Sweet n’ Sour Cherry Pie

Late-evening sun dapples the just-baked cherry pie.

Sweet n’ Sour Cherry Pie, crust adapted from Nick Malgieri and filling, Deb Perelman, Smitten Kitchen

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serves four (or two who, having finished a light Sunday dinner, did not want any of this pie to go to waste…)

Cream Short Crust Pastry

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups AP flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 ounces (3/4 stick) butter unsalted, cut into 6 cubes
• 3 ½ tablespoon heavy (whipping) cream
• 1 egg, beaten for egg wash (I used a left-over yolk for this purpose)
• Additional granulated sugar or sanding sugar (if you happen to have it) to sprinkle on the crust

Method

1. For the pastry dough, combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food process fitted with the metal blade. Pulse several times to mix.
2. Add the butter and pulse 4 or  5 times, or until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.
3. Add the cream and pulse 2 or 3 times, but do not allow the dough to form a ball. Invert the dough to a floured work surface and carefully remove the blade.
4. Gently squeeze and press the dough together and form it into an oval disc.
5. Chill the dough in plastic wrap for an hour or so before preparing the filling.

Filling

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 8 ounces fresh sour cherries, pitted
• 4 ounces fresh sweet cherries, pitted

Method

1. In a large bowl, mix the cherries with the sugar, cornstarch and sea salt.
2. Taste the mixture to see if you want more sugar than is called for.

Pie Assembly and Baking Method

1. Place rack in lower-middle position of oven.
2. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
3. Place the filling in a nine-inch glass or ceramic pie dish (preferably, though metal will work); the dish can be buttered, but technically, this is not necessary – it couldn’t hurt, however…
4. Remove dough from refrigerator and place on floured work surface.
5. Flour the dough and press it with a rolling pin in gentle parallel strokes to soften it a bit.
6. Roll dough to a more-or-less even 10” round disc.
7. Lift with a cake lifter (if you have one) or gently loosen with a bench scraper.  The dough also can be rolled loosely/draped onto the rolling pin, then unrolled, and placed onto the cherry filling.
8. Seal the edges by crimping between the thumb of one hand and the opposite fingers of the opposite hand to form an edge against the sides of the pie dish.
9. Make six two-inch long slits, radiating from near the centre of the pie to allow steam to escape and provide a professional-looking crust (more or less).
10. Brush the crust with the egg wash and sprinkle with either granulated or sanding sugar for that sparkly look!
11. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the crust is golden-brown.
12. Cool on rack.
13. Serve warm or at room temperature, with or without, ice cream or whipping cream.  Enjoy your summertime cherry pie fantasy