Cherry tart

Nothing says summer like a fresh fruit tart. The following is the recipe for the tart I made last week which resulted in the unfortunate arm burn (healing nicely). Burn or not, the tart tasted great and if you lift from the sides you'll have some delicious dessert without the scar.

Tarts come in several varieties. Some incorporate the fruit by baking it and some place it on top of the tart fresh. This recipe is a traditional tart in which you bake the shell first, then fill it with pastry cream or custard and place fresh fruit on top. Some people prefer to pour a simple sugar on top, but I enjoy leaving the berries whole and untouched.

Tart Shell:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup butter cut into chunks
1 egg yolk
2 tbs. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder in a food processor with a dough blade. Pulse until combined. Add margarine and pulse until crumbly. With machine running add egg and juice. Pastry will form a ball. (I prefer to do this all by hand but it does take more time that way). Press dough into 11 inch tart pan. Prick tart all over iwth a fork. To ensure even rising You may weigh doen the dough with pie weights (or navy beans in a mesh oven proof bag). Place in the oven and bake for ten minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and continue to bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

Vanilla Pastry Cream:
1 cup whole milk
2 Tbs. vanilla
2 Tbs orange juice
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup plus 3 tbs. sugar
3 tbs flour

Bring milk, vanilla and ornage juice to a boil in medium sacuepan. Remove from heat and let sit 20 minutes. Whisk yolks and sugar until fluffy. Add flour flour until well incorporated. With mixer on low and 1/2 cup of milk mixture to the egg mixture and mix. Pour entire thing into pan and whisk. Heat while whisking constantly for about 4 minutes, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and pass through a sieve into a glass bowl sittingin an ice water bath. Let cool completely and pour into tart shell. If you prefer a perfectly neat tart you may use a piping bag to transfer cream to tart.

Top the cream with halved cherries. For an extra special look use red and white cherries. Some people like to cover the tart so completely you cannot see the ceam. Some people like to place them scattered. This is up to your own personal style.