Cherry lattice pie

I made this one for my New Year's Eve party in 2011. I was given a whole box of left over cherries from Christmas day. So I went and bought a cherry pitter for about $15 and got stuck into it! I wish I took a photo of my hands at the end, they were bright purple, quite pretty!

The cherries I did not use in this recipe I froze and used later to make a Cherry Clafoutis. Just FYI they froze quite well, but needed to be well drained before using.

Ingredients - Shortcrust pastry

400 g plain flour, sifted

240 g chilled unsalted butter, chopped

120 ml cold water

1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients - Cherry filling

140g caster sugar

2 tbs cornflour

zest and juice of a lemon

680 g stoned cherries

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and add the butter, using your fingertips rub he butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and pour in 60 ml chilled water into the well. Mix with a flat-bladed knife to incorporate the water. When the mix starts to come together as a dough gently life onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently press the dough into a ball, kneading if necessary to ensure the dough comes together. Press into a flat, round disc, cover with cling wrap, and refrigerate for 30 min. Grease a flan tin (~23 cm) with butter and preheat the oven to 200C. Roll out the 1/2 the dough to the size of the tin, roll the dough over the rolling pin and use this to transfer the dough onto the tin. Press the dough into the flan tin to create an even surface all over. Mix the sugar, cornflour, juice and zest of lemon together. Pour this mixture over the cherries and toss to coat evenly. Add the cherries to the pie, and return the pie to the fridge while the pastry lattice is prepared. 

 

Roll out the second disc of pastry dough. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 inch strips. Arrange the lattice top by weaving the pieces between each other then pressing them down at the edges of the tin to seal. Bake the pie for 20 min. Check the crust and if necessary cover the edges with aluminium foil to prevent over browning. Continue baking for 35 - 40 min, until the cherry filling bubbles and the crust is golden brown.

 

Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 1 hr. Serve warm with whipped cream.