Cherry Tart with Rose Petals (Torta de Cerase) from “A History of the World in 10 Dinners: 2,000 Years, 100 Recipes” by Jay Reifel and Victoria Flexner
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Jay Reifel, Author & Chef, New York, NY
Jay (@jayreifel) has a background in fine dining, classical pastry, and has a deep love of history, especially as it relates to food and culture. He has baked bread with schizophrenics, and written everything from one liners to questionable science fiction. In his culinary career, he has worked with food scientists, historians, and translators, eaten everything from pig's brains to live insects, learned from all of them (and thinks you should too). He also just released his first cookbook: A History of the World in 10 Dinners: 2,000 Years, 100 Recipes
There is a real elegance to this recipe. It is not too sweet, which is somewhat surprising for the dishes from this period—when they used sugar, they often really went for it! There is also a subtle depth from the cheese and interplay of spices. This is the type of dish that fine dining pastry chefs are always searching for.
- Jay Reifel
Yield: One 9½-inch tart, serving 6 to 8
Ingredients:
For the crust:
2 stick (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 teaspoon kosher salt
For the filling:
1 pound pitted cherries
1 cup packed rose petals (from 4 to 5 flowers), well rinsed and dried
1 cup ricotta, drained overnight
2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For finishing:
2 teaspoons rosewater
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9½-inch tart pan.
To make the crust, add the 2 cups flour and the salt to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse a few times to combine. Add the cubed butter and pulse until fully incorporated. Add ½ cup cold water and continue to pulse until totally combined. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for
30 minutes.Roll out the dough to a circle ⅛ to ¼ inch thick and line the tart pan with it. Be sure to get the dough all the way down into the bottom of the pan by gently lifting from the outside and easing it in, not pushing from the inside, which will stretch the dough. Cut off excess dough and use it to patch any holes in the crust.
Clean the food processor and add all the filling ingredients to the work bowl. Pulse to combine completely. Pour this mixture into the tart, up to ⅛ inch from the top. Bake until the filling is set, about 1 hour 15 minutes, and let it cool in the pan on a rack. Unmold the tart, splash it with rosewater, sift the confectioners’ sugar over it, and serve.
Cherry Torte with Rose Petals
Ingredients
- 2 stick (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes, plus more for pan
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 pound pitted cherries
- 1 cup packed rose petals (from 4 to 5 flowers), well rinsed and dried
- 1 cup ricotta, drained overnight
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons rosewater
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9½-inch tart pan.
- To make the crust, add the 2 cups flour and the salt to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse a few times to combine. Add the cubed butter and pulse until fully incorporated. Add ½ cup cold water and continue to pulse until totally combined. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for
- 30 minutes.
- Roll out the dough to a circle ⅛ to ¼ inch thick and line the tart pan with it. Be sure to get the dough all the way down into the bottom of the pan by gently lifting from the outside and easing it in, not pushing from the inside, which will stretch the dough. Cut off excess dough and use it to patch any holes in the crust.
- Clean the food processor and add all the filling ingredients to the work bowl. Pulse to combine completely. Pour this mixture into the tart, up to ⅛ inch from the top. Bake until the filling is set, about 1 hour 15 minutes, and let it cool in the pan on a rack. Unmold the tart, splash it with rosewater, sift the confectioners’ sugar over it, and serve.
Notes
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