Cherry Berry Pistachio Tarts

Cherry Berry Pistachio Tarts are fresh cherries and berries nestled in a pistachio cream filling, baked into perfectly crisp, marcona almond sweet pastry.

I adore cherries - from their regal colour to their crisp, bitter-sweet bite! Altering them from their natural, freshly picked state has always struck me as somewhat sacrilegious.

I was in just the right state of sinfulness, when I decided to split open a batch of freshly picked cherries and bake them into a bed of pistachio cream, a.k.a frangipane.

Homemade Tart Shells

I've been told a number of times that my tart shells look too difficult for the average home baker. I have even been accused of lying about making my own. To the latter, I proudly raise the longest fingers on both my hands. To the former...

Professional-looking tart shells at home are easy with the right tools. Some of my favourites include tart rings, silicone mats and baking trays, all of the perforated variety. I've mentioned/recommended them in a number of past posts, like here and here.

In concert, they produce perfectly baked tarts each time. Of course, you need to start with a good recipe and good ingredients. I generally make variations of a recipe I learned back in Baking Arts - sometimes with different nuts, flours and flavourings.

You can check my earlier posts here for tips and tricks for tart crust success and here for keeping your crust crisp.

Pistachio Cream (a.k.a Frangipane)

I love frangipane. A few simple ingredients - ground nuts (usually almonds), butter, eggs and flour - that yield an impressive dessert. It is super easy to make and can be used in tarts, pastries and cakes.

I like to ground my own nuts using a coffee/spice grinder reserved for this purpose. It works extremely well for small batches and produces a fine enough texture for this application. For lager batches, I use my food processor. In either case, you want to pulse the nuts intermittently so that it does not turn into a paste.

For a finer texture that works great for macarons, I sieve the ground nuts and return the larger pieces to the food processor for another run. Processing them with the sugar called for in the recipe, can help prevent clumping and forming into a paste.

I like to use the cream just as it is made - it spreads easier in the shell - but if you plan to use at a later date, transfer to an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to a week. The frangipane will firm up when chilled, so you will want to take it out about thirty minutes before you need it. I have found it is easier to pipe than it is to spoon, when working with it chilled.

Build and Bake

OK, you've got your prebaked tart shells, your filling and your fruits, so let's make magic! Or a few tarts. 🙂 Spoon or pipe the filling into the tart shells, press in the fruits and bake. Easy!

A few things to remember - fill the shells, leaving enough room for your fruits. When you press them in the filling with shift and spread and you want to ensure it remains contained in the shell.

Keep your prebaked shells in the their molds. I once made the mistake of removing them, as I needed the molds for another batch I was working on, and the seams on a couple of the smaller tarts broke close to the end of the second bake. Most of the filling remained intact, but the tarts were misshapen.

You can lightly brush with apricot glaze or jam to give your tarts that bakery shine finish.

These tarts were tokens of thanks I made for some neighbours, so I baked the fruit in. If you are like me and don't like cooked fruits, I usually bake up the tart and frangipane and top with fresh fruit once cooled. A splash of liquor for good measure add a nice touch, if kids are not partaking in the dessert.

Here is a video, for those of you who prefer to see recipes in action. Enjoy!