Kersenvlaai (Dutch Cherry Tart)

Dough

• 180 ml Whole milk
• 70 g Caster sugar
• 7 g Instant yeast
• 320 g Plain flour
• 1 tsp Fine sea salt
• 1 Egg, large
• 80 g Unsalted butter, softened

Filling

• 600 g Sweet cherries, ripe
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract

1. Warm the milk until just lukewarm, then whisk in the caster sugar and yeast. Leave for 5 minutes until slightly foamy.
2. Tip the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the milk mixture and the egg, then mix to a shaggy dough.
3. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes until smooth and elastic, then knead in the softened butter a little at a time until fully incorporated. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
4. Meanwhile, pit the cherries and toss them with the vanilla extract. Set aside at room temperature.
5. Grease a shallow 24 cm cake tin with a little of the butter from the measured amount, then lightly flour it. Punch down the dough, reserve about a quarter for a simple lattice, and press the rest evenly into the tin, pushing it up the sides to form a rim.
6. Spread the cherries evenly over the base. Roll out the reserved dough and cut into strips, then lay them over the fruit in a lattice pattern and press the ends onto the rim.
7. Cover and leave to prove until slightly puffy. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
8. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until deep golden and the fruit is bubbling at the edges. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely before slicing.

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