Cherry Brown Butter Tart

It's cherry season ya'll! The perfect excuse to get in the kitchen and bake up something delish. I've had this recipe for a brown butter berry tart hanging around my kitchen for a while and decided it was time to dive in. First off, brown butter just totally rocks - golden and sweet with little specks of brown tastiness. Secondly, who doesn't love a gorgeous little tart?

I have to say...I don't mind spending several hours in the kitchen baking....or all day! It's my absolute favorite place to be and where I feel life's bliss.

This week, I've been low on energy with a hectic work schedule, so I decided to make this tart in stages. Day one was cherry pitting and dough making. Day 2 was making the filling and baking it all off.

This is actually a pie dough that uses butter and coconut oil in place of shortening. I love the flavor of coconut oil, so I was excited to try using it with my tart.

This is a happy tart. Just the right amount of sweetness and cherry flavor, buttery crust, vanilla bean & brown butter goodness.

I like that you can pick up a little coconut flavor in the crust too. Perfect with a cup of joe (or in my case, a breakfast treat!). Hope you get inspired to bake and enjoy the fruits of the summer!

Cherry Brown Butter Tart

Serves 8-10

Recipe adapted from Nancy Silverton's Pastries from La Brea Bakery (crust is adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey)

Crust:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 teaspoons sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and frozen

3 tablespoons coconut oil, chilled and cut into small pieces

4-5 tablespoons ice water

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Place flour, sugar and salt into a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse several times to blend.

Add in cold butter and coconut oil pieces and pulse until mixture looks like coarse meal.

With processor running, add cider vinegar and enough ice water until mixture just begins to form a ball. Don't over process the dough. Remove dough from processor, flatten into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Chill the dough in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before rolling. 

To roll, place disk on lightly floured counter or board. Roll evenly into a circle until dough is slightly larger than 9 1/2 inch tart pan. Fold dough in half, then in half again to make it easy to pick up and unfold over tart pan. Allow dough to fall into the bottom of pan and up the sides, pressing firmly with fingers. Trim off any extra dough. Chill tart in refrigerator until ready to use.

Partially "blind bake" your tart for 10-15 minutes or so to set the crust. (To blind bake, line your tart crust with large circle of parchment. Fill with beans, rice or pie weights. Place into 400F oven and bake until slightly golden. Remove from oven, lift off parchment circle and weights and cool).

Tart:

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

Scant 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

1 vanilla bean

Scant 1 cup fresh sweet cherries, pitted and cut in half

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and flour till smooth and well-combined. In a small saucepan, begin melting butter over medium high heat. Split vanilla bean down the center and scrape seeds out. Add vanilla pod and seeds to the butter. Continue to cook butter for about 3- 5 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally, until bubbles subside and mixture gets a lovely brown color and nutty fragrance. Remove from heat and discard pod. Slowly pour butter in a steady stream into the egg mixture, while whisking continually. 

Put tart shell on sheet pan and place cherry halves all over the bottom of the tart shell. Pour filling over the cherries.

Bake for about 40-45 minutes, until the tart is browned and nicely set. Cool.