Sweet Cherry Pie

7 JUNE 2015

I'm not really sure why, but I've had a massive craving for cherry pie over the last week. Cherry is my favourite of the sweet pies, but I've always cheated a little bought pre-made filling if I'm making cherry pie at home. 

As cherries are in season at the moment, I thought I'd give myself a challenge and make the whole thing from scratch. It's actually a lot easier than I thought it would be! Here's how if you fancy having a go yourself...

INGREDIENTS:

for the pastry...

165g plain flour

25g ground almonds

125g unsalted butter

50g golden caster sugar

1 egg

for the filling...

500g fresh cherries (pitted weight)

4 tbsp water

2 tbsp corn flour

150g sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

METHOD:

for the pastry...

Combine the flour and almonds in a mixing bowl and cut the butter into cubes. Rub into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar.

Make a well in the centre and add the egg. Bring the mixture together with your fingers until it forms a dough. Knead lightly against the sides of the mixing bowl to make sure you get all the little bits. Wrap in cling film and store in the fridge for at least half an hour before rolling out.

for the filling...

Place the pitted cherries in a medium saucepan with the water and lemon juice. Heat for 5-10 minutes until the cherries are starting to soften. They should become really juicy.

Add the sugar and cornflour and stir in thoroughly. Heat for a few minutes until the mixture thickens. Let the mixture cool.

making the pies...

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degree celsius.

Remove your pastry from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Using one large and one medium sized cutter, cut 24 circles - 12 of each. 

Line a 12 bun cake tray with the large pastry circles. Fill each with your cooled filling and top with the smaller pastry circles. Use a beaten egg to seal each pie and wash over the top for a glaze. Sprinkle each pie with caster sugar and using a sharp knife make a small hole in the top of each.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown.

If you would rather make one pie rather than 12 mini pies, cut the pastry into 2 pieces, one half the size of the other. Roll out the large piece and line a pie dish. Trim the edges with a knife and fill with your yummy cherry filling. 

Roll out the smaller piece of pastry and place this on top of your cherry filling. Press the edges of the pastry together with your fingers or the back of a fork. Egg wash and sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake for 20 minutes as above.

Enjoy hot or cold, with tea as always!

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