cherry almond mascarpone tart.

Hi! I'm back! From a month's absence from this blog that is. I was hoping that a long break from baking would inspire me to make something and I guess it did, eventually. Somehow. But really this is just one of the seemingly thousands of recipes I've bookmarked and sworn to make at some point this year. I was just so restless this week and desperately needed something to occupy my time with, and I'd exhausted most other ideas I had by week four of no baking. Like reading a book - read 11 this month actually - and shopping for clothes for university life - never knew I could get sick of shopping.

And then it struck me. I could bake! I'd not thought about baking for such a long time that I forgot that I actually can bake. I actually find that pretty amazing. The moment that notion popped into my mind I was itching to get started, but on what exactly I was absolutely clueless about. I didn't have a specific ingredient that I wanted to work with - all I knew is that I wanted to do something - so I figured a fruit tart would be the perfect thing to make because I'll just let what fruit that's in season do the deciding for me, which happened to be cherries.

I rarely bake with fruits and if I do, I tend to use the most common ones like apples and bananas so cherries are definitely a first for me. And I was so thrilled. It's probably mildly strange for one to be this excited at the sight of cherries (stems on - important!) adorning a tart but it just struck me as picturesque. Some of the cherry stems were leaning to the left and some bent a little to the right resulting in a gentle crisscrossing of stems. They looked beautiful in a very unfussy sort of way. I wish I had thought to capture the tart at eye level. And I felt that the tinge of green from the stems amongst the deep maroon from the cherries with the whiteness of the cream and the uniform light brown of the tart shell that is peeking out from under it provided the right balance of color. I felt that the tart was a picture in itself.

Baking and assembling the tart were very satisfying but I daresay photographing it even more so. The moment the shutter clicked for the first time that day I knew instantaneously which part of blogging I missed the most.  I definitely missed using my dslr itself too. I would bring it to Japan with me but it is bulky and my mother would probably find more use for it i.e. taking pictures for her blog. Aw damn I'm dreading the day I would have to leave it behind already. Taking pictures with an iphone or ipad is just not the same you know?

I thought the tart looked beautiful and I thought that it tasted as great as it looks, which isn't much of a surprise because I've made the tart shell and almond cream recipe before and loved them both. This time I just made sure to underbake the almond cream a little as I felt that it was on the dry side just a touch when I baked it last time. Try baking it for 30 minutes instead of 40 and I think you would love it too. The mascarpone cream is almost a bit too sweet so you might want to use one tablespoon of sugar instead of two if you prefer a more controlled sweetness.

Oh yes one announcement before I end. I have a pinterest account now! If you're looking for an easier way to pin my images or things that inspire me that you think might inspire you, you might want to check it out.

And now please excuse me as I cut myself a fat slice of the tart for tomorrow's breakfast. #dessertforbreakfastALWAYS

Cherry Almond Mascarpone Tart
makes a 6 inch tart

tart recipe here

almond cream (frangipane) recipe here

For the mascarpone cream:
120g mascarpone
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp kirsch

around 200g worth of cherries

Make the mascarpone cream: Beat all the ingredients together until smooth.

Spread cream evenly on top of the baked and chilled frangipane-filled tart.

Arrange cherries on top of cream. Avoid pressing cherries into the cream.

Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.