Ingredients

  • Crust
  • 170 gram flour, 1 1/3 cups
  • 35 gram powdered sugar, 1/4 cup
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 140 gram unsalted butter, 1 cube + 2 T
  • 2 drops vanilla
  • -------
  • Mousse
  • 225 ml red wine, non-oaky, fruity wine like Shiraz, 1 cup
  • 680 grams sour cherries, 24oz jar including juice, if you use fresh cherries, add 1/3 cup sugar
  • 225 gram mascarpone cheese, 1 container
  • 1 teaspoon gelatin
  • 2 tablespoon water
  • -------
  • Topping
  • 1 quart strawberries, hulled
  • 1 bunch red grapes, seedless
  • 85 gram semisweet chocolate, best you can buy, but Lindt in candy section will do
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 3 mint leaves

Directions

1. Crust Combine dry ingredients in food processor and whiz briefly. Add still firm butter and vanilla and whiz until combined. Pat into tart pan with removable bottom. Crust should only come half-way up sides of pan. Prick with fork then chill until firm. Bake blind at 375*F/190*C/GM5 for 12 minutes. Carefully remove parchment paper and pie weights and continue baking for 5-10 minutes until crust lightly brown and dry, not greasy looking. Cool.
2. I use black beans as pie weights. Have reused the same beans for 15 years, and I think they are finally wearing out.
3. Mousse Combine wine and cherries, including liquid, in enamel pan. (If using fresh cherries, add sugar with cherries and wine.) Boil until liquid reduced by half. Remove cherries from pan and continue boiling liquid until syrupy. Whiz cherries, syrup and mascarpone in food processor until smooth. Strain and cool.
4. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over water and let rest for 5 minutes. Zap in microwave for about 10-15 seconds. Do not let boil, but make sure gelatin completely dissolves. Add gelatin to cherry mixture. Chill until just starting to set. Remove pie crust from pan and place on serving platter. Spread mousse into pie crust.
5. Topping Slice green tops off strawberries. Place strawberries, cut side down, on top of mousse. Start in center with largest strawberries and work out. Place grapes inbetween strawberries. Try with other berries, in combinations or not.
6. Chop chocolate. Place in glass bowl with butter and zap in microwave for 30 seconds. Stir, zap for 30 seconds, stir. How finely you chopped chocolate will determine length of time to zap. Be careful, chocolate won't look melted when it is. Also, the melted chocolate will melt remaining chunks when you stir so stop zapping when there are still real chunks of chocolate.
7. Drizzle chocolate over fruit. Chill for 1-2 hours for mousse to set. Garnish with mint leaves.
8. The next time I try this I'm going to substitute whipped cream for the mascarpone.

Notes
5 stars on looks, 4 stars on taste. Try using whipping cream in place of mascarpone.


Categories
Berry, Cherry, Chocolate, Mousse, Pie, Strawberry, Tart
Keywords
Cherry, Chocolate, Tart, Pie, Strawberry, Berry, Mousse
MacGourmet downloadCherry Mascarpone Tart. To import, drag image to your MacGourmet recipe box.