Sunday Feast № 20 | Cherry for Blueberry, or with Blueberry, Tart with Oat Crumble

There is nothing like late night baking. Well, there are other as exciting, if not more exciting things, to do late at night, but sometimes switching it up is called for, and honestly, if the muse strikes in the middle of the work week, late night is the only time to do it. The beauty of late night baking is that it perfumes the air for a great soporific effect while the baking goods cool overnight to welcome you in the morning with temptation. So here I was again, this time adapting a recipe by Rachel Conners of Bakerita.com. The result didn't last long when next day's visitors started tasting - a seal of universal approval.
The original recipe called for blueberries since Rachel was "having waaay too many blueberries in the house". I had leftover frozen cherries, reserving fresh ones to eat as they are, and I had some blueberries for the start of the season, which for the most part I also wanted to eat raw. Nevertheless, I "sacrificed" some. Walnuts I had on hand were a good pairing for what in my case was predominantly cherry filling.    This is the most solid coconut oil I have ever used in anything, and baking at night when it was cool meant it stayed solid rather then liquefying in the jar the way it tends to do at the height of summer. There is also something comforting yet decadent in baking with almond flour. With the addition of honey and oats, I guess this tart is borderline healthy in a way few tarts can be. Trick of the mind? Perhaps, but a very good one. Very tasty.

Filling ~200 g thawed or fresh cherries quartered + ~170 g fresh blueberries 1 tbsp honey 2 tsp tapioca starch Crust 4 oz almond flour 2½ oz old-fashioned oats 3 oz honey 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 1 tbsp vanilla extract 5 tbsp solid coconut oil 2 tbsp chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Add cherries and blueberries, honey, and tapioca starch to a bowl and toss until coated. Set aside. Add almond flour, oats, honey, baking powder, and salt to a different bowl and whisk until combined. Add honey and combine well by whisking and gently mushing together with the whisk to incorporate all without losing texture. Add the coconut oil and use your fingers to work it in until it resembles coarse crumbs, or rather until mixture holds together when pressed. Remove about a ⅓-cup of the crumbs for the topping and press the remaining crumbs into the bottom of 9-in tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the crumb dough evenly into the pan for the tart crust. Refrigerate for ~15 min. After, pour drained cherry-blueberry mixture over the crust. Add chopped walnuts to the remaining crumbs and sprinkle evenly over the top of the cherry-blueberry mixture for the crumble. Bake for 40-45 min, 40 min was sufficient in my oven or until the crust is lightly brown to brown and the filling is bubbling. At 20 min, tent the tart with foil to prevent it from getting too brown. Let the tart cool completely in the pan before removing and slicing to serve.