Is there anything better than a freshly baked, warm cherry pie? It's up there with one of our favourite sweet treats for an afternoon tea with friends and family and this recipes makes the most of the wonderful cherry season.
First of you'll start by making the pastry - which uses a small amount of quick-cook polenta, and the addition gives it a lovely subtle crunch.
The filling is a mixture of tinned black cherries (you could use fresh here if you'd prefer), a small amount of arrowroot which acts like cornflour and absorbs excess moisture in the dish (so you don't end up with a sloppy, soggy pie), and a touch of Kirsch to intensify the cherry flavours.
Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for the perfect finish to a meal.
For more cherry recipes, we've compiled all our favourite recipes together - sweet, savoury and drinks!
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Yields:
8 serving(s)
Prep Time:
30 mins
Cook Time:
35 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 5 mins
Cal/Serv:
503
Ingredients
100g
caster sugar, plus extra to sprinkle
1
medium egg, lightly beaten for the filling
4 x 425 g tins black cherries in syrup, we used Epicure
2Tbsp.
arrowroot
3Tbsp.
cherry jam
75g
caster sugar
1Tbsp.
kirsch, optional
For the pastry
275g
plain flour, plus extra to dust
1tsp.
ground cinnamon
40g
quick-cook polenta
200g
unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
Directions
Step 1
To make the pastry, put flour, cinnamon, polenta, butter and a pinch of salt into a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Alternatively, rub the butter into the flour mixture using your fingers. Add the sugar and pulse/mix briefly, then pulse in 3-4tbsp icy cold water (or mix in with a blunt-ended cutlery knife) until the pastry just comes together. Tip on to a work surface, bring together into a flat disc and wrap in clingfilm. Chill for 1hr.
Step 2
Meanwhile, drain cherries through a sieve set over a jug or bowl. Measure out 150ml of the cherry syrup, then allow cherries to continue to drain until needed.
Step 3
For the filling, put the arrowroot into a large pan and gradually whisk in the measured cherry syrup. Next stir in jam, sugar and kirsch, if using. Heat, whisking frequently, over medium hob heat until sauce thickens considerably (it will need to boil) - it will be oddly elastic and stretchy.
Step 4
Give the sieve holding the cherries a good shake, discard any remaining syrup and gently mix cherries into the sauce. Set aside.
Step 5
Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan) mark 7 and put a baking sheet on the middle shelf to heat up. Roll out two-thirds of the pastry on a work surface lightly dusted with flour, then use to line the base and sides of a 23cm pie tin. Empty in the cooled cherry mixture and level the surface.
Step 6
Roll out the remaining pastry as before until it is 3mm thick. Lightly brush with beaten egg and sprinkle well with caster sugar. Cut into 2cm wide strips and use these to create a lattice effect on top of the cherries, pressing them well against the edge of the bottom crust to stick. Trim the edge of the tin to neaten, if necessary.
Step 7
Put the pie on top of the heated baking sheet and bake for 30min or until the pastry is crisp and golden. Allow to cool for at least 10min before serving with cream.
Get ahead
Make, wrap and chill pastry up to a day ahead. Complete recipe to serve.
Per Serving:
Calories: 503
Protein: 3g
Total carbs: 70g
Sugars: 36g
Total fat: 22 g
Saturated fat: 13g
Fibre: 2g
Step aside pistachio, we’re all about the cherry trend in the GH Kitchen
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
