Sweet Cherry Pie
From Season 11: All-American
Fruit Desserts
Why this recipe works:
Great cherry pie is typically made with sour cherries because their soft,
juicy flesh and bright, punchy flavor isn’t dulled by oven heat or sugar. But
cherry season is cruelly short and chance...(more)
Watch This Recipe
Cherry season is a mere blip on the summer-produce radar. For a juicy pie
with the best fruity flavor, we’d have to look beyond the cherry tree.
Makes one 9-inch pie serving 8
Vodka is essential to the texture of the crust and imparts no
flavor—do not substitute. This dough will be moister and more
supple than most standard pie dough and will require more flour to roll
out (up to 1/4 cup). The tapioca should be measured first, then
ground in a coffee grinder or food processor for 30 seconds. If you are using
frozen fruit, measure it frozen, but let it thaw before making the filling; if
you don’t, you run the risk of partially cooked fruit and undissolved
tapioca.
Ingredients
Pie Dough
- 2 1/2 cups (12
1/2 ounces) unbleached
all-purpose flour , plus
more for work surface
- 1 teaspoon
table salt
- 2 tablespoons
sugar
- 12 tablespoons
(1 1/2 sticks) cold
unsalted butter , cut into
1/4-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup
cold vegetable shortening
, cut into 4 pieces
- 1/4 cup
vodka , cold (see note)
- 1/4 cup
cold water
Cherry Filling
- 2 red plums ,
halved and pitted
- 6 cups (about 2
pounds) pitted sweet
cherries or 6 cups pitted
frozen cherries, halved (see note)
- 1/2 cup
sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
- 1/8 teaspoon
table salt
- 1 tablespoon
juice from 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons
bourbon (optional)
- 2 tablespoons
instant tapioca , ground (see note)
- 1/8 teaspoon
ground cinnamon (optional)
- 2 tablespoons
unsalted butter , cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1 large
egg , lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water
Instructions
·
1. FOR THE PIE DOUGH: Process
1½ cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about two
1-second pulses. Add butter and shortening; process until homogeneous dough
just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble
cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with
rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add
remaining 1 cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl
and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into
medium bowl.
·
2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With
rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough
is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into 2 equal balls and
flatten each into 4-inch disk. Cover each with plastic wrap and refrigerate at
least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
·
3. Remove 1 disk dough from refrigerator and
roll out on generously floured (up to ¼ cup) work surface to 12-inch circle
about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into pie
plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang. Ease dough into plate by gently
lifting edge of dough with 1 hand while pressing into plate bottom with other
hand. Refrigerate until dough is firm, about 40 minutes.
·
4. FOR THE FILLING: Adjust oven
rack to lowest position, place baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 400
degrees. Process plums and 1 cup halved cherries in food processor until
smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Strain puree
through fine-mesh strainer into large bowl, pressing on solids to extract
liquid; discard solids. Stir remaining halved cherries, sugar, salt, lemon
juice, bourbon (if using), tapioca, and cinnamon (if using) into puree; let stand
for 15 minutes.
·
5. Transfer cherry mixture, including all
juices, to dough-lined plate. Scatter butter pieces over fruit. Roll second
disk of dough on generously floured work surface (up to ¼ cup) to 11-inch
circle about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around
rolling pin and unroll over pie, leaving at least ½-inch overhang. Flute edges
using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Brush top and
edges with egg mixture. With sharp knife, make 8 evenly spaced 1-inch-long
vents in top crust. Freeze pie 20 minutes.
·
6. Place pie on preheated baking sheet and bake
30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until
juices bubble around the edges and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes
longer.
·
7. Transfer pie to wire rack; let cool to room
temperature so juices have time to thicken, 2 to 3 hours. Cut into wedges and
serve.
Technique
·
Keys to Juicy, Sweet-Tart Cherry Pie
While some fruits (like blueberries) gush excess juice when baked into a pie, sweet cherries like
Bing suffer the opposite problem: Their firm, meaty flesh holds on to juice and
can lead to a too-dry filling.
1. HALVE CHERRIES
Halving the cherries exposes their dense, meaty
flesh and helps them release more juice than if left whole.
2. GET PLUMMY
To add tartness and juiciness, puree 1 cup cherries
with 2 plums. Strain, adding the liquid to the halved
cherries and discarding the solids.
3. SKIP THE LATTICE
A traditional lattice crust allows too much
moisture to evaporate during baking; a closed crust helps keep juices inside.
Technique
·
Cherry Pickin's
When you set out to make a cherry pie, there are
three main options for the cherries.
SOUR
Fresh sour cherries are prized in pies, but they're rarely available in
supermarkets.
JARRED
Sour Morello cherries in
a jar can be hard to find, even through mail order.
SWEET
Fresh Bing cherries are more readily available, but their sweet, dense flesh is
challenging.