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Homemade cherry pie

Cherry pie with a slice cut out

Homemade cherry pie

Name: Homemade cherry pie
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: Serves 8-10
Ingredients: 400g plain flour plus a little for dusting; 50g ground almonds plus 2 tbsp; 225g cold butter; 75g white caster sugar; 2 egg yolks; 800g cherries; 150g cherry jam; 50g caster sugar plus a little for sprinkling; 2½ tbsp cornflour; 1 egg white beaten

Cassie Best

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Serves 8-10

More effort

Prep: 40 mins

Cook: 1 hr

plus chilling

A star rating of 4.5 out of 5.20 ratingsRate

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Make this classic pie whilst cherries are in season. It's the perfect summer dessert served just warm with plenty of cream or ice cream

Freezable

Vegetarian

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Cassie's tips for making the best cherry pie:

It is important to rest the pastry after briefly kneading it to give the gluten time to relax. This will prevent the finished pastry from becoming tough
I recommend using high-quality, free-range egg yolks for a more deeply flavour and coloured pastry
Taste the cherries before baking to check their sweetness. If they are very sweet, you may want to reduce the sugar in the filling slightly. Similarly, if they are tart, you may want to increase the amount of sugar used
If you can bear to wait, I suggest leaving the pie to stand for a minimum of 1 hr before slicing to allow the filling time to set up, which will prevent it from spilling out

Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

400g plain flour

plus a little for dusting
50g ground almonds

plus 2 tbsp
225g cold butter
75g white caster sugar
2 egg yolks

For the filling

800g cherries
150g cherry jam
50g caster sugar

plus a little for sprinkling
2½ tbsp cornflour
1 egg white

beaten

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Nutrition: Per serving (10)

kcal523
fat25g
saturates13g
carbs66g
sugars32g
fibre3g
protein8g
salt0.6g

Method

step 1

First, make the pastry. Tip the flour, 50g almonds, butter, sugar and ¼ tsp salt into a food processor. Blend until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Beat the egg yolks with 2 tbsp cold water, drizzle over the flour and butter mixture and blend again until the dough starts to clump together. Tip onto a work surface and knead briefly to bring everything together into a smooth dough. Divide into two pieces and shape each lump into a puck shape. Wrap and chill for 30 mins. Will keep, wrapped and chilled, for up to two days.
step 2

Remove the stones from the cherries – either cut them in half and pop out each stone, or use a cherry stoner. Toss the cherries with the jam, sugar and cornflour until there are no floury patches.
step 3

If the pastry has been chilled for longer than 30 mins, bring it out of the fridge 20 mins or so before rolling, as it will be very firm. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Dust a surface with a little flour, then unwrap one piece of pastry. Carefully roll it out until it’s large enough to line the base and sides of a 25cm pie dish, skillet pan or cake tin. The pastry will be very delicate, if any cracks appear when rolling, squash them back together and keep going. Lift the pastry over the rolling pin and into the dish – don’t worry if it breaks, just patch it up by pushing it into the corners and up the sides and closing any holes. There should be a little overhang around the edges. Sprinkle the reserved 2 tbsp almonds over the base, then spread the cherries on top to fill the pie in an even layer.
step 4

Roll out the remaining pastry so it’s large enough to cover the pie. Brush a little beaten egg white around the pastry edge. Top the pie with the pastry lid as it is (piercing a hole in the centre for the steam to escape), or make a lattice topping. To do this, cut the pastry into strips, however wide you like. Arrange half the strips in one direction over the pie, leaving a few centimetres gap between each. Weave the remaining strips under and over these in the opposite direction, creating a lattice pattern. Squash the pastry together around the edge, then trim the excess with a sharp knife.
step 5

Crimp the edge for a neat finish, or use any pastry scraps to make shapes to run around the edge – we used a piping nozzle to cut small circles. Stick them on with a little more egg wash, then brush the whole pie with a thin layer of egg wash. Sprinkle over a little caster sugar. Bake for 55 mins-1 hr, checking the pie after 40 mins. The edges may brown more quickly than the centre, if this happens, wrap a little kitchen foil around the edge to protect it.
step 6

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 1 hr. If you cut it too soon, the fruit juice will be very runny and flood the pie. Best served just warm with cream or ice cream.

What are the best cherries to use for cherry pie?

Fresh, dark cherries, such as morello, make the best cherry pie. They are naturally sweet and juicy, and have a rich colour. Sour cherries are also delicious, but it's best to increase the sugar in the cherry mixture by around 100g to compensate for the acidity. A combination of the two can also be used, adjusting the sugar in the filling accordingly
It is possible to use frozen cherries in this recipe, but they will have a higher water content. Defrost fully in a sieve set over a bowl, then reduce the excess liquid in a saucepan over a medium heat until syrupy. Cool fully before tossing through the defrosted cherries
Canned cherries can be used in this recipe, but their flavour is less intense than their fresh counterpart. They should be drained well before adding to the remaining ingredients in the filling

What to serve with cherry pie

The pie is best served warm with vanilla ice cream, double cream (poured or whipped) or clotted cream. For a lighter option, Greek-style yogurt would also work well.

Variations on cherry pie

You can add ½ tsp lemon zest or almond or vanilla extract to the filling for additional flavour
For a boozy hit, add 1 tsp kirsch to the pie filling
Add 1 tsp cinnamon or ginger to the filling for a hint of warming spice
For a crunchier finish, sprinkle granulated sugar over the pie crust before baking
Change up the pie crust design – we’ve gone for lattice, but you can try lots of different designs, from a full covering to cut-out shapes or patchwork. Find inspiration with our 11 ways to decorate a pie
You could also replace the pie crust altogether with a crumble topping, frangipane layer and/or toasted flaked almonds

How long will this cherry pie last in the fridge?

The cherry pie will keep chilled for up to four days.

How to freeze cherry pie

The cooked, completely cool pie can be frozen for up to a month.

Defrost completely overnight in the fridge, then cook in a 180C/160C/gas 4 oven for 10 mins to crisp up the pastry and gently warm the filling
Leave to stand for 10 mins before serving

Cassie Best

Cassie is our Head of Food. After training as a chef at Leiths School of Food and Wine, she's worked for Good Food for the last 13 years, creating hundreds of recipes, including many you see on the cover of the magazine. She has a passion for creating easy family meals that everyone can cook and also loves to bake with her two children. See more of Cassie's recipes

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