Fresh Cherry Pie with Crumb Topping
Fresh cherry pie without the soggy filling. The secret? Grated apple and potato starch work together to thicken the filling so each slice stays neat and the cherries stay front and center. Add cinnamon and a dash of bitters, top with a buttery crumb, and you've got a dessert that tastes like summer. Bake in about an hour, cool for 2 hours, and it's ready to slice.
Servings 8
Calories 449kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 small apple peeled and grated
- 5 cups cherries pitted and halved
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons potato starch or cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
STREUSEL
- 1 cup flour
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons butter cut into 1 inch cubes
PIE CRUST
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons butter 1 ½ sticks chilled
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cups ice cold water
Instructions
Crust
- In a food processor, add flour, sugar and salt and pulse to combine. Add butter, cut into 1 inch pieces, and pulse until it looks like coarse meal with no large chunks remaining. Add vinegar and very cold water and pulse until the dough starts to come together. Place it on a floured surface and form it into a ball, it won’t be smooth. Divide in half and pat into two flat disks about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. This recipe makes 2 pie crusts.
- Partially pre-bake one pie crust. To partially bake the pie crust place it in the pie pan, crimp the edges and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove and prick the sides and bottom with a fork. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes. Line with parchment paper and add pie weights. Preheat the oven to 425º and place a baking sheet in the oven. Once preheated, add the crust to the hot baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes until the edges are set but not browned. Remove the pie weights and bake for an additional 3 minutes. Once cool, refrigerate until ready to use.
- Preheat oven to 425º. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack.
Pie
- Combine flour, brown sugar, white sugar and salt. Add butter pieces and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingers until it is chunky. Chill until ready to use.
- Peel and shred an apple on the large holes of a box grater. Add to a large bowl with pitted and cut cherries, lemon juice, brown sugar, potato starch, cinnamon and bitters. Mix together and pour into the cooled pie crust.
- Sprinkle streusel over the cherry mixture and place the pie on the hot baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375º. Continue to bake until the juices are bubbling, about 30 minutes. If the crust and streusel are getting too brown, loosely cover with aluminum foil for the rest of the cooking time. The top and crust should be golden brown.
Notes
- You can use frozen cherries: Thaw and drain them first. They may need a little less baking time.
- Swap the starch: Use cornstarch in place of potato starch if that’s what you have.
- Skip the bitters: Use fresh lemon zest, vanilla extract, or almond extract instead.
- Let the pie rest: Cool the pie for about 2 hours after baking so the filling can set before slicing.
