Fresh Cherry Pie that I baked for our 8th Anniversary

Our 8th anniversary was on June 21st. I deliberately decided not to make any desserts for the occasion this year because we binge-watched Gilmore Girls and binged on doughnuts and pizzas! Has that happened to you? Watch a series and you want to eat the same things they eat? After that, we don't deserve any more sugar or junk food. But this is the season of cherries! I was battling my urge to bake every time my loved ones kept asking me what I was planning to bake this year! Just a day before the date, a man came to our door and requested us to help him by buying his box of cherries. They were Lebanese cherries and looked so fresh and juicy! I didn't have a second thought - cherry pie it is! But, is this how the "Universe conspires"? or is this "What you resist persists!" 😂

While all my recipes are tested and tried before sharing here, some recipes get shared because they mark a certain occasion in my life like birthdays and anniversaries. But with this pie, let me remind you that I have already shared my first ever pie that I baked for our 6th anniversary. So, I used the same pie crust recipe and made Sally's fresh cherry pie filling (old recipe) (she updated the recipe method after my attempt). The highlight for me is my first attempt at lattice crust which could have been better but I loved the number 8 I made using cookie cutters. 😜 Sad news, not a single person noticed the "8" when I shared it on Instagram. 😭

From my apple pie attempt, I learned a pie has to cool for a minimum of 3 hours so you can slice without too much runny filling. When I sliced this cherry pie after 3 hours, it still had some runny juice but was not as bad as my apple pie. I cling-wrapped the rest and sliced them the next day and they were perfectly sliceable without any visible runny juice. So I would suggest resting this pie for at least 5 hours. This also depends on the cherries used as some are extra juicy than others.

How do you make a cherry pie from scratch with fresh cherries? 

Lattice or weaving the pastry strips needs a bit of patience, some coordination skills and logical thinking. I watched a few Lattice weaving videos and thought, "ah, that's easy!" but when it was time to do the action, I panicked and messed up. You can't keep correcting the weave because you risk the dough getting all greasy. Make sure to read or watch the links I have included in the recipe section to get your pie game up.

• 1 cup and 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, chilled*
• ½ tablespoon sugar
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 125gms butter (cold and solid), cut into half-inch cubes
• ¼ cup very cold ice water

For Cherry Pie Filling

• 3 cups of whole fresh cherries, pitted and halved or quartered
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoon cornflour /starch
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon almond flour (optional but recommended)
• 10gms butter, cut into small pieces

METHOD

Prepare the pie crust:

1. Add the chilled flour, sugar and salt into a mixie or a food processor. Pulse it a few times until combined.
2. Next, add the very cold and solid butter cubes and pulse again 5 to 8 times or until they resemble coarse crumbs with pea-size butter pieces.
3. Now, add the ice-cold water a little at a time between pulses just until it starts to come together. If the dough holds together when you pinch some in your hands, then it is ready. If it is not then add a dash of ice-cold water and pulse again.
4. Transfer the mixture onto the work surface and gather the mixture to form a ball without "kneading".
5. Divide the dough into two equal portions (roughly), flatten each to an inch thick disk, cling wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight. You will see bits of butter on the dough which will melt as the crust bakes creating flaky layers. So, visible pieces of butter are a good thing you should aim for in this dough.

Prepare the cherry filling:

1. Take a large bowl and prepped cherries, sugar, cornflour/starch, lemon juice, vanilla, and almond flour and stir this until combined. Cover and place in the refrigerator until needed or for up to 24 hours.

Roll out the dough:

1. When you are ready to roll the dough, remove one dough disc from the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter for 5 to 8 minutes or more depending on the weather. This will make it easier to roll without cracks.
2. Dust the counter with flour and start rolling from the centre and work your way out, turning (not flipping) the dough carefully with your hands as you go. Spread the dough large enough to cover the depth and sides of the 7-inch pie dish. Also, now is the time you should use the pie dish to cut out your foil pie crust shield.

Line the pie dish:

1. Carefully place the rolled-out dough into the pie plate.
2. Lightly press it to the bottom and sides of the pie dish (ensure the dough overlaps the edge to prevent shrinkage while baking).
3. Spoon the chilled cherry filling covering the base and mount the excess. Place a few pieces of cold butter over the filling and refrigerate until needed.

Make the lattice:

1. Remove the other disk of chilled pie dough from the refrigerator.
2. Roll the dough into a circle similar to the size of the pie dish. If feeling adventurous, make a lattice else you may place the whole, uncut pie crust over the pie dish with filling and poke a hole in the top for a steam vent for steam to release like in my apple pie.
3. Using a sharp knife, or pizza cutter, cut the dough into strips of any size. It can be all of the same width or different widths. Take out the pie dish from the refrigerator and quickly thread the strips over and under one another to resemble a "basket weave". I thought I did a good job but I wish I had seen this post on lattice weaving by everyday pie so I could have done a better weaving.
4. Trim any excess and make sure to press the edges of strips with the bottom pie crust to firmly seal the pie. Flute or crimp the edges to make the pie look even prettier. With the trimmed dough, I used a cookie cutter to make an 8 design.
5. Chill the pie until the oven is preheated.

Bake the fresh cherry pie:

1. Preheat the oven to 200℃.
2. Make the egg wash by whisking the egg or yolk with milk or cream.
3. Brush the pie with the egg wash and sprinkle some sugar all over the top.
4. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes on the middle rack.
5. Reduce the temperature to 190℃, place the foil pie crust you made over the pie and continue to bake for another 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and you can see the cherry juices bubbling.

Cool the baked cherry pie:

1. Remove the baked cherry pie from the oven and place it on a cooling rack.
2. Let it cool for at least 4 to 6 hours before slicing and serving. The filling will be runny if you slice it any earlier. The pie firmed up even better the next day so there was no runny juice in our second-day slices.

Slicing the pie:

1. The first piece of pie is always the toughest to get out of the pie dish without making a mess. Use a sharp serrated knife to slice through the crust and make sure you have cut through the bottom crust too.
2. Use an offset spatula to dig out the piece. Read more on how to slice a pie in this food52 article.

Store leftovers:

1. Cover the leftovers and keep at room temperature for a day or refrigerate them for no longer than 5 days.

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