I’ve been blogging for over 5 years now and this is the first time that I have re-posted something. I was recently looking at the photos I took of these cherry tarts and I couldn’t resist sharing them again. It’s amazing how well cherries and red wine go together in a dessert!

When I published this post in December 2013, fresh cherries in Australia were only available for several months from November to February. So, in order to make this cherry tart, I had to scramble to get my cherries before they went out of season. However, to my delight, I now see that the supermarkets are now selling cherries from California-so I can now make these tarts more frequently!

I also made a few changes to the recipe. My original recipe said to first blind-bake the pastry before adding the filling. However, due to the small size of the tarts, I don’t think this is really necessary. (However, you could also choose to make one large tart, instead of 6 small ones, which the recipe calls for).

By the way, if you would like to leave a comment (hint, hint), please scroll all the way to the very bottom of the post.

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Original post- December 2013

Help!! Cherry season only lasts 100 days in Australia! Yes, only 100 days during Spring and Summer (November through February)! Reading this fact on the internet made me scramble to buy my first Cherry Pitting gadget – that wonderful little thing that ‘pokes’ the cherry seed cleanly out of the fruit.

It’s great that cherry season in the southern hemisphere coincides with the Christmas season here, because cherries are made for Christmas – cherry tarts, pies and cakes, you name it!

In order to vent my lust for cherries (and to take advantage of the brief cherry growing season), I present my recipe for a White Chocolate Tart with Cherries in Red Wine Sauce.

Don’t let the fancy name throw you – the sauce is simply red wine and sugar heated together on the stove and then thickened with some corn flour. The filling is made with white chocolate blended with ricotta and mascarpone cheeses. Top with the cherries and red wine sauce and you’ve got yourself a delicious dessert!

Tips for making the pastry crust (see detailed recipe below) :

Use 6 individual tart pans (about 5 inches or 12 cm wide).

•  Combine the flour, icing sugar and chilled butter cubes in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
• Add the egg yolk and process until the dough just comes together. If the dough is still a bit dry, add the water and work into the mixture.
• Remove dough from the processor, form into a ball and knead on a floured surface for about 30 seconds. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• Separate the dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll out each piece on a floured surface, using a rolling pin dusted with flour. First, roll the pin forward and backwards on the dough, then turn the dough 1/4 and repeat. Keep on rolling and turning the dough 1/4 until the dough is about 1/8 inch thick.
• Transfer the dough onto the fluted tart tin so that the dough overhangs the edges.

•  Roll the rolling pin across the top of the tart pan in order to cut through the dough.

• Lift the outer edges of the dough away from the tart pan.

• Prick the crust on the bottom of the tart pan with a fork – this helps to keep the tart bottom from rising during the baking.

• Place the white chocolate/cheese filling inside the dough and bake for 30 minutes.
• Top with the cherries and wine sauce and serve (see detailed recipe below).

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