It is Cherry season! We love them in our house so when a friend asked me to come round to help picking, I didn’t wait to be asked twice! The eating is well worth the effort…. I knew the moment my older son saw them, he would ask for an “American style” cherry pie: I have only ever made them out of a “packet”, I had to figure out my own version….

Cherry filling: I made it the day before as we return from picking….

• About 2 cups of pitted cherries, 500g
• 100 sugar ( I used my vanilla infused)
• 8tsp cornstarch
• 1tsp vanilla extract + 1tbsp lemon juice

1. Place the cherries, sugar and cornstarch in a pan and allow to stand for 10mn until the sugar draws out the juice from the fruit                                  
2. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly, then lower the heat, simmering for 1mn
3. Remove from the pan and stir in the vanilla extract and lemon juice (as sour as you prefer)
4. Allow to cool to lukewarm if used on the day. I covered mine and left it at room temperature

Ingredients:

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry:

• 250g flour
• 160g cold butter, diced
• 50ml milk, at room temperature
• 3g salt
• 15g vanilla sugar
• 1 egg yolk

Biscuit topping:

• 200g self-raising flour
• 50g butter, diced
• 60g sugar
• 1tsp ground vanilla
• 70ml milk + extra for glazing

Preparation:

Basically, I was having a food processor day, so much easier!

Pastry:

• At a low speed, mix the flour, butter, sugar and salt until it resembles breadcrumbs
• Add the milk and yolk and mix a few seconds until it has an even consistency
• Rest in the fridge for at least an hour
• Grease or line a 26cm/10″ pie tin (mine is loose bottom) and preheat oven to 180°C/ 160°fan/ Gas 4
• Roll the pastry out and transfer to tin ( I had too much so froze 1/3)
• Bake blind for 20 to 30mn

Biscuit:

• Once the pastry is out of the oven, turn it up to 200/180
• At low speed, mix the flour, ground vanilla and butter together until it makes fine breadcrumbs
• Add sugar and the milk and mix to form a soft dough

• Roll it out roughly
• Spread the cherry mixture into the pastry case

• Top with the biscuit dough, make some cuts for venting and glaze with milk

• Bake in the oven for 45mn but do check after 30mn as you might need to cove your biscuit with foil once it’s golden

• Leave to cool for 5mn before turning out onto a wire rack. Eat warm or cold!