Ingredients
Pastry
3 oz Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Butter
1 cup Flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt (if using unsalted butter)
Filling
1 cup ground Almonds
1 Tablespoon All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
8 Tablespoons Butter, at room temperature
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla
11/2 cups Rainier, Royal Ann, or other Cherries washed, havled, pits removed
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350.
Either with a stand mixer or by hand with a pastry cutter mix butter, cream cheese and flour into a shaggy dough (see photo below). Pastry will be sticky, so when working with the dough, you will want to be sure to flour surfaces, tools and your hands as you work with the pastry.
Roll out dough into a single round for 1 - 9" tart, or divide into to 4 and roll 4 rounds for 4 - 4" tartlettes.
Place dough round(s) into pan(s) and fold so flush with pan edge.
Freeze prepped tarts shells for at least 10 minutes.
Pull shell(s) from the freezer and line with parchment or foil (when baking tartlettes I line them with cupcake liners) and fill with uncooked rice.
Blind bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Remove shells from oven to cool, removing the blind bake rice weight* and adjust the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
While blind baking prepare the frangipane filling by mixing all dry ingredients and then combining with the butter. Once the butter and dry ingredients form a uniform pasted mix in the two eggs and vanilla.
Add frangipane to blind baked shell(s) and arrange cherries cut side down accross the top of the frangipane. You do not need to press the fruit into the filling, the fruit will sink as it bakes.
Bake prepared tartlettes for 20-25 minutes a single tart 30-35 minutes.
Once cooled tart/tartlettes can be decorated with a dusting of powder sugar and coco powder if desired.
Recipe makes 1- 9" tart or 4 - 4" tarts
NOTE*: I reuse my blind bake rice for future blind bakes. Once the rice has cooled just store for future use.