Sometimes it is just simplicity that you crave in a dessert. Not alot of sweetness just fruit and pastry. Usually that means pie, but in this case it means a tart. The flavor of dark cherries against a biscuit type base was just the simplicity I was craving. Another bonus was that it did not take all the effort required for making a pie.
This recipe only has a few steps and has most of the rise time in the refrigerator. Chill it, cut the dough into rounds and stack them, that is about it. The only real concern that came about was finding frozen fruit in heavy syrup. I ended up buying canned fruit in heavy syrup and not the 10 oz of frozen strawberries recommended in the recipe. If you can find strawberries in heavy syrup to make this, I am sure it would be quite tasty.The recipe states the yield is for 24 danishes.
Dark Cherry Danish Tarts
adapted from Fleischmanns
Dough
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
2 tbs cornstarch
1 envelope rapid rise yeast
1/3 cup sugar
5 3/4 cup flour
1 egg
1 cup butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
Topping
1 15 oz can dark cherries in heavy syrup
1 tbs cornstarch
powdered sugar for garnish
Fill a saucepan with milk, butter and water. Place over medium heat and let butter melt. Using a candy thermometer, monitor the temperature, Once it registers 120-130 degrees, remove from heat.
Fill the bowl of a stand mixer with cornstarch, lemon peel, salt, undissolved yeast, 2 cups of flour and sugar. Whisk together until blended evenly. Turn mixer to low speed and slowly stream in butter mixture, scraping sides of bowl as needed and beating until blended. Next, incorporate the egg and 1 additional cup of flour. After mixed together, add the rest of the flour and mix until dough forms. Shape into a ball and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours and a maximum of overnight.
Once the chilling time is complete, lightly dust a flat surface with flour and dust a rolling pin. Then line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Take the dough and divide into equal halves. Place one back in the refrigerator while you work with the other. Roll the dough into a 1/4 inch thick slab. Using a 3 inch round cutter, cut out 24 circles by cutting and then re-rolling scraps and cutting out more circles. Place each circle on the parchment paper, spacing so there is a total of 12 on each baking sheet. Then follow the same process of rolling and forming the other half of the dough, but this time stack the 24 circles of dough on top of the first 24.
Cover both baking sheets and sit in a warm, draft free area for about 45 minutes. As the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Also, make the topping. Fill a saucepan with canned cherries and cornstarch, place over medium heat. Let the mixture cook and come to a boil, about 2-4 minutes. The end result is that the liquid would now be more like a thick jelly. Remove from heat and let cool.
Once the rise time is over, place one pan in the oven and let bake for 10 minutes. Remove and spoon fruit mixture on the top center of each round. Return to oven and let bake for an additional 5 minutes. Remove and transfer to rack to let cool completely. Repeat the baking process with the remaining 12 on the other baking sheet.
After completely cooled, dust with powdered sugar.
Tips and Notes:
1. I halved the recipe and ended up with 18 instead of 12.
2. The can of cherries was 15 oz and I had just enough to top all 18 danishes. Also, even though the strawberries were 10 oz and cherries were 15, I did not increase the cornstarch.
3. These should be golden brown on top when done.
**LAST YEAR:Pumpkin Nutella Bars**