Vanilla Cherry Pie Recipes

VANILLA CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• First, make the pastry. Put the butter and flour in a food processor and whizz until the mixture looks like damp breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and pulse to combine. Whisk the egg yolks, 2 tbsp cold water and the vanilla in a bowl, then drizzle over the flour mixture. Pulse until the dough starts to clump together, adding a drizzle more water, 1 tsp at a time, if the dough feels dry - try not to add too much or the pastry will be tough. Tip out onto a work surface and knead briefly to bring everything together to a smooth dough. Break into 2 pieces, one a little larger than the other, wrap in cling film, pat into flat discs and chill for 30 mins.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Remove the larger piece of pastry from the fridge - if it feels a little firm, leave at room temperature for 20 mins to soften. On a floured surface, roll out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use the pastry to line a 20-22cm metal pie plate or tin, leaving a little excess pastry overhanging - trim with a pair of scissors if necessary. Line the base with baking parchment and baking beans, and blind-bake for 20 mins. Mix the cherries, cornflour and sugar in a bowl. Add the cherry jam, vanilla and butter, and mix again.
• Remove the beans and parchment from the base, brush the pastry with some of the beaten egg white and bake for 5 mins more until golden. Trim the pastry to neaten.
• Turn the oven down to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Tip the cherries into the centre of the pie. Roll out the remaining pastry to the same thickness as before, large enough to cover the pie. Slide the pastry onto a well-floured sheet of baking parchment and, using your favourite mini biscuit cutter or the wide end of a piping nozzle, stamp out a scattering of shapes - we used a 2cm star cutter, but hearts or circles would look nice - just don't cut out too many or the pastry will collapse. Brush the egg white over the edge of the pie rim and all over the lid. Place a few cut-out shapes back on the pastry, if you like. Carefully lift the baking parchment and pastry, and slide the pastry lid onto the pie, removing the parchment. Trim the excess pastry, then use a fork to press the lid to the base. Bake for 35 mins.
• Brush the pie with the remaining egg white and scatter with the remaining 1 tbsp sugar. Bake for a further 5 mins until golden brown and bubbling. Leave to cool for at least 20 mins before serving with crème fraîche, thick cream or ice cream.

OLD-FASHIONED CHERRY VANILLA PIE

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Cut butter into pieces. In a bowl with a pastry blender or in a food processor blend or pulse together flour, salt, butter, and shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 5 tablespoons ice water and toss or pulse just until mixture forms a dough, adding additional ice water, a little at a time, if dough is too dry. Divide dough in half and flatten each piece into a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.
• Make filling:
• In a small bowl stir together sugar, tapioca, salt, and cinnamon. In a large heavy skillet cook fresh or frozen cherries over moderately high heat, stirring, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon transfer cherries to a heatproof bowl. Add sugar mixture to cherry juices in skillet and simmer, stirring, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir cherry sauce and vanilla into cherries and cool.
• Line lower rack of oven with foil and preheat oven to 400° F.
• On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out 1 piece dough into an 11-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick). Fit dough into a 9-inch (1-quart) pie plate, leaving a 3/4-inch overhang. Pour filling into shell and chill, loosely covered with plastic wrap.
• On a lightly floured surface roll out remaining dough into an 11-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick) and with a sharp knife or fluted pastry wheel cut into 1-inch-wide strips. Working on a sheet of wax paper set on a baking sheet, weave pastry strips in a close lattice pattern. Chill or freeze lattice on wax paper on a flat surface 20 minutes, or until firm. Brush edge of filled shell with cold water and slide lattice off wax paper and onto pie. Let lattice stand 10 minutes to soften. Trim edges flush with rim of pie plate and crimp decoratively. Gently brush lattice top with cold water and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake pie in middle of oven 45 minutes, or until pastry is golden and filling just begins to bubble, and transfer to a rack to cool slightly. Serve pie warm with ice cream.

