Today marks the final recipe in my JONATHAN STRANGE & MR. NORRELL menu. This is one of my favorite books so of course I’m sad to be done, but I’m also SO grateful that I have a job that lets me bring fictional food to life. Living the dream!

Today’s recipe is inspired by the cherry almond tart Jonathan Strange eats while in Spain helping the British army during the Peninsular War. In the book, Strange eats almond tart with dried cherries, which I interpreted to be cherry almond tart using army rations. For my recipe, I decided to make what I felt the army cook was trying to recreate: cherry frangipane tart.

Since I’m new to making frangipane, this recipe is a bit of a conglomeration. I started with my standard pie shell recipe and made changes based on cherry frangipane tart recipes by Fresh Hunger, The Sunday Baker, and Kitchen Trials. I also used a combo of those recipes to come up with my filling. This was a really fun experience! I especially appreciated Sunday Baker’s tip to turn the cherry halves cut-side-up to prevent extra liquid from leaking into the tart.

Since cherry and almond are two of my husband’s favorite foods, I don’t think he minded at all that I had to tweak this recipe 3-4 times before I was happy with it. I hope you enjoy the results at much as he did!

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Cherry Almond Tart

“A servant brought him a glass of Champagne and he helped himself to almond-tart and dried cherries.
‘And how do you like the war, Mr. Strange?’ asked a fox-haired, fox-faced gentleman at the other end of the table.
‘Oh, it is a little confusing at first, like most things,’ said Strange, ‘but having now experienced many of the adventures a war affords, I grow used to it. I have been robbed—once. I have been shot at—once. Once I found a Frenchman in the kitchen and had to chase him out, and once the house I was sleeping in was set on fire.’
‘By the French?’ inquired General Stewart.
‘No, no. By the English.'”

— Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

• FOR THE CRUST
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
  • 1 egg
  • 4-6 Tbsp ice water
• FOR THE FILLING
  • 1/2 cup salted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup fresh cherries, halved and pitted
  • powdered sugar, for dusting

 

Makes 1 6″x14.5″ tart

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. FOR THE CRUST. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, almond flour, sugar, and salt. Using a fork or pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture has a crumb-like texture with some pea-sized bits of butter scattered throughout.
2. Stir in the egg and 3 Tbsp ice water with a fork. Keep adding water 1 Tbsp at a time until the mixture holds together when pressed with fingers but isn’t soggy. Gather dough into a ball. Flatten and shape into a 3.5″x5″ rectangle. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until firm but not hard.
3. Preheat oven to 400°. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a 8″x18″ rectangle. Line a 6″x14.5″ loose-bottom tart pan with the crust and trim to fit. Using the extra trimmed dough, shape 4 pea-sized balls and gently press one into each corner of the crust. This will reduce risk of leaks and add structural stability. Line the inside of the crust with parchment paper and weigh it down with pie weights, dried beans, or dried rice (the beans and rice will still be perfectly good to use afterward in other recipes). Bake for 10 minutes. Remove parchment and pie weights and bake 5 minutes more until lightly golden. Set aside.
4. Reduce oven temp to 350°.
5. FOR THE FILLING. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Whisk in the vanilla, eggs, and salt until fully combined. Add the almond flour and all-purpose flour and stir until combined. Transfer to the prepared pie shell. Dot cherries across the top (place them skin side down to prevent extra liquid from going into the tart).
6. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool and dust with powdered sugar.
7. Serve while using magic to alter the course of European history.

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Check out my other cherry recipes!

Red Shirt Fruit Salad

Arrietty’s Mini Cherry Cakes

Arrietty’s Cherry Tree Tea from The Borrowers