All About Cherry Pie Inside and Out

[JayBassin]

A friend of mine wants me to teach her how to make a cherry pie, unfortunately I have never made one before and the only cherries we have access to are jarred sour cherries. This recipe looks good but I don't have tapioca, is there anything else I could use. Also are the filling ingedients just mixed together and then added to the pie crust.

Final question, what is the best topping for a cherry pie, lattice top? second crust?

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I posted a cherry pie with streusel topping on RecipeGullet. I agree with previous posts that the best way to avoid gumminess is to cook the filling on top of the stove. Cherries, more than many fruits, vary quite a bit in juiciness.

Another substitute for tapioca is arrowroot starch.

A lattice topping is very pretty, but I think a streusel topping tastes better.

[torakris]

Thank you for the tips!

I saw the recipe for the cherry pie before I posted here and it looked gorgeous but I ran as soon as I saw the ingredient list....

I am a very novice baker and prefer recipes that start with, open the box...

[JayBassin]

Thank you for the tips!

I saw the recipe for the cherry pie before I posted here and it looked gorgeous but I ran as soon as I saw the ingredient list....

I am a very novice baker and prefer recipes that start with, open the box...

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Come, come, Torakris: as a faithful reader of Japan Forum and your blogs, I know you are a very good cook and very knowledgeable. Recipes aren't intended to be followed exactly, only as ideas. My point in referring to my recipe for cherry pie was to encourage stove-top pie filling. You can easily eliminate or substitute many of the ingredients. Skip the chocolate layer, skip the booze or spices. Use the recipe as a guide, not a requirement.

[torakris]

Thank you for the tips!

I saw the recipe for the cherry pie before I posted here and it looked gorgeous but I ran as soon as I saw the ingredient list....

I am a very novice baker and prefer recipes that start with, open the box...

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Come, come, Torakris: as a faithful reader of Japan Forum and your blogs, I know you are a very good cook and very knowledgeable. Recipes aren't intended to be followed exactly, only as ideas. My point in referring to my recipe for cherry pie was to encourage stove-top pie filling. You can easily eliminate or substitute many of the ingredients. Skip the chocolate layer, skip the booze or spices. Use the recipe as a guide, not a requirement.

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I guess I prefer cooking rather than baking bceasue I can taste as I go along and even reseason a final dish. Baking isn't as forgiving....

It turned out we didn't have nearly enough cherries to make a pie, so I turned it into a tart instead. I followed the advice about thickening some of the syrup on the stove, this worked out great and then I added some flavoring/sugar/ect.

It turned out great! I am really craving cherry pie now though....

[bluechefk]

i picked up a ton of delicious sour cherries this morning at the farmer's market; some are going right into the freezer, but for the rest - can anyone share a recipe (or source for a recipe) for the perfect cherry pie?

[etalanian]

I personally prefer to pre-cook the cherries with sugar and cornstarch, making a homemade cherry pie filling, then using an all-butter pie crust (if you make it with a European butter, which has more butterfat than regular butters, you don't need to use shortening) or a lard pie crust made with fresh lard. With a little sugar in the piecrust.

Bake the pie on the bottom shelf of your oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then move it to the center of the oven and reduce the temp to 350 and bake until the crust is golden brown. I like to brush the top of the pie with cream and sprinkle it generously with sugar before I bake it.

Just my preferences; I'm sure there will be lots more, all different!

Mmmmm...I LOVE cherry pie!

Eileen

[Sunny Simmons Steincamp]

I had to make a cherry pie the other day, to use up a bunch of fresh cherries left over from a festival at our place. These weren't sour cherries, so I don't know how much difference that would make; I personally don't care for cherries much, so I have little experience. But I just halved & pitted the fruits, tossed with with some sugar & a bit of cornstarch (eyeballed it; about a cup of sugar & 2 tbsp. or so of cornstarch for enough cherries to fit in a 6-cup liquid measure,) a pinch of salt, and a smidge of almond extract. I made a very short crust (butter & lard,) and left the top open (no top crust or lattice.) I can't vouch for it personally, but my daughter & husband polished off the entire thing in two days.

[tammylc]

Here's a link to another eGullet thread on cherry pie.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...69720&hl=cherry

I've made cherry pies the last two weekends in a row. I'm lazy and have a toddler, so I just used those unroll and go Pillsbury crusts. For the filling, I pitted 1 quart of cherries, and combined it with 3/4-1 cup of sugar, 4 tbsp quick-cooking tapioca, 1 tsp of almond extract and a pinch of salt. Combine and let stand for 15 minutes before putting into the pie crust, dotting with butter and topping with the top crust. (I just used a vented top crust instead of a lattice - again, see lazy & toddler, plus some sources say that if you use tapioca with an open crust it will get hard). Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes to an hour, until it's bubbly all the way to the center. Cool completely before cutting for best results.

