I love June and its wonderful cherries with their firm texture and addictive sweetness. They are my favorite fruits. They are perfect served as dessert, added in salads or in sweet treats, but eaten right from the tree are even better. They taste like chidhood!

With an acute childhood nostalgia, an intense sweet craving and a dangerously low blood sugar level I decided this morning that it’s the perfect moment to bake a cherry tart. Even though it’s a sweet tart, the crust is sugarless. It is a pâte à foncer, a dough made from flour, sugar, egg and salt. I love how the salty crust enhances the flavor of the filling. This tart has 3 components: the flaky crust, the coffee glazed cherries and the delicate custard. I can honestly say that this is the best tart I’ve ever had!

Ingredients:

for the crust:

• 250g all-purpose flour (refrigerated for 30 minutes)
• 125g cold butter (cut into small pieces)
• 1 cold egg
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ to 1 Tbsp cold water

for the filling:

• 500g cherries, stones removed
• 1 Tbsp bread crumbs
• 15g butter
• 80g Demerara sugar (30g + 50g)
• ½ Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp coffee liqueur
• 1 egg
• 100ml double cream

Method:

1. Prepare the crust. In a food processor add the flour, salt and butter and pulse just until the mixture looks like wet sand and the butter pieces are no larger than peas. Add the beaten egg and pulse for about 10 seconds. You can also rub the butter in the flour using your fingers, but you have to be very fast.
2. Cover a wooden board with plastic wrap and place the crumbly mixture on the wrap. Knead for about 20 seconds just until you form a ball. Flatten the dough and cover with another plastic wrap.
3. Refrigerate the board (with the dough) for 30 minutes.
4. After 30 minutes roll the dough using a rolling pin. The plastic wrap will prevent the dough to stick.
5. Lift the disk and place it in a tart tin. Use your rolling pin to trim the excess edges.
6. Use your fingers to pinch the dough until it’s about 5 mm above the edges because it will shrink while baking.
7. With a fork prick the bottom of the crust.
8. Preheat the oven at 220°C/425°F (gas mark 7)
9. Refrigerate the tart crust for another 30 minutes.
10. Bake the crust in the preheated oven for 13 minutes or until light golden.
11. Meanwhile prepare the glaze. Mix 15g of butter with 30g sugar, ½ Tbsp lemon juice and 1 Tbsp coffee liqueur. Heat the mixture until the sugar has dissolved.
12. After the crust is baked lower the oven temperature at 190°C/375°F (gas mark 5). Sprinkle the baked crust with the breadcrumbs and arrange the cherries. Glaze the cherries with the coffee sauce. Continue to cook the tart for 15 minutes.
13. Meanwhile prepare the custard by mixing 1 egg with 50g of sugar and 100ml of double cream.
14. After 15 minutes pour the custard over the cooked cherries and continue to bake the tart for further 15-20 minutes or until the custard has set.
15. Let it cool until it reaches room temperature and slice.

Source: www.bbcfood.com