Rainier Cherry Tart

So, cherry picking. Yay! Early summer is good livin' out here in the East County. It's all about fresh and local. A mere 5 minute drive puts us in the heart of U-Pick heaven. Today I think we picked about 10 lbs of cherries, half Rainier (the yellowish guys) and half Bing.

I am still pondering things to do with these juicy puppies beside eat them right out of the box.....let's see, cherry salsa, cherry soup, cherry brandy? Well, anyways, my first inclination was for a sweet treat.

Rainier Cherry Tart

Dough:

1 1/4 cups flour

1 T. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 stick unsalted butter

2 T. cold water

Mix flour, sugar, salt and butter in food processor. Pulse on/off until mixture resembles small particles. Add 1 T. water and pulse, add another and pulse again. If the dough is damp enough to roll out, then do so. If not, add a couple more drops of water until you get it right. Roll it out and lay it into tart pan, pushing more dough up around the edges to make it thicker there. Poke holes with a fork and bake for 10 min. at 350. Cool slightly before adding filling.

Filling:

1 block cream cheese

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp lemon zest

1 egg

Mix everything but the egg together until creamy. Taste it several times until you are completely sure that it tastes good. Then one more taste for good measure. Add egg and mix until uniform. Spread over tart crust. Add fruit in a thoughtful symmetrical pattern (or not). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.