Cherry Tart with Almond and Dark Chocolate

After gorging on cherries the other day I had an inspiration – a free-form cherry tart. I started pondering how to execute it, and decided first that I would add a hint of almond. Later I decided to shave some dark chocolate onto the cherries as well, so that the final recipe went something like this.

About 1lb. fresh cherries, pitted and halved
3 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 oz dark chocolate
1 ready-made refrigerated pie crust

I mixed the cherries with the sugar, cornstarch/water and almond extract, then grated half of the chocolate into the cherries and mixed gently.

Next I laid the cherries out cut side down on the rolled out pie crust, poured the remaining cherry juice on top and crimped up the edges of the crust over the cherries. Then it was into the oven for 35 minutes.

 Us adults liked it; the kids not so much. I could have skipped the chocolate since it ended up imperceptible – either that or maybe next time I’ll put a thin chocolate layer under the cherries. Also, it looked very elegant to have all the cherries lined up in circles, but I think it would have been yummier with two layers of cherries.