Chocolate Covered Cherry Almond Tarts

These little chocolate covered cherry almond tarts are comprised of a flaky crust and a creamy almond filling topped with fresh cherries that are coated with a chocolate ganache.

Flaky crust... Almond pastry cream... Fresh cherries...  Chocolate ganache.... All baked into two 4 1/2 inch tartelette pans.  The combination of flavors works beautifully and makes a wonderful summer dessert for two... or four if you don't mind sacrificing the style factor and serving them cut in half. You could always add a dollop of vanilla ice cream. Summer!

While the tart is inspired by chocolate covered cherries, in this tart, the cherries are fresh and not coated with a sugary syrup.

For the crust, I used some leftover dough I had in the freezer. The recipe for the dough is the same as the one from this apple tart. Any recipe for your favorite pie crust will do. Just make enough for a crust bottom. I love this one because it is amazingly tender and flaky. It's my favorite crust recipe.

Recommended tools/equipment for these tarts: 

1. Two 4 1/2 inch to 4 3/4 inch tartelette pans with removable bottoms. If you're good at geometry, you could substitute one or three different sized pans. 
2. A food processor, ideally a mini food processor.You'll need this to mix up the almond cream filling. 
3. A cherry pitter. You can make this dessert without one.. and who needs another single use kitchen gadget? In this case, me. I love my little cherry pitter, even if it's single use. It doesn't hurt that one of my grandkids is a cherry lover and helps me pit the cherries with this gadget. I can't seem to find the one that I use available on line, but I'm sure that the multiple ones that are available are all good. Just check the reviews. 

Chocolate Covered Cherry Almond Tarts

Inspired by Small-Batch Baking for Chocolate Lovers.

Ingredients

One half recipe of a pie crust. I used the one from this post. 

1/4 C slivered almonds

3 T sugar

1 1/2 T room temperature unsalted butter

1 1/2 T beaten egg

2 tsp flour

10 pitted cherries, cut in half

1 ounce semisweet chocolate

1 tsp butter

1 tsp heavy cream

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Roll out your pastry into two 6 inch rounds and press them into the two tart pans. Press the edges into the sides of the pans and pierce the bottom with a fork several times. Freeze for 15 minutes. 
2. Line the crusts with foil or parchment and add pie weights or dried beans. Place the tarts on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the foil and weights and bake for 5 minutes more, until just dry and set. 
4. Let the crusts cool.
5. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. 
6. Process the almonds in a food processor for about 15 seconds. Add the sugar and process for about 5 seconds more. 
7. Add the butter, egg, and flour. Pulse about 6 to 8 times, until blended. 
8. Spread the mixture in the two tart shells. 
9. Bake on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes. The almond filling should be slightly browned and puffy. 
10. Place the cherries on top of the filling and allow to cool completely.
11. When the tarts are cool, melt the chocolate in a double boiler with the cream and butter. Once it has melted, drizzle it over the cherry covered tarts. 
12. Let the chocolate cool for about an hour before serving. 

Enjoy!!!