Cerises à la Dubarry

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •8-inch (20 cm) straight-sided tart ring, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) high
• •Heavy flat baking sheet
• •Cherry pitter
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Electric mixer or sturdy balloon whisk
• •Medium sieve
• •Small offset spatula
• •Two piping bags with a medium star tip

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the short paste

   Combine the flour, icing sugar, and salt. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with no large lumps remaining. Add the yolk and 1 tablespoon of ice water, then press the mixture together without kneading; add the remaining water a teaspoon at a time only if dry flour remains. If the dough feels sticky, don't add more flour. Flatten it into a disk and chill it for 1 hour, and the butter will firm while the flour hydrates. This pâte brisée sucrée, sweet short paste, must remain tender, so a light hand matters more than perfect smoothness.

2. 2

   Line and piquer

   Set an 8-inch (20 cm) tart ring on a parchment-lined flat baking sheet. Roll the cold dough between two sheets of parchment to a circle about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick, then line the ring without stretching it and press the dough firmly into the base angle. Trim the rim level. Piquer, prick, the entire base with a fork at ½-inch (1 cm) intervals, reaching close to the ring without piercing the sides. Chill the lined ring for 20 minutes while the oven heats to 375°F (190°C), with a rack in the lower third.

   The fork holes must pass through the paste, not merely mark it. Once the cherries are packed in, trapped air has nowhere to escape.
3. 3

   Pack the cherries

   Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of icing sugar evenly over the chilled base. Arrange the dry, pitted cherries in one close layer, pressing them snugly against one another without crushing them. Start around the outside and work inward so the fruit holds itself in place. Don't sugar the cherries in a bowl or leave them waiting after pitting; either treatment draws out juice before the pastry can set.

4. 4

   Bake and cool

   Bake for 15 minutes at 375°F (190°C), then reduce the oven to 350°F (180°C) and continue for 20 to 25 minutes. The rim should be deep butter-gold, the visible paste dry, and the cherries softened but still distinct, with their juices concentrated in small garnet pockets. If a pastry blister appears at the edge during the first 10 minutes, pierce it from the side with a skewer and press it down gently with the back of a spoon. Ça se rattrape. If the rim colors before the base is done, shield only the rim with foil and give the flawn another 5 minutes. Cool it in the ring for 20 minutes, remove the ring, then cool completely on a rack for at least 1½ hours.

5. 5

   Sift the crumbs

   Rub the macaroon crumbs through a medium sieve so they become an even powder, crushing any larger pieces that remain. The original pastry station kept this powder ready by the boxful; a handful of crisp almond macaroons gives the home cook exactly what this tart needs. Keep the powder dry until the cream has been spread.

6. 6

   Whip and divide

   Set aside 2 tablespoons of the measured cold cream for rescue. Whip the remaining cream with the icing sugar and vanilla until it forms soft-to-medium peaks that hold a curve without looking grainy. Transfer 1½ cups (360 ml) of plain Chantilly to a cold bowl for the decoration. Fold the Pralin (No. 2352) gently into the larger portion until evenly streaked and then uniform. If the pralined Chantilly loosens, chill it for 10 minutes and whisk briefly by hand. If any portion becomes grainy from overwhipping, fold in the reserved liquid cream a teaspoon at a time until smooth again.

7. 7

   Mask and crumb

   Confirm that the cherry flawn is completely cold. Spread the pralined Chantilly over the cherries in an even layer, filling the spaces without pressing hard, then smooth a thin coating down the outside pastry wall with an offset spatula. Set the flawn over a clean tray and cover the top and sides with the macaroon powder, pressing it lightly against the cream with your palm where needed. Chill for 20 minutes so the mask settles.

8. 8

   Pipe and serve

   Divide the reserved plain Chantilly between two bowls. Leave one white and tint the other pale pink with the smallest drop of gel coloring. Spoon them into piping bags fitted with a medium star tip and pipe alternating white and pink shells or rosettes around the rim, keeping the center simple and generous. Chill until serving, preferably no longer than 6 hours, then let the Cerises stand for 10 minutes before cutting with a thin sharp knife. À table!

Chef Tips

• •This tart truly wants fresh, firm cherries. Frozen cherries collapse and release more liquid than the unthickened filling can carry; when fresh cherries are poor, choose another cherry preparation with a bound filling rather than asking this one to become something else.
• •Use crisp, unfilled almond macaroons, not coconut macaroons and not soft sandwich macarons with filling. Their dry almond crumb must cling to the cream instead of dissolving into paste.
• •Use the nougat-powder form of Pralin (No. 2352), the form intended for creams and custards. The spreading form from that preparation has a different consistency and will weigh down the Chantilly.
• •A straight-sided tart ring gives the cleanest shape for masking the sides, but a loose-bottomed tart tin works. Butter, not margarine. A water-heavy substitute softens the paste and leaves none of the flavor this bare shell depends upon.
• •For a dinner party, serve the flawn with coffee or a lightly sweet sparkling wine. It needs no sauce, extra fruit, or ornamental greenery; the pink and white Chantilly is already its proper celebration.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the short paste up to 2 days ahead and keep it wrapped in the refrigerator. Let it soften only until it rolls without cracking.
• •Have the Pralin (No. 2352) ready before beginning the Chantilly. Keep it sealed and dry so it remains free-flowing.
• •Bake the cherry flawn up to 1 day ahead. Once completely cold, cover it loosely and refrigerate; bring it out while making the Chantilly so the pastry loses its deep refrigerator chill without becoming warm.
• •The finished Cerises may be assembled and piped up to 6 hours before serving. Keep it refrigerated, uncovered until the decoration firms and then loosely covered, so the cream stays fresh without being crushed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 200g)