The other day I mentioned that I had created a wonderful cherry torte by combining a couple of recipes...

Finally found time to write the recipe down and I am happy to share it. I specified the cherries that I used, which were frozen, but I am sure other cherries would also work...even fresh or canned...

Anne’s Cherry Torte

Filling:
28 oz. frozen Door County Montmorency Cherries thawed (retain 1 cup of juice)
1 C. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
¼ t. salt
1 T. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground nutmeg
½ t. vanilla extract

Fully drain the cherries and hold them in reserve. Put the juice in a 1-1/2 quart sized microwavable bowl.

Add the dry ingredients to the cherry juice and let sit for 10 minutes to allow the cornstarch to become fully dissolved. Place the bowl in the microwave and cook on high for 2 minutes, to bring liquid to a boil. Stir and repeat for a total of 6 minutes. Sauce should be thick. Add the cherries and set aside to cool while you make the crust.

Crust:
2-1/2 C all-purpose flour (could use part whole wheat flour)
1 t. salt
1 C. (two sticks) cold butter
2 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
2 egg yolks
1/ 4 C. milk

Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cut butter into small pieces and add to the bowl. Cut in the butter until butter is well integrated and there are no large chunks. (I use the whipping tool of my Kitchen Aide mixer for this but otherwise use a pastry cutter or two knives.) Mix egg yolk and milk and add to the flour/butter mixture. Use your hands to form the dough into a ball that cleans the sides of the bowl.

Press the dough into a 13x9x2 pan, working the dough up the sides of the pan at least an inch. This will make a fairly thick crust, so if you prefer a thinner crust, save some of the dough and freeze it for later use.

Pour the cherry filling into the crust and top it with a streusel of your choice. I used a simple mixture of granola and chopped pecans.

Topping:
1-1/2 C. granola (I used Cascadian Farm Organic Oats and Honey Granola)
1 C chopped pecans

Bake for 25 minutes at 425 degrees F. Cake is done when crust is golden brown.

This recipe is delightful but Anne I hope you don't mind as I wanted to add that fresh cherries aren't as good as frozen or canned because there is no juice to save and use later. Now you could use fresh cherries and buy a container of cherry juice I suppose. Out of town company coming tomorrow and I am going to bake this tonight when it cools off some around here. YUMMY!

Hope the recipe worked for you Chatty!

This sounds delicious! I am so glad to have stumbled upon it. I was just thinking I wanted to bake something for after dinner tonight

It IS delicious! I just bought more cherries last night, so I could make it again...