CHERRY VANILLA SLAB PIE

Steps:

• Pulse flour, butter, lard and salt in a food processor until crumbly. Whisk 1 egg with 2 tsp (10 mL) lemon juice; add enough ice water to make 2/3 cup (150 mL). Add to the flour mixture and pulse until the dough comes together. Form into an oblong disk; chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). On a well-floured surface, roll dough into a large rectangle, about 1/8-inch (3 mm) thick. Trim dough into a 13 x 18-inch (32.5 cm x 45 cm) rectangle. Carefully transfer dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Stir sugar with cornstarch and lemon zest until combined. Sprinkle half of the mixture evenly down the length of one side of the rectangle, leaving a 1-inch (2.5 cm) border. Arrange cherries evenly over sugar mixture. Whisk 1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice with vanilla; drizzle evenly over the cherries. Sprinkle remaining sugar mixture evenly over top.
• Fold dough over to cover the filling. Fold an additional 1/2-inch (1 cm) of dough from bottom layer over top layer along the edges; crimp with a fork to seal. Whisk remaining egg with a little water; brush all over pastry. Slash 4 vent holes in top. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until golden. Cool completely on baking sheet.
• Optional Glaze: Blend icing sugar with milk until smooth. Drizzle evenly over the cooled pie. Makes 12 servings.
• Tip: Fold dough into thirds or roll around a rolling pin to transfer it, after trimming, to the baking sheet.

THE BEST CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place bottom pie crust into a 9-inch pie pan; made pricks along the bottom with a fork.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pie crust is lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Remove crust from oven and cool for 5 minutes.
• Combine cherries, sugar, cornstarch, and almond extract together in a bowl. Pour cherry mixture into the prepared pie pan; dot with butter. Cover with top crusts, crimp the edges to seal, and cut vents into the top with a sharp knife. Place the pie on a foil-covered baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. If it is browning too fast cover the pie with an aluminum foil tent. Continue baking until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 10 to 20 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool, about 15 minutes.

PERFECT CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Mix flour, 2 Tbs. sugar and salt in a food processor. Add 8 Tbs. frozen butter and pulse 4 times, 1 long second each time. Drop shortening and cream cheese into flour mixture; pulse another 4 or 5 times, 1 long second each, until fats are the size of peas and fine gravel.
• Dump mixture into a medium bowl; rub through clean fingertips to blend. Stir in water with a rubber spatula until dough clumps form. Press dough with your palm to form a ball, then divide in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap, pressing to form thick disks. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Adjust oven rack to lowest position and place a pizza stone or four 9-inch quarry tiles (from a hardware store) on rack to form an 18-inch square. Preheat to 400 degrees.
• In a large saucepan, cook 1 cup cherry juice, 1 cup sugar, potato starch and a pinch of salt over medium-low heat; stir with a rubber spatula until a very thick paste forms. Scrape paste into cherries in a bowl. Add almond extract; stir to combine.
• Set a dough disk on a floured work surface. Roll into a 14-inch circle. Fold in half and quickly lift into a 9-inch Pyrex pie plate (not deep-dish). Unfold. Fit dough into pie plate so it is not stretched in any way. Refrigerate.
• Roll remaining dough disk into a 12-inch circle. Remove pie shell from refrigerator, add fruit filling, and dot with 1 Tb. butter. Fold dough circle in half; quickly lift onto filling and unfold. Trim all around to 1/2-inch beyond lip of pie plate. Roll overhanging dough under with fingertips; flute.
• Set an 18-inch square of heavy-duty foil on tiles or pizza stone. Set pie on foil and bake until crust just starts to color, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, brush with egg white, and sprinkle with 1 1/2 Tbs. sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes longer. Bring foil up around pie to loosely cover edges. Bake until filling bubbles, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.

CHERRY CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Beat cream cheese, sour cream, and milk together in a bowl. Stir pudding mix into the cream cheese mixture. Fold about half the cherry pie filling into the cream cheese mixture; spread into the prepared pie crust and top with remaining pie filling.
• Refrigerate until set and chilled completely, about 2 hours.