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Brandied Cherry Crostata with Toasted Almonds

Cherry lovers, this one's for you-- Brandied Cherry Crostata with Toasted Almonds! A crostata is a simple, rustic pie, but I've added a couple of embellishments to this recipe, the cherries are brandied and the pie crust has a layer of almond paste. Cherries. Brandy. Almonds. What's not to love? Served hot from the oven with a scoop of chocolate ice cream, it's always a crowd pleaser!
Tips:
When rolling out the dough and the almond paste, lay a sheet of parchment paper underneath and on top. It makes rolling so much easier and doesn't require you to use additional bench flour.
The crostata takes 45 minutes to cook. I suggest setting your timer for 20 minutes and checking it. If it's browning to fast, place a sheet of tin foil over the top to protect it from the heat.
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Course: Dessert
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

For the dough
  • 6 tbspn butter, diced and very cold
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 3 tspn sugar
  • 1/4 tspn salt
  • 5 tbspn vegetable shortening
  • 1/4 cup ice water
For the cherry filling
  • 3 cups fresh cherries, pitted (about 1 lb, divided)
  • 2 tbspn granulated sugar
  • 1 cup brandy, divided
  • 1/8 tspn salt
  • 1 tspn vanilla
  • 2 1/2 tbspn cornstarch
  • 7 ounces almond paste
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tbspn heavy cream
  • Turbinado sugar sprinkled over the top
  • almonds scattered on top

Method
 

For the dough
  1. Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix.
  2. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse until well combined, but do not over mix.
  3. With the machine running, pour ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough comes together.
  4. Remove the dough from the food processor and roll into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
For the cherry filling
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Wash and pit the cherries.
  3. Put 2 cups of the cherries, in a sauce pan with 3/4 cup brandy, sugar, salt and vanilla extract and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered until thick and syrupy, 8 to 10 minutes.
  4. Pour the remaining 1/4 cup brandy into a small bowl or cup and add the cornstarch. Stir until the cornstarch dissolves into the liquid, and then add to the cherries. Stir until the mixture thickens.
  5. Transfer to large bowl and allow to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Add remaining fresh cherries and toss to coat. Set aside.
  6. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12" circle, about 1/8" thick and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  7. Roll out the almond paste to make an 8" circle, about 1/8" thick.
  8. Center the almond disk on top of the dough.
  9. Spread the cherry mixture on the dough, leaving a two inch border.
  10. Fold the edges of the dough over the fruit, leaving most of the fruit exposed in the center.
  11. Whisk the egg yolk with heavy cream to make the egg wash and brush the crust. Sprinkle the crostata with Turbinado sugar and scatter sliced almonds over the top.
  12. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling and the crust is golden.