A Rustic French Cherry Tart | From Scratch Sensations

FROM SCRATCH SENSATIONS

Where culinary history meets the modern home kitchen.

Cherry Frangipane Tart

A rustic French tart for summer afternoons.

Some desserts seem to belong to summer afternoons — the kind served with coffee, tea, or a quiet moment at the table while the season is still warm and bright.

This Cherry Frangipane Tart is made with fresh cherries, a delicate almond filling, sliced almonds, and a flaky crust. Inspired by classic European fruit tarts and the elegant summer menus found in vintage cookbooks, it feels both old-world and wonderfully approachable for today’s kitchen.

“A simple summer dessert inspired by the timeless charm of classic seasonal tables.”

From Bianca’s Vintage Bookshelf

This Cherry Frangipane Tart was inspired by the seasonal baking traditions found in the 1971 Cordon Bleu Summer Cookery collection, where elegant yet approachable recipes celebrated the very best ingredients of the season.

While this tart is my own interpretation, its inspiration comes from the timeless charm of those classic summer tables — the kind of cooking that makes a simple fruit dessert feel special without becoming fussy.

Vintage cookbooks often remind us that good food does not have to be complicated to be memorable. Sometimes it is enough to pair a ripe seasonal fruit with a trusted pastry, a simple filling, and a little time in the oven.

Cover of Cordon Bleu Summer Cookery — The 1971 *Cordon Bleu Summer Cookery* collection, one of the vintage sources inspiring this summer tart.

Inside pages from Cordon Bleu Summer Cookery showing seasonal recipes. — Vintage summer recipes focused on seasonal ingredients, straightforward techniques, and gracious entertaining.

Sample summer menu from the 1971 Cordon Bleu Summer Cookery featuring a complete seasonal meal with preparation timetable. — One of the thoughtfully planned summer menus featured in *Cordon Bleu Summer Cookery*, pairing seasonal recipes with a practical timetable for preparing an elegant three-course meal.

What Went Into the Tart

Fresh sweet cherries
Prepared pie crust or tart shell
Butter, sugar, and eggs
Almond flour and almond extract
Sliced almonds
Powdered sugar for serving

View Recipe: Cherry Frangipane Tart

Serves: 8

Ingredients

1 prepared 9-inch pie crust or tart shell
1 1/2 cups fresh sweet cherries, pitted and halved
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup almond flour
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup sliced almonds
Powdered sugar, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Fit the pie crust into a 9-inch tart pan or shallow tart dish, pressing gently into the edges.
In a medium bowl, beat together the softened butter and sugar until light and creamy.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the almond extract.
Fold in the almond flour, all-purpose flour, and salt until smooth.
Spread the frangipane evenly into the tart shell.
Arrange the halved cherries over the filling, pressing them gently into the almond mixture.
Scatter sliced almonds over the top.
Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until the filling is puffed, lightly golden, and set in the center.
Cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar and slicing.

LIBK Note: This tart is lovely served slightly warm or at room temperature with coffee, tea, softly whipped cream, or a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Inspired by the seasonal baking traditions found in the 1971 Cordon Bleu Summer Cookery collection.

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Kitchen Notes

Frangipane is one of those simple fillings that feels far more elegant than the effort required. Butter, sugar, eggs, almonds, and a little extract come together into a soft almond cream that bakes beautifully around summer fruit.

Fresh cherries make this tart especially lovely, but the same idea could be used with other seasonal fruits as the year changes — plums, apricots, pears, or berries would all be welcome at the table.

I baked this tart in my vintage glass Anchor Hocking Savannah tart dish, which felt perfectly suited to the spirit of the recipe. Some dishes simply make a recipe feel more at home.

Served with tea or coffee, this is the kind of dessert that feels right for a quiet afternoon, a summer luncheon, or a small garden gathering.