Liz's Cherry Tart

Ingredients

150g softened butter
150g caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
2 tsp really good vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)
Zest of 1/2 a small lemon
150g ground almonds
30g plain flour, sifted
Pinch of salt
Small box of cherries, pits removed
1 x recipe Milly’s (or roll of bought) Sweet Short Pastry

Method

Line a 23cm French tart tin with sweet short pastry. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

Preheat oven to 170C (I don’t use fan bake but if you do, drop the temp to 160C). Cream the butter in the bowl of your stand mixer on a low speed (you don’t want to whip too much air into the mixture as you’re making it). Continue to gently cream until butter is light and soft. Gradually beat in the sugar and continue to mix until the sugar has dissolved.

Add beaten eggs gradually, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla/almond essence then stir in the ground almonds and flour, mixing well but still trying not to over mix.

Pile into your prepared pastry lined tin and level the top (don’t over fill as you’re yet to add the fruit - two thirds up the side of the pastry is about right). Dot your cherries around the top, adding as many as you can, and push them into the frangipane just slightly. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until just set and mid-browned.

Don’t allow the top to darken too much – loosely cover with foil if you think the surface is getting too brown. Remove from oven, cool and dust with icing sugar. In the old days I used to top with an apricot glaze (2 tbsp apricot jam sieved then warmed with 1 tbsp brandy) - I'm not so keen on that extra sweetness these days but over to you.