Deliciously indulgent pies, tarts & pastries
FREE RECIPE PULLOUT
ON SATURDAY, we gave away a free 16-page Deliciously Indulgent Cakes, Pastries And Puds magazine. All this week, we’re continuing our fabulous series from Leiths School of Food and Wine with superb daily pullouts packed with more irresistible recipes and step-by-step instructions . . .
THIS is an extravagant use of cherries, but worth it for the delicious red syrupy filling. You will need a 1.3–1.4 litre (2¼-2½ pint) pie dish.
Serves 6-8
2 x quantity rich shortcrust pastry (see below)
Extra flour, to dust
For the filling
1kg (2lb 4oz) red cherries, fresh or frozen
2½ tbsp cornflour
100-125g (3½oz-4½oz) caster sugar Cut the chilled pastry in half and shape into 2 discs. Wrap one in cling film and place in the fridge. Roll out the other on a lightly floured surface to a large circle, matchstick thick. Line the pie dish and trim off the excess with a sharp knife. Save any trimmings for decoration. Cover with Clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 20-30 min. Roll out second disc into a circle big enough to cover the pie, and place on a baking sheet. Cover with Clingfilm and chill in the fridge.
For filling, stone the cherries, place in a large bowl and sprinkle over the cornflour and sugar. Toss to combine. Heat the oven to 200c/fan 180c/gas 6 and place a flat baking tray on a low shelf. Remove the pie case from the fridge and fill generously with the cherries. Brush the rim of the pie case with a little water, remove the pastry lid from the fridge and place on top, pressing down a little on the edge of the pie dish to seal the pastry. Trim then crimp the pastry edges. Make a steam hole in the centre of the pie and decorate with pastry trimmings, rolled thinly, to about 1-2mm (¹/16 in). Stick to the pie with water. Stand the dish on the hot baking tray and bake for 30min to cook the base of the pie before the top browns too much. Lower the oven setting to 180c/fan 160c/gas 4. Transfer the pie on its baking tray to the top third of the oven to cook further until the pastry is golden and the filling hot (test through the steam hole). Remove from the oven, cool, then serve with custard, ice cream or cream.