Description
If you’re lucky enough to ‘have a guy’ at the market who calls you when the sour cherries arrive, then you’re probably hoarding them for Bourbon Cherries (for your cocktails, of course). But this year when Harry called, I was available to dash to the market straight away (this is literally how fast sour cherries come and go!) – so I bought what I needed to preserve, and was also able to weasel a couple of extra pounds for a SOUR CHERRY PIE. All of my research indicates that pie is the one and only true reason that sour cherries exist…and after baking this up using Allison Kave’s recipe from, ‘First Prize Pies’, we are all true believers – enjoy!
Ingredients
1/2 recipe of Brown Sugar Pastry or Duchess Pastry – or enough pastry for 2 crusts
1/4 c. EACH flour, sugar AND almond flour
2 lbs. sour cherries, pitted
1 t. vanilla AND 1/2 t. almond extract
3/4 c. packed dark brown sugar AND 1/4 t. salt
1/4 c. cornstarch
cream and raw sugar to garnish
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450 and place a pie plate on a parchment lined baking sheet. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and almond flour and set aside. In a large bowl, carefully stir together the cherries, vanilla and almond extract, and in yet another small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, salt and cornstarch.
Roll out your pastry as you would and fit it into the pie plate with a bit extra hanging over the edges and then layer the bottom evenly with the flour/sugar/almond flour mix. Toss the brown sugar mix with the cherries and scrape all of the fruit filling into the pie plate. Cover with the second sheet of pastry, dampen, trim and flute the edges and cut a couple of air vents into the top (or cut out shapes and decorate as you wish). Brush all with a bit of cream and then generously sprinkle with sugar.
Bake at 450 for 10 minutes and then cover the edges with foil, or an ‘edge protector’, turn the heat down to 350 and bake for another 40 minutes or so. This will be a very juicy pie despite the extra steps and layers but if you leave it to cool on a rack for at least an hour before cutting into it then you should have better luck with good looking slices!