Cherry Pie

It's summer and that means that there will be an abundance of cherries! I didn't like cherries in the past but I have grown to love them, especially since you can make pie with them! And who doesn't love pie?! This recipe came from Jamie Oliver.

Recipe

Ingredients

Pastry

• 225 g cold butter (cubed)

• 500 g plain flour

• 150 g icing sugar

• 6 egg yolks

Filling

• 600 g cherries (this weight includes stones)

• 1 lemon

• 1 tbsp plain flour

• 1 1/2 tbsp corn flour

• 150 g caster sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 egg

• 6 tbsp milk

• 30 g butter

Method

Make the pastry by putting the icing sugar, flour and butter in a food processor and blend until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. At this point add the egg yolks one at a time. Then gradually add in 1-2 tbsp cold water until the pastry comes together in a dough. Knead for a few seconds, split in half, wrap each half in clingfilm and then place into the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Now the tedious part, stoning the cherries! If possible buy one of those gadgets that does this for you, it will be much quicker! Once the cherries have been stoned I would recommend cutting them in half or in quarter so that the filling goes more jammy in the oven. In a bowl mix together the cherries, lemon zest and juice, flour, corn flour, sugar and vanilla. Mix together ensuring everything is incorporated and then set aside for ten minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200c. Meanwhile, roll out the pastry to 4mm - 7mm thickness. Make sure the diameter is large enough to fit inside a 22cm pie dish. Gently press the pastry into the sides of the dish and put in fridge until the filling is ready.

Pour the filling evenly into the pie and dot the top with butter. I decided to do a lattice top with my pastry, but you could just roll it out into a circle and then make some slashes in the top. Egg wash the pie by mixing together the milk and the egg. Sprinkle some cater sugar before placing in the oven. Bake the pie in the 200c oven for 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 180c and bake for 40 minutes, or until golden. If the pastry at the top starts burning, cover the pie with tin foil. Leave to cool before serving.