Cherry Crumb Tart – Recipe!

Fresh sweet cherries baked in a buttery crust and topped with a crunchy oatmeal sugar crumb — do I have your attention?  It’s Cherry Crumb Tart time.

I have a few family members drooling just about now because cherry season is one of their favorite times of the year and truly a treat.  Most of the time, I use frozen pitted cherries, but not when cherries are at peak season.  Pitting cherries can be a tedious task, but with the right tool it’s actually pretty therapeutic and cheaper than counseling…..hahaha.  After the pitting is done, it’s a pretty simple dessert to put together.  Roll out some dough to fit two-inches larger than your tart pan, and set it in just so.  Trim the edges (see video) with rolling pin and add the cherry mixture.

The crumb topping is a classic which includes two kinds of sugar, flour, oatmeal and butter.  What I love about crumb topping’s is that you can store them in a sealed container in your refrigerator and add them to the top of any fresh fruit before baking.  Try it over blueberries, raspberries, pineapple, and apples during the fall – it’s so good.  Baking this tart to a deep golden brown is key — you want the cherries to get almost jam-like and break down just a bit into a soft fruity consistency.  Trust me this tart is worth turning on the oven for this summer.

Ingredients

Crust

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoon granulated sugar

pinch of salt

8 tablespoons cold butter, diced

Filling

1 pound pitted cherries

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 heaping tablespoons cornstarch

Crumb Topping

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup oatmeal

pinch of salt

8 tablespoons cold butter, diced

(Makes 13-inch Rectangle or 9-inch Round Tart)

To Prepare:

1. Crust – mix flour, sugar, salt in a bowl and add diced butter.  Press butter into flour mixture until coarse crumbs.  Add 1/2 cup ice cold water and mix until dough comes together.  Place round of dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
2. In a large bowl, combine all Filling ingredients.
3. Roll out dough and place in a removable bottom tart pan.  Trim edges and fill with cherry mixture.  Place in freezer, while making Crumb topping.
4. In a bowl, add flour, sugars, oatmeal and salt.  Add diced butter and press until coarse crumbs.  Pat crumb mixture over top of cherries, then place on a sheet pan to bake in an oven for 40 minutes or until deep golden brown.
5. Remove and cool before removing bottom of pan.  Slice and serve with vanilla ice cream.  Enjoy!