Amaretto Cherry Streusel Tart – Summer Recipe
By Maro Desjardins
How is your summer winding down? Check out our latest installment of our summer recipe series courtesy of Maro Desjardins from Maro’s Cooking
Check out the rest of our summer series below and be sure to tag your recipes with #30afoodandwine.
Stone Fruit Summer Salad with Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette
Red Snapper Ceviche with Watermelon, Cucumber and Pickled Ginger
Farmer’s Market Tomato Tart with Feta and Thyme Crust
Farmer’s Market Grilled Okra Salad
Grilled snapper and Seared Scallops with Parsley-Mint Chimichurri
Summer Peach Salad with Blueberries, Roasted Asparagus, Feta, Basil and Mint
Cherries are in peak season and if you are a fan of a fruit dessert, this is a great choice! The amaretto is a perfect complement to the cherries and the almond streusel adds just the right amount of texture. Invest in a cherry pitter to make the pitting of the cherries easier. Don’t forget to heap on a large scoop of vanilla ice-cream to complete this summer dessert.

Serves 1 9 inch tart
Ingredients:
for crust:
1 1/4 cups flour (I lov Bob’s Red Mill Pastry flour)
1 stick unsalted butter, chilled and diced
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons ice cold vodka
2 -4 tablespoons ice water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
for filling:
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons amaretto
6 cups fresh pitted tart cherries, thawed
for streusel topping:
1/2 cup oats
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoon slivered almonds
4 tablespoons cold butter, diced
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
Directions:
for crust:
In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar and salt. Add diced butter and pulse until mixture resembles a coarse cornmeal. With motor running, add vodka first and then add water a tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a ball. There may be some flakes of butter and that is fine. Collect dough and flatten into a disc and wrap dough in plastic. Place wrapped dough in fridge, and allow to rest for at least 1 hour. Remove from fridge, and roll out on a floured surface to a 12 inch diameter. Spray a fluted 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom, with cooking spray and place crust in pan. Roll off any excess dough by trimming the edges as needed. Puncture the bottom with the tines of a fork and place in freezer (for about 10 minutes) while you preheat oven to 350 (I recommend convection for even baking). Line the crust with parchment paper and place ceramic baking beads or dried beans to cover bottom of crust. Bake crust in oven for about 10 minutes. Remove beads and bake another 10 minutes until crust is lightly golden. Remove from oven, allow to cool while you prepare the filling. Keep oven on at 350.
for streusel topping:
In a medium bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar and almonds. Add butter and almond extract to the bowl and break up butter with your fingers butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Place in the refrigerator while you prepare filling.
for filling:
In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in pitted cherries; bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly and continue to stir for several minutes or until mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in amaretto. Pour filling into pa- baked crust. Sprinkle streusel over filling to cover tart evenly. Bake tart for 30-35 minutes or until topping is golden brown and cherries begin to bubble. Cool on a wire rack. To serve, remove from fluted pan and slice. Serve with a large scoop of vanilla ice-cream.