[bluechefk]

thanks for the ideas, everyone - and tammylc, thank you for that link. i knew there had to be a cherry pie link somewhere around here

question re: tapioca - i have some quick-cooking tapioca leftover from a blackberry pie baking spree a few months ago. i remember that the recipe i used for that suggested grinding the tapioca until nearly powdery - so that's what i have in my pantry. trouble is, i can't remember what the equivalent is - can i substitute the ground tapioca one-for-one for unground?

[azlee]

I have a 4 cup liquid measuring cup full of fresh pitted sour cherries and no idea what to do with them. I have some puff pastry and I think maybe it would make some nice turnovers. How much sugar and cornstarch should I use for thickening? I think for a regular smallish pie about 1/2 -3/4 of a cup and 1 1/2 tblsp of cornstarch but I worry that will be too wet for turnovers. I hope that some one can provide some guidance, because I think these babies have to be used today or they will have to go into the freezer. Which raises another question, can I freeze them as is or do I need to prep them in some way?

Thanks

Azlee

[bluechefk]

azlee - i've just been looking through RLB's 'pie & pastry bible' for info on cornstarch/sugar proportions myself. for fruit turnovers, she recommends about 2/3 cup of sugar for 2 1/2 cups of pitted cherries. if you're draining off the cherry juices & then reducing them, she calls for 1 1/2 tbl. of cornstarch; if you're not reducing the liquid ahead of time, use just under 1 tbl. of cornstarch instead.

i can't vouch for her measurements, since i haven't tried making this recipe yet. compared to a regular pie, this does seem like a higher proportion of cornstarch, so you must be right in thinking that the filling needs to be thicker than for a regular pie.

as for freezing the cherries - i usually just pit mine, and then freeze in ziploc bags.

[azlee]

azlee -  i've just been looking through RLB's 'pie & pastry bible' for info on cornstarch/sugar proportions myself. for fruit turnovers, she recommends about 2/3 cup of sugar for 2 1/2 cups of pitted cherries. if you're draining off the cherry juices & then reducing them, she calls for 1 1/2 tbl. of cornstarch; if you're not reducing the liquid ahead of time, use just under 1 tbl. of cornstarch instead.

i can't vouch for her measurements, since i haven't tried making this recipe yet. compared to a regular pie, this does seem like a higher proportion of cornstarch, so you must be right in thinking that the filling needs to be thicker than for a regular pie.

as for freezing the cherries - i usually just pit mine, and then freeze in ziploc bags. 

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bluechefk,

thanks. i'm planning on cooking the juices along with the cherries. Will fiddle with her proportions and i think i'll add some almond extract and fresh lemon or lime juice, as well. hoping for the best. thanks again.

[azlee]

azlee -  i've just been looking through RLB's 'pie & pastry bible' for info on cornstarch/sugar proportions myself. for fruit turnovers, she recommends about 2/3 cup of sugar for 2 1/2 cups of pitted cherries. if you're draining off the cherry juices & then reducing them, she calls for 1 1/2 tbl. of cornstarch; if you're not reducing the liquid ahead of time, use just under 1 tbl. of cornstarch instead.

i can't vouch for her measurements, since i haven't tried making this recipe yet. compared to a regular pie, this does seem like a higher proportion of cornstarch, so you must be right in thinking that the filling needs to be thicker than for a regular pie.

as for freezing the cherries - i usually just pit mine, and then freeze in ziploc bags. 

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bluechefk,

thanks. i'm planning on cooking the juices along with the cherries. Will fiddle with her proportions and i think i'll add some almond extract and fresh lemon or lime juice, as well. hoping for the best. thanks again.

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Actually, RLB's proportions gave me exactly the consistency that I was looking for and I added almond extract and a little fresh lemon juice. I think instead of turnover filling, I now have the perfect belgian waffle topping!

[zoe b]

so resurrecting this thread to ask--what do you use for the juice if you are using fresh pie cherries?--we just picked a container full of cherries and i want to make the hub a cherry pie.

[rickster]

I don't think you usually have to add any liquid. The problem is usually the reverse, especially with frozen cherries.

[dhdav66]

I made my first cherry pie yesterday. Fillings have never been an issue, but the crust -- Oi Vay! But I followed a recipe from the current issue of Bon Appetit, and it came out beautifully. The filling from the recipe was great. This recipe used three different types of cherries -- fresh bing, jarred Morrello cherries in syrup, and dried tart cherries. The recipe calls for mixing corn starch with some of the syrup and the Morrellos, then the remainder of the syrup was cooked with spices, dried cherries, then added the fresh bings. Everyone loved it.

Here's the link to the recipe:

Bon Appetit Lattice-Topped Triple-Cherry Pie

[Khadija]

So, I'm making a cherry pie, as a gift for someone. I'm going to experiment today. I'll make the final pie on Tuesday and give it to the person on Wednesday evening. It will have to travel.

