Cherry Cake Italian Style

Ingredients

• 200 g butter
• 2 egg yolks
• 70 g powdered sugar (from raw cane sugar)
• 1 pinch salt
• 200 g Spelt flour Type 1050
• 100 g almond flour
• 1 Organic lemon
• 500 g sour cherries (drained weight; jar)
• 70 g whole cane sugar
• 1 pinch ground clove
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp Cornstarch
• 1 tbsp Milk (3.5% fat)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Beat cold, but pliable butter with an egg yolk, 60 g powdered sugar and salt using a hand mixer until smooth. Briefly fold in flour and ground almonds and quickly knead into a smooth dough. Shape into a roll and cover; chill for 1 hour.

2. 2.

   Wash the lemon hot, dry it, grate the zest finely and squeeze out the juice. Drain cherries well in a sieve, catching the liquid. Place cherry flesh with sugar, cinnamon and cloves in a pot, bring to a boil and simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Mix cornstarch with 2 tbsp lemon juice and thicken the cherry juice under constant stirring. Remove from heat and fold in the cherries.

3. 3.

   Roll out the dough thinly (3 mm) and line a tart pan with it, trimming excess. Prick holes in the base with a fork and cover with parchment paper and dried peas to prevent over‑rise during pre-baking. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C (convection: 180 °C; gas: level 3) for 10 minutes. Remove the parchment and peas after baking.

4. 4.

   Meanwhile roll the leftover dough into a rectangle and cut strips with a rolling pin. Spread cherry filling over the pre‑baked base in the tart pan and arrange the strips on top.

5. 5.

   Whisk remaining egg yolk with milk and brush the dough strips with it. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C (convection: 160 °C; gas: level 2–3) for about 30–40 minutes. Remove, let cool completely and dust with remaining powdered sugar before serving.