Sour Cherry Chocolate Tart

This sour cherry chocolate tart features a chocolate tart crust which holds layers of silky chocolate ganache and rich almond pastry cream. Topped with a layer of sweetened roasted sour cherries, and garnished with whipped cream and chocolate shavings, it's a complex and enjoyable combination of flavors and textures. The flexibility of using fresh or frozen tart cherries means you can make this delicious cherry dessert year-round!

SOUR CHERRY CHOCOLATE TART

I put together this recipe for sour cherry chocolate tart a few years ago. I accidentally bought a large bag of frozen sour cherries, instead of dark sweet cherries. If you have a generous amount of sour cherries, this recipe will help you out! (You can also try sour cherries in this lattice topped cherry and rhubarb pie.)

For this tart, the cherries are tossed in sugar and oven-roasted until they’re bubbling in a thickened, jammy sauce; they maintain just enough tartness to balance out the sweetness of the remaining fillings.

A layer of dark chocolate ganache coats the chocolate tart crust and prevents the base from getting too soft. I've filled the tart with a cool, creamy layer of almond flavored pastry cream which cushions a topping of roasted sour cherries.

The nutty, sweet flavor of almond pastry cream works wonders with the tangy bursts of cherry. Here, I’ve added piped swirls of lightly sweetened whipped cream and a dusting of chocolate shavings as decoration.

The pairing of chocolate and sour cherries is so good. The tart acidity and sweetness of the fruit plays off of the fruity richness of chocolate.

The combination of chocolate, cherries, and whipped cream has a bit of a Black Forest feel to it. (Black Forest torte is a classic German cake made of layers of chocolate sponge cake, whipped cream, kirschwasser, sour cherries and chocolate shavings).

My recipe for rich and fudgy brownies with port wine soaked cherries is another great example of this classic combo.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE FILLING

• Heavy whipping cream - It's important to use whipping cream for ganache, and not substitute with lower fat options such as whole milk or half and half. Their fat content is not high enough to set the ganache properly.
• Dark chocolate - I use a 72% cacao bar for a rich, dark chocolate ganache. Good quality bar chocolate, rather than chocolate chips, will give you a better, smoother result. Finely chop the dark chocolate to help it melt into the hot cream without lumps.

FOR THE ALMOND PASTRY CREAM FILLING

• Granulated sugar
• Cornstarch - cornstarch works to thicken pastry cream without adding the floury taste or heavy texture that can come from all-purpose flour.
• Kosher salt
• Egg yolks - add flavor and structure to the pastry cream.
• Whole milk - whole milk provides the right consistency. Skim or 2% milk result in a runnier pastry cream.
• Almond extract - having a good quality pure almond extract on hand is important since it's one of the dominant flavors of the recipe. Look for a label that says pure almond extract rather than imitation almond flavor. Make sure to add the almond extract after cooking the pastry cream to retain maximum flavor.
• Unsalted butter - adding a bit of butter to the pastry cream adds a pretty sheen and additional richness of flavor. Since there's already salt in the recipe, use unsalted butter here.

FOR THE SOUR CHERRY FILLING

• Sour cherries - either fresh or frozen cherries work here. If using frozen cherries, place them in the pan to partially thaw before baking. You can also use a combination of sour cherries and dark, sweet cherries - or all sweet cherries! No need to adjust the sugar quantity.The final result will be slightly less tart if you choose to use a sweeter variety of cherry.
• Granulated sugar
• Tapioca flour - also called tapioca starch. I've used tapioca flour here rather than cornstarch. Tapioca flour combines beautifully with fruit and sugar to create a clear, cloudless, tasteless gel. Tapioca flour is ground from the root of the cassava plant, native to South America. Check labels to ensure that your tapioca flour is sourced from cassava. Some packages substitute with sago, the inner portion of the sago palm tree, which will give you unsatisfying results. If you use cornstarch, reduce the total amount needed to 3 tablespoon (22g) cornstarch.

FOR THE GARNISH

• Heavy whipping cream - whip to stiff peaks, and pipe with a jumbo star tip to add a decorative touch and visual contrast to the top of the tart.
• Granulated sugar - to add a bit of sweetness to the whipped cream
• A thick chocolate bar - Use a vegetable peeler along the side of a thick bar of chocolate to create chocolate shavings. A thicker bar (such as a Trader Joe's pound plus bar) will give you wider shavings.
• Fresh cherries - optional: add a cherry on top - literally - of each whipped cream swirl for the final touch. Use a paring knife to slice each cherry in half vertically around the pit (like when removing the pit from a peach). Use your fingers to twist each half to separate one side from the pit. The tip of a paring knife can be used to remove the pit from the other half.

Frequently asked questions

Sour cherry vs. tart cherry

Sour cherries are alternatively known as tart cherries. Most of the sour cherries in the United States are the Montmorency variety. They are bright red in color and somewhat smaller than the sweet Bing or Rainier varieties.

They have a very brief season limited to a few weeks in late July. For this reason, it's rare to see them fresh in stores or markets. You'll most often find them in the freezer section of your supermarket, waiting to be made into a pie (like this cherry rhubarb version!)

I've tested this with frozen sour cherries so that you can enjoy this delicious sour cherry tart recipe even if you never come across fresh sour cherries.

Can pastry cream be frozen?

Some pastry cream recipes made with flour or gelatin can be frozen, but not those made with cornstarch (such as this one.) It breaks down after freezing and would turn into a runny mess.

Can this cherry chocolate tart be frozen?

You can't freeze the fully assembled tart (see above). However, you can bake and freeze the tart crust and chocolate ganache filling in advance. Once you add the pastry cream, you must store the filled tart in the refrigerator to keep the pastry cream fresh.

How do I know when my whipped cream has stiff peaks?

Stiffly whipped cream will hold its shape well when piped and is perfect for adding a swirled garnish to this sour cherry chocolate tart. The visual cues for stiff peaks include a very thick mixture that retains its shape when lifted out of the bowl. If you lift the whisk out of the bowl and turn it upside down, the whipped peak should stand upright and not slump. Refer to this helpful visual guide so you can make whipped cream with confidence and recognize when it's ready.

📖 Recipe

This post was originally published in August 2018 and updated in July 2021 with new photos and a much more detailed write-up. The additional information will help you successfully navigate through the various steps to make this decadent treat.