Nothing feels as good as a big ol’ slice ofย fresh cherry pie, especially when it’s doused in a delectable scoop of vanilla ice cream! The key to perfecting a cherry pie, or any pie for that matter, is in the crust. The crust should be firm, should have just the right amount of crunch, and should possess a certain finesse to it. Once you’ve mastered the pie crust, it’s all a piece of pie, pun intended, from then on. This recipe, tried and tested by yours truly, has never failed me yet, and for a kitchen novice like me, it came out perfect to a tee.
Ingredients
1.5 kg pitted cherries
150g butter
30g icing sugar
80g castor sugar
2 tbs cornflour
200g plain flour
1/2 tbs water
1 juice of lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
1 egg
Directions
Pastry
Place the butter, plain flour, and icing sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, or use your hands. Mix well until the ingredients start to look crumbly.
On the side, gently whisk the egg, adding the water as you go. Add this to the dry ingredients, and mix.
Wrap the dough in saran wrap, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Cherry Filling
Put together the cherries, sugar, lemon zest, and a dash of vanilla into a saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until the cherries break down.
On the side, mix together the lemon juice and cornflour, and add to the cherries. Stir continuously, and the mixture will start thickening. The thicker you get it, the better.
Set aside to cool.
Putting It Togetherย
Split the dough into two balls, one a tad larger than the other. Place each ball between two pieces of saran wrap, and roll them out using a roller. You should stop rolling once it reaches about 5mm in thickness.
Ready your pie dish, and start to place the dough, making sure you’re extra careful. Alternatively, you can use the saran wrap as a guide when placing your dough.
Once your crust is sitting in place, make sure it’s equal in thickness all around. Fill the the dish with the cherry filling.
Place the other piece of dough on top of the cherry filling. Remove any remaining pieces of dough that may hang off the side.
Make sure you trap the filling between the dough by pressing your fingers around the entire pie dish.
Have a mixture of one egg and milk ready by your side. Brush it over the pie for a nice golden texture.
Sprinkle some granulated sugar over the pie, and bake at 175 C, for about 35 minutes. It should have a nice golden colour.
You did it! Go ahead and celebrate, you’ve earned it.
