Browned Butter Cherry Tart

Browned Butter Cherry Tart

Yield: 1 9†tart

# of Servings: 8 to 10

Difficulty:   Moderate

Ingredients:

1 recipe Pâte Sucrée

2 ½ cups (14 oz / 397 g) fresh sour cherries, stemmed and pitted, or 1 bottled sour cherries.

Browned Butter Custard 

4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup (7 oz / 198 g) granulated sugar
¼ cup + 3 tbl (2 oz / 57 g) all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract

8 oz (227 g) unsalted butter
1 vanilla bean

1 cup apricot jam, strained, optional

Special tools and equipment required:

• A cherry pitter
• A 9†by 1†removable bottom tart pan
• Dried beans or pastry weights
• 14†round pastry mat, optional
• Heavy bottomed 2 qt sauce pan
• Pastry brush, optional

Pre-recipe preparations:

• Bring pâte sucrée to room temperature 
• Place cherries on paper towel lined plater to absorb excess moisture. 
• Bowl of ice water

Directions
Prebake tart crust:

1. On a flour dusted counter or pastry mat, roll out the pate sucrée into an 11†circle. 
2. If the dough has softened during rolling, place it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
3. Gently lay the dough over the tart shell. Without stretching the dough, press it into the corner of the tart shell, leaving an 1/8†extra border of dough. 
4. Roll the rolling pin over the tart pan to remove the excess dough. Lightly press the extra dough upwards to create more height.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 375°F.
6. Spray a small piece of aluminum foil with non-stick spray and place it on the chilled pastry, pressing into the corners. Fill with beans or pie weights.
7. Bake for 22 minutes. Remove the foil, the tart dough should be beginning to set. Return to the oven and bake for 5 additional minutes, until there is no raw dough remaining. Set aside to cool.

The browned butter custard:

1. Place the butter and vanilla bean in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a very low flame. Let continue to slowly melt while continue to next step.
2. Beat the eggs in a medium mixing bowl. Add the sugar, and beat well. Stir in the flour and the vanilla extract. Set aside. Place a heat-proof pad on the counter next to the mixture. 
3. Raise the heat on the butter to medium. Once it is completely melted, start whisking. Keep whisking and cooking until the butter begins to turn light brown. Remove from the heat and place pan in bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process
4. Slowly whisk the brown butter into egg mixture. Whisk to combine thoroughly but try not to beat air into the mixture.

Baking the tart:   Preheat oven to 375°F

1. Scatter the cherries around the tart shell.
2. Pour enough custard to cover the cherries and just up to the rim of the tart shell. There will be leftover custard.
3. Bake until the tart turns golden brown and the filling is set, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack for 30 minutes.
4. Carefully place the tart on a can (canned tomato can works best) to let the tart shell side fall off.
5. Using a long-offset spatula or the bottom of another tart pan, slide the tart onto a serving platter. Let cool to room temperature.
6. Optional – lightly brush melted and strained apricot jam over the tart.
7. Serve at room temperature. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Equipment notes:

• Suggested cherry pitter – Oxo good grips Amazon.com: OXO Good Grips Cherry & Olive Pitter – Beet: Home & Kitchen
• Tart pan:  Wilton 9†by 1†Amazon.com: Wilton Excelle Elite Non-Stick – Non-Stick Tart and Quiche Pan with Removable Bottom, 9-Inch, Steel: Home & Kitchen