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Cherry Tart-lettes

vegan-cherry-tartlette-2

Over the weekend, the family and I stocked up on plenty-o-cherries. While I was excited about eating them as is- savoring each sweet and juicy bite- my son had another plan for them: cherry pie.

He must have asked me to make cherry pie at least ten times this past weekend.

Truthfully, the thought of rolling out a pie crust in 90 degree weather seemed less than appealing…but I didn’t want to disappoint my little man. So, I compromised with some tiny cherry tarts. Similar to the requested pie, with a little less fuss. These tarts can be made quickly, with relatively little effort. Pitting the cherries is the hardest part.

They are super cute too. Kinda like cookies and pie and muffins- all in one!

 

Cherry Tart-lettes

makes about 12-16 mini tarts

Ingredients:

Filling

  • 2-3 cups cherries, pitted and stems removed (I used Bing and Rainer cherries, not tart ones)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp sorghum flour
  • 1 tbsp corn starch
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp vegan margarine

Crust

  • 1 cups almond flour
  • 1 cups sorghum flour
  • 1 tsp xanthan gum
  • 1/2 cup tapioca flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 1/2 tbsp vegan margarine
  • 5 tbsp cold water
  • 1 tbsp vinegar

cherries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease the cups of a standard sized  muffin/cupcake pan.

Pit and de-stem all cherries.  Toss with the rest of the “filling” ingredients and set aside.

In large bowl, combine almond flour, tapioca flour, sorghum flour, xanthan gum and salt.  Mix well. Using your hands, crumble the margarine into the flour until completely combined.  Your mixture should be evenly crumbly with no large clumps.  Use a fork to stir in water and vinegar until a thick dough is formed.  Next, use your hands to work the dough a little. If it is still crumbly, add a touch more water.

Grab sections of the dough and press into the prepared muffin pan, working up the sides of the cups. You want to mimic teeny little pie crusts in each of the individual muffin cups. You can make them as thick or as thin as you would like.  I made mine a little on the thick side and I’ll definitely be shooting for a bit thinner next time. ;)

Place about 1-2 tbsp cherry filling inside of the mini pie crusts.  I also sprinkled a few of the tarts with chocolate chips (for the little guy).

vegan-cherry-tartlette-pre-bake

Bake in preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until cherries are soft.  It is easy to check the crusts on these to make sure they aren’t burnt… just gently shimmy a fork down the side of the muffin tin, lift up, and your tart should pop right out. The crusts should be slightly golden when ready to leave the oven.

Let cool before eating.

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vegan-cherry-tartlette-close-up

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9 Responses to Cherry Tart-lettes

  1. Susan says:

    I would love to try these but can’t have sugar or brown sugar – any suggestions on what I can use as a substitute for these in the baking recipes? Also, I can’t use almond flour (have to avoid nuts) – is there a wheat free subsitute for this as well?

    • admin says:

      Hi Susan!
      I’m not sure what your specific dietary needs are, but I have grown quite a fondness for stevia, coconut palm sugar, and maple syrup and think they would work rather well here–either in combo or singularly. Please check out my friend, Ricki Heller’s, site for http://www.rickiheller.com invaluable info on refined sugar-free options–I bet you’ll find the answer there! As far as the almond flour, I haven’t found one yet, other than replacing with an all purpose gluten-free flour blend. The thing that I like best about almond meal is that it imparts a sweetness, a little fat, and moisture to a baked good, so you’ll need a flour that will work similarly. I think coconut flour would be too dry, but an all-purpose blend may do the trick.
      Best wishes to you!
      Allyson

  2. These look so awesome!! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Those are absolutely adorable! You know, I used to think that I didn’t like cherries, but then I realized I’d only ever had the candied sugar sweet ones. Fresh cherries? Nope, never had them! I’ve got to change that because I bet they are scrumptious. These little tartelettes are too cute to miss.

    • allyson says:

      Thank you Tasha! I completely feel ya…I HATED cherries for about the first 22 years of my life because I thought they all tasted like the bright red sugary ones :P When I was little I would literally cry if someone served me a sundae with a cherry on top! But, once I had the real deal, I fell in love. They are a great treat in the summertime (especially frozen..mmm)! I hope you get to enjoy some soon… I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. :D

  4. xanthium gum seems intimidating.. the recipe looks delicious though!

    • allyson says:

      It’s a little weird, for sure! The thing I find most freaky about it is the “film” it seems to leave behind on the kitchen counter if you drop a bit (and by a “bit”, I mean the teensiest amount) :\
      I’ve been meaning to investigate some more good GF baking binders (such as guar gum etc) Hopefully I find one a little less intimidating:)

  5. Katrina says:

    I am totally with you on not making a whole pie. I can’t even bear to fuss over the hot kitchen in this heat (and with no air conditioning)! Great idea to make mini-pies, they look so tasty!

    • allyson says:

      Thank you Katrina! We are doing without the a/c (for now) as well… I’m glad you understand!! :D I actually think a pie crust may melt in my kitchen.. haha.