My 100th post : Cherry-Almond Tart with Cheese filling

Today I'm writing my 100th post......after 16 months of blogging, I reached this milestone. To make it a special post(as it is very special for me), I wanted to post something sweet, something spectacular, something different, which I havn't posted here before. Coincidentally, I made a big batch of Cherry-Almond tart recently for Independence day celebration of my daughter's school. So, I'm posting the Tart recipe for my 100th post.

A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes with custard.So, without much ado, here is the recipe...

Ingredients :

For pastry base/cake :

Butter/margarine : 1 cup(room temperature)
APF( all-purpose flour) : 2 cups
Eggs : 2
Sugar : 2/3 cup
Baking powder : 2 tsp.
Salt : 1/2 tsp.
Milk : 1/3 cup
Vanilla extract : 1 tsp.

For Filling :

Ricotta cheese : 1 cup ( I replaced this with 1 cup cubed Indian cottage cheese/paneer)
Cream Cheese : 250 gms.
Eggs : 3
All Purpose flour : 1/2 cup
Sugar : 1 cup
Almonds : 1/2 cup(chopped coarsely)
Cherries :  10 oz. bottled./about 250 gm. fresh(chopped)

Sliced almonds for garnishing : 1 cup

Method :

• Preheat oven to 350F or 175 C. Grease a tart pan or baking dish/tray. 
• To make cake : In a bowl, beat butter or margarine, sugar, eggs and vanilla until creamy. Take flour, baking powder and salt in a seperate bowl and mix well. Now incorporate the flour mixture in the butter mixture little by little. Add enough milk to make a batter which is not too creamy like a cake batter, but little harder than that. It should not be too creamy or too tight, as tart bases are little crustier and especially this tart base is  like a bit crustier than a cake.

• Spread cake batter evenly on the greased baking tray/pan.
• To make filling : As I said, I was out of ricotta, so I replaced that portion with Paneer (Indian cottage cheese). I blended it in a blender with little milk into fine creamy paste. In a medium bowl, blend eggs, cream cheese, ricotta cheese/paneer blend, sugar, flour and almonds until all are well incorporated. Fold in cherries. You can replace cherries with blueberries or red currants.
  

• Pour filling over cake batter evenly. Sprinkle sliced almonds allover the batter.

• Put the baking tray in preheated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a tooth-pick or sharp knife inserted in, comes out clean. Cool the pan on wire-rack for 15 minutes.
• When cool, cut in desired shapes. Serve in room temperature. Can be stored in an air-tight container for 1-2 weeks.

Enjoy this tart with a cup of hot coffee or tea..............