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Rustic Cherry Tarts make the most of the season’s beautiful, fresh cherries.
In the summer, I love desserts that feature fresh fruits: Peaches, Cherries, Berries, and Rhubarb – especially the rhubarb desserts, as evidenced by the abundance of recipes here!
These little tarts are straightforward, consisting of a small circular crust with a mixture of cherries and sugar on top.
Simple, yet they are still a beautiful, tasty treat. The simplicity of the recipe allows the flaky texture of the crust and the juicy flavor of the cherries to shine.
Cherry Tarts
Aren’t cherries a gorgeous, cheery fruit? (See what I did there with the “cheery” cherries? I amuse myself sometimes.)
It’s important for fruit tarts to have a good crust. It has only been recently that I have read up and practiced making pie crusts.
Homemade crusts are not hard, it just takes knowing some tips and tricks to mixing and handling the dough. If you have a favorite, stand-by crust recipe, by all means feel free to use it.
I’ve used this cheater oil pie crust for most of the recipes here on the website. It’s foolproof for pretty much any dessert!
How To Make A Fruit Tart
Once you have the crusts made, the rest of the recipe is a snap. Combine the fruit with a few tablespoons of sugar and a bit of cornstarch and the filling is complete.
These are free form tarts, meaning that the dough is rolled into a circle, the filling placed in the center and the edges of dough folded and pleated around the edged for a rustic look.
These little beauties are best enjoyed when they are warm right from the oven, perhaps with a bit of vanilla ice cream, if desired.
Cherry Tart Recipe
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, salt and sugar. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until pea sized crumbs.
- Sprinkle the cold water over the mixture, lightly stirring with a fork until dough forms into a ball. Chill the dough for at least an hour. This makes it much easier to handle.
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix the cherries with the sugar and cornstarch.
- Divide the dough into fourths. Roll out each fourth into a 8 in round circle. Trim the edges a bit with a knife, if necessary.
- Spoon a cup of the cherries into the middle of each circle, leaving about an inch and a half of crust around the edges.
- Gently fold the edge of the crust over the cherries, pleating as you go. Brush the crust with a beaten egg. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cherries are tender.
Cherry Desserts
Cherry Pie Bars with Vanilla Glaze are an easy treat you can make with canned cherry pie filling or with fresh cherries.
A classic dessert, this No-Bake Cherry Cheesecake is perfect for summer picnics and potlucks. This cheesecake has a graham cracker crust, creamy no-bake cheesecake layer, and cherry pie filling on top.
Soft, moist, and full of fresh cherry flavor, this Cherry Almond Bread is simple to make, and is a great hostess or neighbor gift.
Homemade Cherry Ice Cream is another summer favorite.
Rustic Cherry Tarts
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 and 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/4 cup ice cold water
For the filling
- 4 cups pitted sweet cherries
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 and 1/2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, salt and sugar. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until pea sized crumbs.
- Sprinkle the cold water over the mixture, lightly stirring with a fork until dough forms into a ball. Chill the dough for at least an hour. This makes it much easier to handle.
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix the cherries with the sugar and cornstarch.
- Divide the dough into fourths. Roll out each fourth into a 8 in round circle. Trim the edges a bit with a knife, if necessary.
- Spoon a cup of the cherries into the middle of each circle, leaving about an inch and a half of crust around the edges.
- Gently fold the edge of the crust over the cherries, pleating as you go. Brush the crust with a beaten egg. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cherries are tender.
{originally published 7/3/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 6/15/21}
I wanted to love this recipe but it simply did not work… The crust got way too bubbly and almost looked like pizza. Sad to waste the ingredients…
That’s very odd. Did you by chance use a self-rising flour?
What do you use to grease the baking pan?
I don’t typically grease the pan, but you can use a bit of butter if you’d like.
These look so fabulous ! Unfortunately mine flopped. The dough collapsed towards the pan, not towards the filling. It was a huge mess. Additional instructions on how to form the dough might have been helpful. Thankfully I was able to salvage the filling. Then I made a new batch of dough and baked them in muffin tins. Taste is delicious.
I’m glad to hear that you were able to make them work for you. I basically just fold the edge of the crust over the cherries, kind of pleating it around the edges.
What does 4 T of sugar means?
Hi Naydee- 4 T means 4 tablespoons. 🙂
Great recipe. I recommend cutting the cherries in half, makes it easier to tuck everything in neatly. And I sprinkled them with some cinnamon sugar before putting them in the oven ?
I’m so glad you enjoyed the tarts, Caroline!