Fresh Cherry Pie (7-inch)
A perfectly sliceable 7-inch fresh cherry pie baked with sweetened cherries in a flaky all-butter pie crust with a rustic lattice.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 594.63kcal
Equipment
- 7-inch pie dish
Ingredients
For the Pie Crust: (makes enough for 1 double-crust 7-inch pie)
- 1⅓ cup all-purpose flour chilled
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 125 grams butter solid cold cut into half-inch cubes
- ¼ cup water ice cold
For Cherry Pie Filling
- 3 cups pitted cherries halved or quartered
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoon cornflour cornstarch (see notes)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon almond flour (optional but recommended)
- 10 grams butter cut into small pieces
For the Egg Wash
- 1 egg (whole or yolk)
- ½ tablespoon milk or cream
For Garnish
- sanding sugar optional
Instructions
Prepare the pie crust:
- Add the chilled flour, sugar and salt into a mixie or a food processor. Pulse it a few times until combined.1⅓ cup all-purpose flour, ½ tablespoon sugar, ¾ teaspoon salt
- 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.125 grams butter
- 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 does not then add a dash of ice-cold water and pulse again.¼ cup water
- Transfer the mixture onto the work surface and gather the mixture to form a ball without "kneading".
- 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:
- 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.3 cups pitted cherries, ¼ cup sugar, 2 tablespoon cornflour, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon almond flour
Roll out the crust:
- 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.
- 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:
- Carefully place the rolled-out dough into the pie plate.
- Lightly press it to the bottom and sides of the pie dish (ensure the dough overlaps the edge to prevent shrinkage while baking).
- 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.10 grams butter
Make the lattice:
- Remove the other disk of chilled pie dough from the refrigerator and let cool for a few minutes.
- Roll the dough into a circle similar to the size of the pie dish.
- 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".
- 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.
- Chill the pie until the oven is preheated.
Bake the fresh cherry pie:
- Preheat the oven to 200℃.
- Make the egg wash by whisking the egg or yolk with milk or cream. Brush the pie with the egg wash and sprinkle some sugar all over the top.1 egg, ½ tablespoon milk
- Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes on the middle rack.
- 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:
- Remove the baked cherry pie from the oven and place it on a cooling rack.
- 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:
- 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.
- Use an offset spatula to dig out the piece. Read more on how to slice a pie in this food52 article.
Store leftovers:
- Cover the leftovers and keep at room temperature for a day or refrigerate them for no longer than 5 days.
Notes
Cornstarch is called cornflour in Asia and the Middle East.
Nutrition
Calories: 594.63kcal | Carbohydrates: 76.39g | Protein: 8.34g | Fat: 30.04g
