. I used a frozen bag of cherries that I thawed in the microwave then drained. Also used almond flour as I did not have ground almond. Turned out from what I could tell without a hitch.
Betty S says
Do you recommend adjusting the amount of sugar for a sour cherry vs. a sweet cherry? I’m concerned 3 T might not be enough for sour cherries.
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Betty! I would add no more than an extra tablespoon of sugar to the custard so the texture doesn't change much. And sprinkle up to 2 more tablespoons on top before baking it, similar to a clafoutis. An alternative is sprinkling powdered sugar on the baked tart while still warm after it's baked. It will add sweetness for sure. Have a great weekend.
Michael says
Thank you Paula 😀
This is our 4th of July treat for this evening. It looks great and was rather easy to make too. Thanks again and Happy Independence Day!
Paula Montenegro says
Happy to know that Michael! Happy 4th of July to you too!
Nancy Steger says
For 4th of July, I like to add some blueberries.
Nancy Irwin says
I have made this multiple times and with cherries and also blackberries. It's incredible
Paula Montenegro says
So happy to know that it worked out so well Nancy! I'm tempted to try it with other berries now. Have a great week.
Sarah says
Hello! I can't wait to make this. When using frozen cherries, should they be thawed and rinsed prior to using? Thanks!
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Sarah! I recommend you thaw them first and drain the excess liquid to avoid a watery custard.
Serlina says
Loved this recipe. It was super simple! The crust is perfectly crispy and I have never achieved such perfection when I have made short crust using the chilling & rolling method.
I used 180’C temp with a fan forced oven which resulted in the filling cooking faster and edges burning slightly. I would recommend cooking at 160’C if you are using a fanforced oven.
Paula Montenegro says
So happy you loved it Serlina! Thanks for the oven tip. Have a wonderful 2022.
Jill says
Can’t wait to try this in my new tart pan!! Please explain the whipping cream ingredient as in your picture the cream looks dense and whipping cream here is fluid until whipped.
Thank you!
Jill-New Baker
Paula Montenegro says
Hey Jill! I use double or heavy cream and sometimes it's thick, especially when it's cold. If yours is more fluid it will take a little longer to bake until firm. But it will. Hope this helps.
wenny lock says
Love the simple recipe but my why my crusts came out so hard?
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Weeny! This crust is more on the crunchy side than not. But, you might've worked it too much or baked the tart for too long. Do you have a picture? Did you by any chance measure the flour wrongly and it was too dry?
Lindy says
I made this tart but my crust height shrank so I had less depth for the custard. How do I prevent this? Many thanks
Paula Montenegro says
Hey Lindy! Pop it in the fridge for half an hour or so before baking it, like we do with regular homemade pie crusts that use cold butter. This will relax the gluten in the flour that might've been formed when handling it.
Deborah says
At what temperature do u bake this? No mention in the recipe
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Deborah, the recipe card is at the end of the post, and in the instructions you have the temperature, 350°F. Have a good weekend.
Maritza says
Hello I only have an 11 inch tart pan, how can I scale up this recipe to fit my tin?
Thank you!
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Maritza! I think a recipe and a half would be enough to fit the 11 inch pan.
Sarah says
Hi Paula. Your pie looks divine! I can’t wait to make it, but unfortunately I can’t find fresh or frozen cherries in South Africa. They are not in season at the moment. I can only find glacé (maraschino) cherries. Will this work? Thank you so much
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Sarah! With marraschino cherries the flavor and texture will be changed, and not in a good way in my opinion. I believe it's best to wait for cherry season or make it with another fruit in the meantime, maybe raspberries or blackberries that are easier to find frozen, or stone fruit. Hope this helps.
B says
I just put my first attempt in the oven! Easy to prepare although I made 20% extra pastry after running out while creating the base. I’m a complete beginner though so making up for lack of skill.
Paula Montenegro says
Hi B, pastry making is a lot about practice! Let me know how it turns out.
John says
Recipe was great
Super easy
I added lemon zest to my filling and soaked my cherries in 1/4 cup of Kirsch and it came out so good
Paula Montenegro says
So glad to hear that John! I definitely like your additions to cut through the sweetness. Have a great week.
Anne says
Hi! I was wondering how you would suggest making this tart ahead of time? I was hoping to make it today and serve it on Christmas Eve. Would you suggest baking it or making the pie crust and freezing, along with the filling and then assembling day of? Thank you! Very excited to try.
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Anne! I froze leftovers but I don't suggest it unless there's no option. I did make it one or two days ahead of time and refrigerated it, well covered to avoid it from drying out.
But, freezing the crust I do recommend. The filling comes together in a few minutes, literally, so I don't see the point in doing it before. You can also pit the cherries ahead, though they start releasing juice, so keep that in mind. Hope this helps!
Becky says
I really want to make such a dish, but … I don’t know how to cook
Anyway, thanks for sharing this post!
I really like it!
Samantha says
Thanks for the reply, I must have been tired, oops! I remade them and they came out so yummy! Thank you!