Summer

Cherry Cheese Tart

by:
June 22, 2010
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0 Ratings
Cherry Cheese Tart
  • Serves 8" X 8" tart
Author Notes

I Love LOve LOVE cherries. So much so that the only thing I want to do with them is eat them. So I decided to create a recipe that showcased cherries in all their shiny fresh glory. It’s still quite rich with an oat-almond crust and a cream cheese-crème fraiche filling. (You could lighten it up by using Greek yogurt in place of the crème fraiche, but I didn’t.) This dessert should be made several hours before serving so that it has a chance to chill and firm up. I made it in an 8x8 pan. Be sure and butter the pan and the parchment really well—the crust is sticky. Try and find cream cheese that doesn’t have a lot of stabilizers. Everyone has their own method for pitting cherries—I just split them in half with my thumbnail and popped the pits out. This is easiest when the cherries are very ripe, so look for the darkest, ripest cherries you can find.
—drbabs

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Oat and Almond Crust
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 pinch salt
  • Cream Cheese Filling and Cherries
  • 1 pound cherries, washed, dried, pitted and cut in half
  • 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup creme fraiche
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon lime zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 pinch salt
Directions
  1. Oat and Almond Crust
  2. Prepare pan by buttering, lining with parchment, and buttering the parchment. Preheat oven to 375.
  3. Melt butter, and mix in oats, almond meal, sugar and salt, making sure that all ingredients are evenly distributed. Pat in over the bottom of the pan and bake for 10 minutes until bubbly and beginning to brown. Let cool on a wire rack to room temperature and refrigerate.
  1. Cream Cheese Filling and Cherries
  2. Split and pit cherries and set aside.
  3. Put cream cheese, crème fraiche, honey, salt, extracts, lime juice and zest into the work bowl of a food processor and blend thoroughly until completely smooth. Spread filling over crust, and smooth it out evenly. Arrange cherries on top, cut side down. Cover and chill at least 2 hours before serving.
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  • arielleclementine
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13 Reviews

arielleclementine
arielleclementine June 24, 2010
i love the sound of this! and agree wholeheartedly that it's hard to beat the taste of an untampered-with fresh cherry :)
 
drbabs
drbabs June 24, 2010
Thanks!
 
Heena
Heena June 23, 2010
Loving the zest and honey in the filling. Think this will be good with ricotta?
 
drbabs
drbabs June 23, 2010
I do. I was torn between ricotta and cream cheese when I made it. Thanks!
 
cheese1227
cheese1227 June 23, 2010
This looks fabulous!
 
drbabs
drbabs June 23, 2010
Thanks!
 
lapadia
lapadia June 22, 2010
Yum! Couldn't this crust be cut up in squares for a snack too? Perhaps with some chopped almonds pressed into it...just a thought running through my brain.
 
drbabs
drbabs June 22, 2010
Definitely. That's how I've been serving it--in little rectangles with 2 or 3 cherries. (It's very rich.)
 
Lizthechef
Lizthechef June 22, 2010
YUM! I'll bet the citrus really makes these beauties "pop".
 
drbabs
drbabs June 22, 2010
Thanks--yes, it's a little too good.
 
drbabs
drbabs June 23, 2010
Liz, I put up a different picture. This one was taken with my phone! Which, sadly, takes better pictures than my camera.
 
aargersi
aargersi June 22, 2010
LOVE the nutty almond crust, LOVE the zest cheesy filling, LOVE the cherries. Well done!
 
drbabs
drbabs June 22, 2010
Thanks! I love your jam (but don't really want to pit ALL those cherries)!