As if I didn’t like cherry season enough already, now I find out that in the state of Wisconsin you can actually vie for the title of Cherry Queen.
It appears this title comes complete with a big fat tiara, the one thing I have secretly coveted ever since second grade when I first became cognizant of its deep meaning (namely that the wearer is prettier than anybody else sharing the stage).
I don’t care what kind of sarcastic comments we may emit while watching a newly crowed Miss America shakily reach up to steady her headdress then strut down the walkway with her big bouquet of roses and regal wave. Deep down many women, especially those of us raised in more southern latitudes, still harbor a secret wish to plunk that rhinestone-covered, silver-plated piece of headgear on our own carefully coiffed ‘do and wave to the adoring masses.
While I certainly don’t have a shot at ever being crowned queen of anything other than my own little universe, I can still indulge in some of the superb fruit harvest represented by Wisconsin’s very own tiara toting Cherry Queen, right?
Bearing that in mind, I picked up a quart of the dark burgundy Bing cherries, as well as some of the sweet, lighter yellow and red Queen Anne's popping up at fruit stands in nearby Door County and making their way to markets all over Wisconsin.
Despite a less than stellar track record with pastries, I envisioned myself created a stunning cherry tart from the freshly procured fruit.
I was aided in my delusion of grandeur by an article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel containing a superb-sounding recipe as well as a lovely photo of the finished product.
It sounded so simple.
How easily the sugar-starved mind is deceived!
I started with the Pate Sucree. I ground some almonds and pulsed them with the chilled butter, flour and sugar, as directed. It didn’t look quite right, but I soldiered on, adding the remaining flour and egg, then forming it into what was supposed to be a flat disc and threw it in the freezer.
Forty-five minutes later I pulled out the pate sucree and tried to roll it out. But it was still too flakey. I got creative. I threw the whole mess in a bowl and cut in another egg. Finally it appeared to be in a workable state.
I refloured my work surface. This time I actually managed to roll it out into what could pass for a circular shape. I started to place it in my tart pan and with a crumble here and a crumble there, the whole thing pretty much fell apart. Determined, I picked up the pieces and plastered them into the tart pan bit by bit.
So what, my tart didn’t look like the one in the picture.
Actually, it looked worse. Much worse.
I forgot to weight it down properly while it cooked. You can only imagine the disaster that ensued.
I pulled the sadly unusable sucree from the oven and tossed it in the trash.
I don’t know what it is with me and pastry dough. For some reason, it just doesn’t do well in my hands. Give me anything else and its fine. But pastry? Give me a prefab shell from the supermarket instead.
The store-bought variety might not be nearly as flavorful, but at least dessert gets done!
Anyway, I’m sorely disappointed that I didn’t get to finish my tart. To soothe the bitter feeling that lingered over being defeated by a ball of flour, sugar, and butter, I sampled a few of the sidelined cherries.
They were delicious. Get some now. And if you’re adept with all things pastry-related, give this tart recipe a shot and let me know how it turns out!
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