Cherry Tart - easy to complex

With Valentines Day only a few short weeks away its time to start thinking about what to serve for your most romantic evening. Unlike most romantic meals Valentine's Day is the one event where what you serve for a main course is rather irrelevant....what matters is desert. Most years I like to go with something that involves chocolate. This year however I have created two cherry desserts..one easy for last minute occasions and one that takes at least one day of advanced preperation. We start with the easy and move to the complex....like life more or less.

Cherry Tart – From canned cherries
Base Ingrédient: Don Quixote Mon Chérie Cherry Port

This is a quick an easy dessert that looks elegant and shouts romance with every bite. It adds an element of sophistication and guys...we all can benefit from any help we can get in appearing sophisticated. Serves 8.

Ingredients
3 cups – Canned red sour cherries
5 oz – Mon Cherie Cherry Port
3 oz – Cherry syrup from can
3 oz – Cream cheese (1 package)
1 Tbs – Cream or milk
3 Tbs – Sugar
1.5 Tbs – Cornstarch
Pinch of salt
Pinch of cinnamon
8 baked tart shells (can purchase but freshly made is better)
Whipped cream (from heavy cream is best but Cool Whip works)

Mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt in a saucepan. Stir in Port until dry ingredients are dissolved then stir in syrup until smooth. Over medium heat continually stir mixture until it thickens. Remove from heat and mash in cream cheese. Blend in milk until smooth. Spread evenly in bottom of tart shells using 1/3rd of mixture. Distribute cherries into the tart shells and pour remaining sauce on top. You can either serve warm or put in fridge to cool. Top with whipped cream prior to serving.


Now for the more complex...but like all things in life, the effort is rewarded.

Cherry Tart – From fresh cherries
Base Ingrédients: Don Quixote Mon Chérie Cherry Brandy
Don Quixote Mon Chérie Cherry Port

An elegant desert that adds sophistication and charm to any social event or romantic evening. Requires one day of advanced planning to prepare fresh cherries. If you are in a hurry, see recipe above…won’t be as good though. Serves 8.

Ingredients
3 cups – Fresh sweet cherries
4 oz – Mon Chérie Cherry Brandy
4 oz – Mon Chérie Cherry Port
3 oz – Cream cheese (1 package)
1 Tbs – Cream or milk
4 Tbs – Sugar
1.5 Tbs – Cornstarch
Pinch of salt
Pinch of cinnamon
8 baked tart shells (can purchase but freshly made is better)
Whipped cream (from heavy cream is best but Cool Whip works)

24 hours prior to serving begin soaking fresh cherries. Clean, de-stem, and pit cherries. Cut into halves and place in medium sized bowl (you can also use an empty wine or spirits bottle). Add brandy and port to cherries. Cover and let soak for 24 hours.

After marinating, drain juice from fruit. Mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt with juice in a saucepan until smooth. Over medium heat continually stir mixture until it thickens. Remove from heat and mash in cream cheese. Blend in milk until smooth. Spread evenly in bottom of tart shells using 1/3rd of mixture. Distribute cherries into the tart shells and pour remaining sauce on top. You can either serve warm or put in fridge to cool. Top with whipped cream prior to serving.

To make an elegant before dinner apertif or after dinner digestive. Double the amount of brandy and port used to marinate the cherries and use the extra 8 oz of marinated liquid for a champagne apertif or an after dinner drink served at room temperature.