Sour cherry and farmer’s cheese tart

As a result of my mid-summer browsing in the baking and pastry book section at our nearby East Grand Rapids Library, I discovered an intriguing Nordic collection of very interesting baked goods. It reminded me so much of our trip back in the spring of 2022 when we enjoyed a variety of delicious treats throughout Scandinavia (and elsewhere!).

Just one of the many options in Nevada Berg’s “Norwegian Baking”, this recipe gave me a great excuse to use some of this year’s tart cherries now resting in my freezer. I was so taken by the offerings in the book that I purchased my own copy using an early August birthday gift card. Yes!

This treat combines a sweet pastry dough and a sour cherry compote made by combining cherries and sugar, cooked to thicken. Then there’s a layer of farmer’s cheese (a somewhat-drier-than-ricotta curd-y product). Although one can make farmer’s cheese at home, I opted to purchase a farmer’s cheese from California which I found at our favorite Cheese Lady shop here in GR.

Starting the assembly

Here’s the full recipe PDF. A bit about the dough - the pastry for this one is much like a typical pâte sucrée, so common in French tarte recipes. I sub whole wheat pastry flour (also known as graham flour) for about a third of the all purpose - love the whole grain nuttiness it imparts.

I’m a big fan of Bob’s Red Mill but learned not too long ago that they’re no longer making whole wheat pastry flour. I found a milling company, The Birkett Mills, in NY state and ordered a quartet of 4 pound bags at a pretty decent cost, even with shipping.

Pay attention to the shelf life of this type of flour - whole wheat doesn’t keep as long as all purpose. But remember you can freeze it to prolong its freshness. I shared one bag with sister Joyce and I’m getting close to using up another. For the remaining 2 bags my autumn plans are robust for making a variety of tart and cookie doughs that I can hold in the freezer until ready to bake (including homemade graham crackers!).

As for butter, one thing I’ve noticed in many Scandi recipes is the use of “lightly salted” butter. I’ve begun to keep a Danish creamery style salted butter on hand for just such occasions. I also keep my eyes open for sales on Kerry Gold or Land-O-Lakes salted “extra creamy”. These salted butters are also great for a variety of cookies, especially classic shortbread or cookies that offer caramel-y or chocolate-y flavors. My mouth is already watering!

For this tart two thirds of the dough is rolled out to line the bottom and sides of a 9” springform pan. Cherries and crumbled cheese go in . . . . . .

Filling all in

and the other third of the dough is rolled out, cut into strips and latticed on top. Seal the edges with your fingers.

Brush with a bit of milk, sprinkle with raw sugar and bake at 350ºF for about 45-50 minutes.

Cool in the pan about 15 minutes, release and remove the outer ring then let cool completely.

For my unadorned first small sample taste I thought the dough was wonderful but the filling perhaps a bit dry. Steve disagreed. For a more composed offering, our enjoyment of the first full slices was of course accompanied by vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel. What can I say - it never gets old.

The good news - the flavors and textures continued to improve over the several days that this tart can remain covered in the fridge. Yay!

Lest you think all we do is eat dessert, think again! I space my projects out so we have small portioned treats every now and then. Taking desserts to family gatherings, sharing goodies with neighbors or the staff at our local health club and/or freezing the end results for a later date are great ways to avoid over indulging.

With a focus on moderation, regular exercise, using good ingredients, a diet that incorporates fresh fruits and veggies (local whenever we can) and excellent locally raised poultry (just to name a few), we’re doing our best to stay healthy. Gotta do it!

Autumn is coming!

This past weekend we enjoyed a lovely afternoon, a delicious supper and evening at the Lake Michigan home of one of my many cousins. After what has seemed like weeks of heat, humidity and not so great air quality, our group of twenty was so ready for the gorgeous weather, cool breezes, warm sun, beautiful waves and . . . . ahhhhh, the sunset.