A Quickie with Anna Gare

I know its been a while since our last blog. Between Christmas, floods and organising events for Babes in Business and Clean Up Australia Day I have been most neglectful of my blogging duties. Well that's all about to change.  Julie-ann and I have just come back from The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival where we have unearthed a rich vein of culinary content to blog about.  First up I want to tell you about the fabulously entertaining session we attended with Anna Gare star of  "Quickies in My Kitchen" & Junior MasterChef.

Anna Gare talks about her 5 children - 2 with husband Luc Longley and '3 he prepared earlier'.

Anna's session was fun, upbeat and peppered with some saucy jokes that even made moderator Alistair McLeod blush a bright red. Wearing what she called a 'highly flamable' dress instead of chefs whites, Anna showed us how to make Latino Scallops, Persian Spiced Fillet of Beef, Upside Down Potato Salad as well as 3 versions of her Upside Down Tart.

Anna Gare teached Alistair McLeod a thing or two about the morter & pestle

Today I made Anna's Cherry Upside Down Tart using bottled Morello pitted cherries and almond meal I ground myself from blanched almonds in the 'Jesus Machine' AKA: The Thermomix. It was super easy and once cooled and turned out it looked as good as any french frangipane tart I've seen. It took me less than 10 minutes to get in the oven so it really was a quickie in my kitchen.  Here's how it goes:

Anna Gare's Upside Down Cherry Tart

Upside Down Cherry Tart by Anna Gare

Cake
150g unsalted butter
150g castor sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
1 XL egg or 2 yolks
150g almond meal
1 1/2 heaped tbs SR flour

Tart base
Butter for greasing
1 tbs castor sugar
1 tbs butter

Fruit
1 1/2 cups of morella cherries (drained)

Using an electric beater, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until pale, light and fluffy.
Add egg or 2 yolks slowly while still beating.
Using a spoon fold in almond meal and flour or add slowly with beaters on very slow speed.
Lightly grease a 35 cm long flan tin. Line with foil being careful  not to pierce the foil.
Evenly rub foil with butter then sprinkle with 1 tbs sugar.
Evenly spread the cherries over base of tin.
Spoon almond meal mixture evenly over the cherries.
Bake in 180 C oven on the centre shelf for approx 45 minutes until firm and golden on top.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little before turning out.
Turn out upside down on a large plate or board and dust with icing sugar.
Serve with cream of good vanilla ice cream.

You can easily change the flavour of this tart by substituting 3 ripe peaches or 2 ripe pears (halved and cut side down in tin).  Or do what Anna did and triple the mixture and make all 3 at the same time.

Fleur