Tag: cherry

 

Making a lattice crust isn’t that difficult. It’s just the under-over or over-under part that can get complicated if you lose track of which part you just did. But it’s definitely worth it, especially when you can see all those beautiful berries underneath. That’s what love is — great looking fruit you can’t at without messing up all your hard work.

The Crust

The Zen Master’s Pie Crust for a double crust pie. Cut strips for a Lattice Pie Crust

The Filling

1. ⅓ cup toasted almonds
2. ⅔ cup sugar (if you’re using sweet cherries, 1 ⅓ cup, if you’re using sour cherries)
3. 3 tbs cornstarch
4. 5 cups pitted sweet or sour cherries
5. ¼ tsp salt
6. 2 tbs unsalted butter, cut into bits

Preheat the oven to 425°.

 In a food processor or blender, combine the almonds, sugar and cornstarch

Whirl until the nuts are pulverized

In a large bowl, combine the almonds, sugar and cornstarch, cherries, sugar mixture and salt, and toss until combined.

Pile the fruit into the bottom pie crust Dot with bits of butter.

Trim and flute the edges

 Lattice weave the top

Bake for 25 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350° and bake until the juices are bubbling and the top is browned, about 35 minutes longer 

With a really close-weave lattice, lots of egg wash (although don’t let it pool) and a generous amount of sanding sugar, this pie is totally gorgeous. And did we mention delicious? Peaches, apricots and sweet Bing cherries in season can just about substitute for a cool breeze rolling through Sag Harbor or a beach on Big Sur. Alright, this may take a little imagination, but when these flavors come together, not all that much.

The Crust

Penelope’s Ultimate Pie Crust for a double crust pie

The Filling

1. 1 lb fresh peaches, pitted and sliced into ¼ inch slices
2. 1 lb fresh apricots, pitted and sliced
3. 1 lb fresh sweet cherries, stemmed, pitted and halved
4. ⅔ cup granulated sugar
5. 3 tbs cornstarch
6. ¼ tsp coarse salt
7. juice of 1 lemon
8. 2 tbs unsalted butter, cut into bits
9. 1 large egg yolk
10. 1 tbs heavy cream
11. sanding sugar

Preheat the oven to 400°

In a large bowl, toss together the peaches, apricots and cherries

Add the granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt and lemon juice

Using a pastry cutter, cut the dough into ¾ wide strips

Spoon the fruit mixture into the chilled bottom pie crust

Dot with butter

Brush the rim of the pie crust with water

Weave a tight lattice crust of dough strips, leaving a ½ inch overhang

Press top and bottom crusts together

Fold the edges under and crimpIn a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and cream

Brush the egg wash on the lattice and edges of pie crust

Sprinkle surface with sanding sugar

Freeze for half an hour

Place in the middle of the rack, on the lower third of the oven

Bake until the crust turns golden, about 20 minutes

Reduce the temperature to 350°

Bake until the crust is deep golden brown and the juices are thickened and bubbling, about 40 to 50 minutes more

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely

Low Sodium Snafu Pie Crust for a 10 x 13 inch baking dish

The Filling

1. 1 lb sour cherries
2. ½ lb fresh blackberries
3. ½ lb fresh raspberries
4. 2½ tbs cornstarch
5. 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
6. pinch salt
7. 1 large egg yolk
8. 1 tbs heavy cream
9. sanding sugar
10. 1 cup whipping cream

In a large bowl combine the cherries, blackberries and raspberriesAdd granulated sugar, cornstarch, vinegar and salt until evenly coated

Pour into a quart baking dish and set aside

Roll out the dough and trim into a 9 x 12 inch rectangle

Cut lengthwise strips ¾ inch wide, about 6 strips or to fill the dish

Cut remaining strips ¾ inch crosswise, about 8 strips

Transfer berries to a 10 x 13 inch baking dish, or keep them in the 1 quart dish

Weave a lattice crust over the berries, pushing the edges down into the berries, against the side of the dish

Put in the freezer for about half an hour

Preheat the oven to 400In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and cream

Brush the lattice top with the egg wash

Sprinkle with sanding sugar

Bake until crust in golden brown and the juices are bubbling, about 35 minutes, depending on the depth of the dish, but it could be up to 55 minutes. On this one, use your eyes more than your timer.

Cool on a wire rack

Whip the cream with 1 tbs confectioners sugar

Serve with the cobbler

Nothing says, “I love you” (I’m pretty sure, almost definitely) like this scrumptious, luscious, deeply red, tart and tangy - but not so much that it causes you to make a funny face that might accidentally get captured on the other person’s cell phone because you never knew they were a practical joker because yuk, no one likes one of those - Deep Dish Sour Cherry Pie. The only puckers this pie will capture will be the ones you wanted in the first place. Penelope’s Ultimate Pie Crust Lattice Crust for a double crust pie

The Filling

1. 6 cups fresh sour cherries, stemmed and pitted
2. 1¼ cups plus 3 tbs sugar
3. ¼ cup cornstarch
4. 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
5. grated zest of 1 lemon
6. 2 tbs cold, unsalted butter cut into bits
7. 1 cup milk or light cream
8. 1 tbs sugar