I am not an experienced pie baker, but I am enthusiastic and detail oriented when it comes to learning about how to cook/bake. I have made one pie (apple), with fair success a couple of years ago. I mostly followed the measurements/ingredient list from the pie crust recipe involving leaf lard in recipegullet. I both froze the fat and grated it on a box grater, and also used the food processor method to bring the dough together. I kept all the ingredients super cold the whole time I worked, out of fear. I used Ling's caramel apple pie filling, and after I had assembled the pie, I froze the whole thing before baking (based on some tips I read on the internet).

I am inclined to follow a method similar to the one above for the crust of my cherry pie, but I'm open to suggestions. I have the CIA pastry and baking book, and thought I'd follow that. I have beautiful Berkshire leaf lard and nice organic butter. I am worried about the crust getting soggy. I'll have to bake it on Tuesday, and it will have to then take it out of town on Wednesday. I am also not sure if the freezing method will be great for the cherries.

About filling, I've seen lots of recipes, and I have no idea what's best. I'd like to make mine kind of special. I have local white (Rainier) and Bing cherries. I may get my hands on some sour ones, but not sure yet. I was thinking of roasting the cherries, but not sure if that is a good idea. I was also thinking of using some combination of ginger, lemon, and maybe thyme. Is this overkill? Some (sophisticated) children will be eating the pie. I hear that a lot of people have problems with thickening agents, and I don't know if I should use tapioca or cornstarch or something else, or how to handle it.

Help please!

Edited July 18, 2009 by Khadija (log)

[CaliPoutine]

Here is a bing cherry pie( I'm sure you can use Rainer). Its from an older issue of Bon Appetite. I made this for the eG heartland gathering in 2007

eta: Edsel took the photo!!

Edited July 18, 2009 by CaliPoutine (log)

[Chris Hennes]

I made a Bing cherry pie earlier this week: I used Rose Levy Beranbaum's Cream Cheese crust ingredients, with the Cook's Illustrated Vodka Crust technique since it is so easy to work with and results in a superior flakiness. I also used RLB's filling, but cut the sugar in half since they were Bing rather than sour. Ranier are going to be even sweeter, so you'll want to cut way back on the sugar. But you should still get a great pie.

[weinoo]

I made a Bing cherry pie earlier this week: I used Rose Levy Beranbaum's Cream Cheese crust ingredients, with the Cook's Illustrated Vodka Crust technique since it is so easy to work with and results in a superior flakiness. I also used RLB's filling, but cut the sugar in half since they were Bing rather than sour. Ranier are going to be even sweeter, so you'll want to cut way back on the sugar. But you should still get a great pie.

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Does the filling get a hit of lemon juice or grated lemon peel...that can also help cut back on the sweetness if it's overbearing.

[Chris Hennes]

Not in RLB's recipe, and I found that cutting down on the sugar was sufficient. Ranier cherries are much sweeter than Bing, however, so that's a good point: some acid would probably help.

[weinoo]

Here is a bing cherry pie( I'm sure you can use Rainer).  Its from an older issue of Bon Appetite.  I made this for the eG heartland gathering in 2007

eta: Edsel took the photo!!

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So that beautiful cherry pie, Randi, appears to have a bit of a crumble/crisp/streusel type topping as opposed to a 2-crust pie...is that right?

[MaryMc]

I scored ten pounds of exquisite sour Montmorency pie cherries this week. I pitted and froze enough to make three deep-dish pies. Here's my go-to recipe:

Cherry Pie

If you need a good recipe for pie crust, here's my work-in-progress--it's gotten pretty damn good:

Approaching the Perfect Pie Crust

I also made this tart last night with the last of the pie cherries. It's definitely a keeper, too!

Sour Cherry Frangipane Tart

[Khadija]

Thanks for all the ideas. I'm considering trying a couple of different crusts.

Since the pie has to sit almost 24 hours before it will be consumed, I'm pretty concerned about sogginess. It occurred to me that I might create a shield between the crust and the filling with slivered almonds. Any thoughts?

[MaryMc]

Thanks for all the ideas.  I'm considering trying a couple of different crusts.

Since the pie has to sit almost 24 hours before it will be consumed, I'm pretty concerned about sogginess.  It occurred to me that I might create a shield between the crust and the filling with slivered almonds.  Any thoughts?

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I suspect the juice would run between the almonds and get to the crust anyway.

I find that brushing the bottom crust with slightly-beaten egg white, then freezing it to set for half an hour before pouring in the filling, helps seal the crust. I've also heard of brushing the crust with jam before filling it.

I also use a baking stone in the bottom of the oven. After baking it for 20 minutes or so on the lowest oven rack (that's to heat the glass pie plate so it doesn't shatter), I move the pie down directly on the stone. My bottom crust turns out amazingly crisp that way.

Even doing all that, my crust is always the most flaky and crisp the first day. After that it's still tasty, but the texture is never quite as good. But since so few people actually attempt home-made pies with filling that isn't out of a can and crust that isn't out of the freezer case, I find that I'm the only one who really seems to mind--any second-day leftovers still get eaten with enthusiasm!