Serves: 6
Difficulty level: A little effort
Time: 2 hours
Enjoy with: A medium-cream sherry is a sweet and warming accompaniment to all kinds of desserts
INGREDIENTS:
Sable pastry
150g butter, cubed, at room temperature
90g icing sugar
a pinch of salt
1 large egg, beaten
250g cake flour, sifted
Frangipane
100g butter, at room temperature
100g (½ cup) sugar
2 large eggs
1 tot dark rum
50g ground almonds, sifted
25g cake flour, sifted
300g fresh cherries, pitted
Cherry orange compote
250g fresh or tinned cherries, pitted and roughly chopped
zest of 1 orange, reserving the orange for juice
60g white sugar
100ml cherry orange juice (50ml
cherry juice and 50ml orange juice)
Glaze
120g smooth apricot jam
20ml water
METHOD:
1. For the pastry, cream the butter, sugar and salt in a mixer. Add the egg and keep mixing until well combined. Add the flour and mix on the lowest setting until the dough has just come together. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, then divide into six portions and roll out into rectangles. Line six 11cm x 6cm loose-bottom moulds with the dough and refrigerate for a further 30 minutes.
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2. Preheat the oven to 180°C with a baking tray inside. Make the frangipane by beating the butter and sugar in a mixer until creamy. Continue beating, adding the eggs one by one, followed by the rum. The mixture should be smooth. Fold in the almonds and flour until just combined and smooth. Spoon into a piping bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Pipe the frangipane in a thick layer on the bottom of the chilled dough casings.
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3. Gently push the pitted cherries evenly into the frangipane. Bake on the preheated tray in the oven until the frangipane is puffed up and lightly golden, about 25 – 30 minutes.
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4. For the compote, combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat. Simmer until thickened.
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5. Remove the tartlets from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
6. For the glaze, heat the jam with a little water in a saucepan over low heat until it is a spreadable consistency. Lightly glaze the tartlets with a pastry brush. Serve warm with compote on the side.
Chef’s tip: Purée tinned cherries together with the liquid and pass through a fine mesh sieve to make cherry juice for the compote. Bottled cranberry juice makes a good alternative to cherry juice.
