Celebrate President’s Day with a sweet cherry tart

Annie Copps shares a mouthwatering recipe that honors George Washington

Video: A cherry tart in honor of George Washington

Closed captioning of: A cherry tart in honor of George Washington

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>>> to cherry tart worthy of the white house . we have the co-host of wgbh radio's daily dish. annie, good morning.

>> happy presidents' day.

>> let's talk about the significance of the cherry tart on this day.

>> george washington , the whole cherry incident.

>> i cannot tell a lie.

>> well, i can. i have been known to.

>> doesn't apply to you. what do we have?

>> super simple recipe. everyone can have it on the table tonight to celebrate the big birthday. we have flour and chilled butter. we want a flaky crust. oh, i want the dry ingredients first.

>> what do we have?

>> semolina flour to add a nice crunch, sugar so it's sweet. a pinch of salt. then we put the top on.

>> you say there is a risk of overprocessing. don't spin it too long.

>> once the ingredients are in. i will pulse this twice. pop the top back on -- oh.

>> mm. breathe it in.

>> it's good for you, i'm told. toss the butter with flour so it protect it is butter so it doesn't smush all over. then cream, milk or water. i started with two tablespoons because we don't know how it will be -- if it's a wet or dry day you may need more or less liquid. an egg yolk so it's rich.

>> toss that up.

>> pulse it just a few times. just until it comes together.

>> then that's going to eventually turn into this.

>> presto, magic.

>> i'm told you are quite a baker.

>> i don't know who said that.

>> roll it out.

>> that's good.

>> look at you. like a trained professional. after it came together we would have popped it in the refrigerator and chilled it for 30 minutes or so.

>> and knead the dough.

>> not too much. i think you need a cooking show . no morning show . you need a cooking show . after it was rolled out we press it into a tart pan with a removable bottom. press it into the side. with the rolling pin so we have nice, neat edges. we can go on that side, too. cut off the excess and save this. cherry preserves is the secret ingredient .

>> anything?

>> whatever your favorite is. you could use orange preserves, apricots. but because it's washington's big day we are using cherry preserves. isn't it gorgeous? smush it out to the sides. instead of worrying about a top for it. yeah, get the corners. perfect. this is the dough. we're going to grate it.

>> this is excess dough?

>> right. roll it up.

>> instead of the top?

>> instead of the lattice top. cherry and almond, i think, are a gorgeous combination.

>> this almost looks professional despite my handiwork.

>> it is professional. this will go into a 350 degree oven. isn't it gorgeous?

>> beautiful.

>> we have whipped cream . we'll add a little bit of c rrks creme fraiche to it for flavor.

>> hi.

>> did you see how he rolled that out?

>> masterful.

>> very important. use canned tomatoes. i'm kidding. this just takes the bottom off. cut into it like so. it's so good.

>> it looks good. can we taste it?

>> we have to put some topping on there.

>> do you put it right on?

>> you know what you're doing.

>> okay. good grief. all right.

>> pull it together, everybody. here, savannah. have some.

>> we have a jumper!

>> it's elusive but delicious.

>> annie, i'm going to have some. thank you so much.

>> happy presidents' day.

>> coming up, joan and melissa rivers stop by.

Show transcript

TODAY recipes

updated 2/23/2011 11:24:40 AM ET

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Annie Copps, food writer and co-host of WGBH radio’s “Daily Dish,” shows how to make a mouthwatering cherry tart, reminiscent of George Washington and the cherry tree, in observance of Presidents Day.

Recipe: Cherry tart (on this page)

Recipe: Cherry tart

Annie Copps

Ingredients

Crust
1 1/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
1 large egg yolk
2-3 tablespoons cold milk, cream or water
Filling
2 cups cherry preserves (or your favorite marmalade or jam)
1/3 cup sliced almonds
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preparation

In the workbowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cornmeal and salt. Pulse to combine. Add the butter, toss carefully with your hands to coat the butter cubes in flour. Pulse in the food processor several times until the mixture resembles coarse oatmeal. Add the egg and 2 tablespoons of the milk, cream or water, and pulse until the dough begins to come together in a ball. Add the additional tablespoon of liquid if needed until the dough comes together. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead it briefly to shape it into a disk about 5 inches across. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a shape a ½ inch wider than the tart pan you are using. Loosely fold the dough in half and transfer it to the tart pan. Line the pan with the dough, being careful not to stretch the dough. Trim any excess dough from the rim of the pan, leaving a blunt neat edge. Gather the trimmings into a ball (it should be about the size of a pingpong ball). Wrap the tart and the small ball of dough in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour and up to 2 days.

Heat to 375 degrees. Remove the tart pan from the refrigerator, and spread the marmalade evenly over the crust. Grate the chilled ball of pastry onto the filling, and sprinkle the almonds over the top. Bake on a rack in the center of the oven until the pastry is golden, the filling is bubbly and the almonds are toasted, 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. When the tart is completely cool, dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve at room temperature.