Put the cherries in a large bowl

In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cornstarch

Stir the mixture into the fruit

Stir in the lemon juice and zest, set aside for 10 minutes

Preheat the oven to 400°

Turn the filling into the prepared bottom crust

Dot the filling with butter

Make the lattice crust for the top

Combine the milk or cream and the tablespoon of sugar

Brush the top of the lattice crust

Bake for 30 minutes at 400° then reduce the heat to 375° and bake for another 35 to 4o minutes, until the top is golden brown and the juices are bubbling thickly

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours

Starlit skies embracing windswept trees, furry creatures howling at the moon, and wide rivers running along ancient castles have inspired German artists for centuries. The atmosphere didn’t do too badly for German bakers either, although they preferred to stay in the kitchen where it was warm rather than attempt to take over neighboring property just because. And speaking of good fences making good neighbors, in this recipe the pie crust is classic German and the filling is classic French. And because these are elements that don’t usually blend well, let alone deliciously, Penelope is especially proud of having made a contribution to confectionary détente.

German Rich Pie Crust Recipe

This will make enough dough for one 9 inch pie crust, with some left over for lattice strips.

1. 2¼ cups flour
2. pinch of salt
3. ⅓ cup sugar
4. ¾ cup butter
5. 2 egg yolks
6. 2 tbs milk
7. 2 tsp grated lemon peel
8. ⅓ cup finely grated unblanched almonds

Sift the flour with the salt and sugar onto a board or into a wide bowl

Cut very cold butter into small pieces and quickly work into flour mixture, using two knives, a pastry blender or, preferably, your fingertips, until mixture looks like fine meal

Combine all liquid ingredients and flavorings

Nuts can be mixed into the dough or sprinkled on top

Make a well in the center of the flour and gradually work flour and liquid together, using a fork or your fingers, until dough sticks together in a ball

Knead the ball of dough on a lightly floured board, but only twice

Reshape into a ball, wrap in waxed paper and chill for at least an hour

Roll out on a lightly floured board

French Crepe Suzette Filling with Cherry Kirshwasser

First the cherries are flambed as if you were making a crepe suzette, then combined with the thickening ingredients to become more of a classic cherry pie filling. Try not to set the kitchen on fire, as the arrival of fire fighters will interrupt the flow of the recipe. If it works out, though, someone will definitely be finding you unforgettable.

1. 4 pints pitted black cherries
2. 1 tbs butter
3. 1 tsp brown sugar
4. 3 tbs flour
5. 4 oz cherry juice
6. 4 oz Kirschwasser
7. matches (hopefully only one)
8. extra ground almonds (optional)

Melt the butter in a pan and saute the cherries until slightly soft

Pour the Kirschwasser on top and light

Flambe the cherries until all the liquor is burned off, and set aside

In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, cherry juice, and almonds

Combine the sugar mixture with the cherries and let stand for at least 15 minutes

Pour the cherry mixture into the pie crust

Bake at 400° for 20 minutes

Reduce the heat to 350° and bake until the crust is golden, about 30 minutes more

If there’s no top crust, or just a few lattice strips, it might take less time.

This pie has a happy ending, although things didn’t look so good for awhile. Use Penelope’s Ultimate Pie Crust for a double crust pie. Or make your own favorite.

Ingredients for Filling:

1. 2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
2. ¾ cup sugar
3. ¼ teaspoon salt
4. 6 cups pitted sweet or sour cherries
5. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Emily’s boyfriend was getting serious. She found this out the afternoon she had invited him for dinner, promising a home baked pie for dessert. But having had a prior disaster with a cherry pie, she had purchased a jar of incredibly fabulous cherry filling. “Strictly for back-up,” she thought. Meanwhile, the recipe wasn’t difficult:

Getting Started

Preheat the oven to 425°

Roll out the dough for the bottom crust and line the bottom of the pie pan with it

Roll out the pastry for the top crust and put it aside

Use a large bowl to stir together the tapioca, sugar and salt

Add all the cherries, making sure they’re completely coated with the tapioca

Pile the fruit into the pastry-lined pan

Dot with butter

Everything was going fine until Emily got so busy trying to decide whether to wear a good t-shirt and jeans or a casually over-washed dress, she slipped on a cherry skin, dropped the bowl and watched helplessly as it cracked against the unforgiving tile floor. Actually, “smithereens” was the only word for it. There was no way to retrieve the cherries from the shattered glass, and she didn’t have time to buy and pit more cherries. She went to the pantry for the cherry filling, and then to the fridge for the fresh raspberries. (Once you enter into a life of crime, there’s no telling where it might end.) It was surprisingly easy to re-do the tapioca, sugar and salt. She even adjusted for the sugar that was already in the filling. Who was she? But there it was: new, delicious, pre-tested, overpriced, fabulous cherry-raspberry filling. She piled the new mixture into her always fabulous pie crust.

The Finish

Cover with the top crust

Trim and flute the edges

Vent the top with a few steam hatches; bake for 25 minutes

Reduce the heat to 350º and bake until the juices start bubbling and the crust is browned, about 35 minutes longer

It looked perfect. The dinner was perfect. She was perfect. She brought out the pie. He tasted it and looked up. “This is incredible. Did you bake this?” “Well, actually…”“I love you,” he said, “Will you marry me?”