This rustic cherry puff pastry tart smothers a puff pastry crust with frangipane, cherries, and almonds. It’s a stunning summer dessert with its purplish summer stone fruit. Ideal for dessert and, if you can manage to save a slice, for breakfast as well.
We’ve long been fans of puff pastry desserts for their easy and simplicity. For this rustic cherry tart, simply roll the pastry, top with sweet buttery frangipane and fresh cherries, and bake, and you’ve got a stunning summer dessert.
That said, if you’re feeling ambitious, you can try your hand at making your own puff pastry. It’s definitely worth the effort.–Angie Zoobkoff
☞ Contents
Cherry Puff Pastry Tart FAQs
What’s the easiest way to pit cherries?
Pitting cherries can be time consuming and messy. There are tools designed specifically for this, but if you don’t have a cherry pitter on hand, poking a chopstick, pastry tip, or straw through the cherry will easily pop the pit out.
How should I store leftover tart?
Transfer any leftovers to a sheet of parchment, loosely wrap with parchment, and then with foil and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
How do I fix cracks in my puff pastry?
If your puff pastry is still a bit frozen when you unroll it, cracks can develop in the pastry. To fix this, dampen the cracked area with a couple drops of water and pinch the dough together to seal.
In this recipe
Rustic Cherry Puff Pastry Tart
Ingredients
For the frangipane
- 5 tablespoons (2 1/2 oz) unsalted butter chopped
- 1/3 cup superfine sugar (or just blitz granulated sugar in a blender until finely ground but not powdery)
- 3/4 cup ground almonds
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the cherry tart
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- 1 large egg yolk
- 10 1/2 ounces cherries pitted and cut in halves
- Superfine or granulated sugar for sprinkling
- Heavy cream or whipped cream for serving (optional)
Directions
Make the frangipane
- In a food processor, mix the butter, sugar, ground almonds, egg yolks, and vanilla extract until combined. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
Make the cherry tart
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven to heat.
- Place a couple sheets of parchment paper or aluminum foil on your work surface. Place the puff pastry on top and, if desired, run a rolling pin over the pastry to minimize the crease lines.
- Using a sharp knife or pizza wheel, trim the puff pastry to form a neat rectangle or square. Lightly score a 1/2-inch-wide border around the edge of the puff pastry sheet, being careful not to cut completely through the pastry. Prick the entire pastry surface inside the border with a fork.
- Lightly brush the pastry with the egg yolk. Spread the frangipane evenly over the pastry inside the border. Place the cherries, cut side up, in a single layer on the frangipane.
- Using the edges of the parchment or foil as handles, carefully transfer the tart and the parchment or foil to the hot baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar and bake 5 to 10 minutes more, until the edges of the pastry are golden and puffed.
- Let cool slightly. Slice the cherry tart into squares and serve with cream, if you wish.
☞TESTER TIP: The cherry tart keeps exceptionally nicely overnight at room temperature when transferred to a fresh sheet of parchment paper and loosely wrapped, first in parchment and then in foil.
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This rustic cherry puff pastry tart is a great recipe. It has great flavor and is actually quite easy to make. My family liked the tart so much that they didn’t want me to give away the leftovers.
I used a mix of cherries. Using cherries in different shades of red made a beautiful tart. My usual frangipane recipe uses a whole egg and not 2 yolks. I think you could reduce some of the frangipane’s heaviness by making this change. If I made this again, I would likely use the whole egg and also add a little almond extract as well.
I used a pizza cutter to trim the puff pastry and to score it. (You still need to be careful although it’s a tiny bit easier to get straight lines than using a knife.) It’s critical to heat the baking sheet at the same time as the oven. T
his helps the puff pastry puff so the tart is less soggy. My cherries were quite juicy but to keep the tart from becoming soggy, I let the cherries sit on layers of paper towels after being cut in half. The egg yolk brushed before the frangipane should also help with sogginess.
I love the balance of rich frangipane with the tartness of stone fruit in this rustic cherry puff pastry tart. Since Bing cherries (my favorite) are now nearly gone, and I had a bag of freshly picked cherry-size wild plums, I made it with those, and it worked beautifully.
The recipe keeps nicely the second day when wrapped in parchment and then foil, but not refrigerated—it remained perfectly crisp on the bottom the next day when I snuck a piece with my coffee.
I should say that since there was some liquid from the fruit in the pan and the parchment I baked it on, I transferred the tart(s) to fresh, clean, dry parchment as soon as I felt I could move it, using a large spatula to support it.
Originally published April 26, 2005.
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If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
I would love to make this for my husband’s birthday. I don’t have a food processor. Can the frangipane be mixed by hand or in a blender possibly?
Hi Lin, that should be fine. I would soften the butter a bit beforehand if mixing by hand.