When you have sweet cherries you may crave a sweet cherry pie. Why not mix things up and make this homemade cherry torte?
When I was a youngster I spent as much time with my grandmother as I could.
She was a hardworking woman that could make something out of nothing and nothing ever went to waste.
She had two cherry trees in her yard. We would hang foil pie plates in the trees to keep the birds out.
Sometimes it worked but the brave ones still got through.
As soon as those cherries were ripe we were picking them as fast as we could.
I’ve been craving those beloved cherries but fresh cherries aren’t an option this time of year.
My options included using frozen or canned cherries. For the sake of research, I made two! One with a homemade cherry filling using frozen cherries and a mini torte using canned cherry pie filling.
John’s grandmother was a sweet Italian woman and I was lucky enough to get her Raspberry Linzer Torte recipe. I’ve made it several times.
We love this easy Italian dessert. I decided to try that recipe with cherries and a pecan shell instead of the almond torte shell.
The canned pie filling cherries are prettier and you can’t beat the convenience.
However, the consensus was that the filling made from the frozen cherries was the winner. It doesn’t add much time to the whole thing.
What is the difference between a Torte and a Tart?
TORTE comes from the Italian word torta and is usually multiple layers of cake filled with cream or fruit.
It can also be made with a very small amount of flour and use ground nuts or breadcrumbs.
TART is very different from a torte. A tart usually uses a pastry base with an open top. They can be called tart, quiche, flan or pie without much overlap.
So by definition what I’ve always called a tart is actually a TORTE!
Torte Variations You Can Make
- Fresh or frozen fruit
- Canned fruit filling
- Fruit jam
- Pre-bake torte shell and then filled with a no-cook filling like pudding
- Replace pecans with almonds, walnuts or hazelnuts
How to make a Sweet Cherry Torte
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- Cherry Filling
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- Rolled Pecan Torte pastry
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- Line Tart pan with rolled pastry
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- Fill Torte Shell with Filling
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- Stamp Torte pastry
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- Top torte with stamped pastry
You May Need
- Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus Food Processor – This mini food processor is a little workhorse. I grind nuts up or dice up a ton of veggies in no time. I like not having to drag out my full-size food processor for smaller jobs.
- Microplane Zester Grater – I use this Microplane at least 2-3 times a week. It’s perfect for zesting fruits or burying my spaghetti under a pile of parma!
- Non-Stick Tart and Quiche Pan with Removable Bottom, 9-Inch– My tarts slip right out of this pan. It’s perfect for tortes, tarts, or quiche.
- Mini Tart Pans – I love serving everyone their own mini tarts and one is enough for John and me to share. I can wrap up the others and freeze them.
Pin it!
Here are a few more recipes that I think you’re going to love!
- Raspberry Linzer Torte – Hostess At Heart
- Decadent Dark Chocolate Pecan Tart – Hostess At Heart
- Very Cherry Meringue Dessert – Hostess At Heart
- Orange Almond Torte – My Wife Can Cook
- Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Torte – An Affair From The Heart
Homemade Sweet Cherry Torte
Ingredients
Shell
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 9 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar plus additional for final dusting
- 2 cups ground pecans
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Cherry Filling
- 2 cups cherries I used frozen sweet cherries
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp butter unsalted
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp flour
- zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
- In a saucepan, combine the cherries, sugar, salt, lemon juice, zest, and butter. Cook over medium-low heat until berries soften and start to break down (7 minutes). Stir in flour and cook until thickened (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.
Shell
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly grease tart pan or a round cake pan.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, blend flour and butter together. Add powdered sugar and pecans and blend until combined. Add egg yolks and vanilla and blend until combined.
- Take a little more than half of the dough and press it into an 8 or 9-inch tart pan, round cake pan, or mini tart pans.
- Spread the filling over the dough.
- Press the remaining dough between two pieces of waxed paper or plastic wrap. Roll flat and stamp out hearts using a cookie cutter. Place the hearts around the center of the torte.
- Bake slowly for 50 to 60 minutes. If shell starts getting to brown cover the edges with foil.
- Allow the torte to cool on a baking rack then remove the pan.
- Sift additional powdered sugar over the top if desired.
- Store covered in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.
Nikki
Thursday 4th of June 2020
These are gorgeous! Just got a bunch of cherries and this was the first recipe I made! DELISH!
Julie Menghini
Saturday 6th of June 2020
Thank you, Nikki!
MICHAELA KENKEL
Monday 1st of June 2020
We celebrated my Mom's birthday and I made this and WHOA BABY!! It was GOOD!! I almost didn't get a piece for myself!
Julie Menghini
Tuesday 2nd of June 2020
Thank you!
Paige
Monday 1st of June 2020
Cherry season is here and I'll be making this! I haven't seen a recipe like this before with all cherries!
Julie Menghini
Monday 1st of June 2020
Those cherries are the best! Let me know what you think!
Michele -
Friday 3rd of January 2020
Some of my favorite recipes are from my grandma so when I see recipes passed down I always want to make them. Id made a tart before but never a torte... It came together so quickly and the cherries were a hit at our house. Im going to make this again for Valentines day since they have the cute little hearts on them...
Julie Menghini
Saturday 4th of January 2020
Thank you Michele!
Loretta
Tuesday 12th of February 2019
These sweet cherry tortes are screaming my name and asking me to make them. Love, love, love it all! Love the ground pecans in the base, and those wee hearts, oh so cute! I'm recently trying out a gluten free diet for a few different reasons (of course I'm never serious about any diet, and I dislike that word anyway), but I was wondering how it might turn out with gluten free flour and I'm trying my best to cut out sugar too in favor of maple syrup and honey. Well, guess I'll just have to try and see Julie. I'll let you know how things turn out, but they are the cutest tortes :)
Julie Menghini
Saturday 16th of February 2019
I just love these tortes and love sharing them with my sweet father-in-law soon to be 95. I hope your feeling ok Loretta. Reducing sugar is always a good idea and one that I struggle with. I do love using honey though but don't use the artificial stuff. I'd love to hear how your experimenting goes!