Japanese Cherry Pie Recipes

BEST CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Drain cherries, reserving 1/2 cup juice.
• Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt.
• Combine cherry juice, food coloring, almond extract and lemon juice.
• Add to dry ingredients, mixing well.
• Add cherries and mix well again.
• Add butter and let stand for 15 minutes.
• Pour cherry mixture into pie crust and finish top with lattice work pie crust.
• Bake for 50 to 55 minutes.

HOMEMADE CHERRY PIE WITH FRESH CHERRIES

Steps:

• In the bowl, put the all-purpose flour, a pinch of salt, the powdered sugar, and the cubed cold butter.
• With your clean hands, start mixing the butter with the rest of the ingredients. You want to break down the butter until you get small pea-sized pieces, it doesn't matter if some are bigger than others. Be careful not to overwork the butter. These bits of un-mixed butter will help to create the flakiness of the crust. You can make this step with a pastry cutter or a food processor.
• Once you achieve said consistency, add the egg yolks and mix.
• Add tablespoons of cold water one by one, mixing in between. You want to achieve a consistency that is not too wet. It needs to stay barely together when pressed and should not stick to your hands. It's best to add the very cold water one tablespoon at the time, and check if the dough needs more water or not. Remember you can always add, but never take out.
• Keep mixing until you form a ball of dough, you should end up with a "clean" bowl.
• Divide into two balls and form each into a disk, wrap it in cling wrap and let it cool in the fridge for 30 minutes. This will allow the flour to hydrate and drop the temperature of the dough a bit.
• Crusts can be made ahead and frozen up to 8 weeks. Defrost for 2-3 hours or until dough is soft before rolling and shaping.
• Start by preheating your oven at 400 F /200c.
• Prepare the cherries by removing the pits, for this you can use a cherry pitter, or cut them in half and remove the pits.
• In a large bowl combine the pitted cherries, cornstarch, sugar, vanilla & almond extract, and lemon juice. Set aside.
• Roll out one of your pie dough disks: on a floured surface roll it until you reach a 1/4 inch (13mm) inch thickness as it follows: Roll a bit up and down and then turn 90º to one side. Roll again in the same direction and then turn again 90º. Keep rolling until you obtain the desired thickness.
• Roll the other dough disk, cut it in strips with a knife or a pastry wheel cutter, and set it aside.
• Line the pie pan with the first rolled crust and adjust the dough making sure there are no air bubbles underneath. Do not worry about the excess dough you are going to use it to create a nice decoration on the border.
• Fill the pie pan with the cherry mixture, discarding any excess liquid formed in the bowl.
• Create the lattice top crust by placing 4 dough strips on top of the pie pan leaving some space between them. Fold the second and third strips up & place two more strips on the opposite direction creating a crossed pattern and repeat all around the pie. The idea is to obtain weaving effect, by having always one strip up, one down.
• Press together the excess bottom crust with the end of the strips and crimp the edges with your fingers, or use a fork to press them together. Whisk the egg whites, then brush the surface of the crust.
• Bake for 15 minutes at 400°F, then reduce the heat to 350°F or 180C and bake for 30-40 minutes depending on your oven. Keep an eye on the crust, so it doesn't get too browned, if it starts to get two brown move it to a lower rack or place a piece of foil on the pie.
• Once fully baked, let the pie cool so that the filling will fully set. Sprinkle some powdered sugar to garnish and serve with vanilla ice cream.

CLASSIC CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• For the crust: Blend shortening, flour, powdered sugar, butter and salt. Cut flour until it resembles cornmeal. Beat egg, blend in vinegar and water, and sprinkle over flour mixture. Toss with fork. Chill before rolling, about 1 hour. Makes 2 (9-inch pie crusts).
• For the filling: In a large size bowl, mix together all ingredients and pour into the pie shell. Cover with top crust and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for 45 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

HOMEMADE CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Add the pitted cherries, sugar, and cornstarch to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves and thickens, stirring constantly. Once nice and thick, remove from the heat and stir in almond extract, lemon juice, and butter. Allow cooling completely.
• When the filling is cooled, preheat the oven to 400°. Press one pie crust in a 9-inch pie pan. Pour the filling in the pie crust and top with the second crust, crimping the edges together and making sure there is a vent for steam to escape. Mix the egg yolk and water together to make the egg wash. Brush the egg wash evenly over the top crust and bake for 45-50 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the crust is nice and golden brown. Cool completely before serving.

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.

GRILLED CHERRY PIE CALZONE

Steps:

• Add the cherries, brown sugar, orange zest, vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons orange juice to a saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cherries have released all of their juices and the mixture is bubbly, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons orange juice with the cornstarch and add it to the cherry mixture. Stir until thickened, about 1 minute. Turn the heat off and cool the mixture to room temperature.
• Preheat a well-oiled grill over medium heat. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Lightly flour a clean work surface. Roll the pizza dough into a circle 1/4-inch thick. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Top one half of the dough with the cherry pie filling, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Fold the empty side of the dough up and over the filling. Pull the bottom edge of the dough up over the top edge, then fold and crimp the edges using your thumb and index finger. Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the calzone with vegetable oil.
• Carefully transfer the calzone, oil-side down, to the grill. Close the lid of the grill and cook until the base is set and nice grill marks have formed, 4 to 5 minutes. Brush the exposed side of the calzone with vegetable oil. Use a fish spatula to slide under the calzone and gently flip it over. Close the lid of the grill and cook until the dough is cooked through, another 4 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer the calzone to a serving platter and dust with the confectioners' sugar. Cut into slices and serve immediately.

CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• First, make the pastry. Tip the flour, 50g almonds, butter, sugar and ¼ tsp salt into a food processor. Blend until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Beat the egg yolks with 2 tbsp cold water, drizzle over the flour and butter mixture and blend again until the dough starts to clump together. Tip onto a work surface and knead briefly to bring everything together into a smooth dough. Divide into two pieces and shape each lump into a puck shape. Wrap and chill for 30 mins. Will keep, wrapped and chilled, for up to two days.
• Remove the stones from the cherries - either cut them in half and pop out each stone, or use a cherry stoner. Toss the cherries with the jam, sugar and cornflour until there are no floury patches.
• If the pastry has been chilled for longer than 30 mins, bring it out of the fridge 20 mins or so before rolling, as it will be very firm. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Dust a surface with a little flour, then unwrap one piece of pastry. Carefully roll it out until it's large enough to line the base and sides of a 25cm pie dish, skillet pan or cake tin. The pastry will be very delicate, if any cracks appear when rolling, squash them back together and keep going. Lift the pastry over the rolling pin and into the dish - don't worry if it breaks, just patch it up by pushing it into the corners and up the sides and closing any holes. There should be a little overhang around the edges. Sprinkle the reserved 2 tbsp almonds over the base, then spread the cherries on top to fill the pie in an even layer.
• Roll out the remaining pastry so it's large enough to cover the pie. Brush a little beaten egg white around the pastry edge. Top the pie with the pastry lid as it is (piercing a hole in the centre for the steam to escape), or make a lattice topping. To do this, cut the pastry into strips, however wide you like. Arrange half the strips in one direction over the pie, leaving a few centimetres gap between each. Weave the remaining strips under and over these in the opposite direction, creating a lattice pattern. Squash the pastry together around the edge, then trim the excess with a sharp knife.
• Crimp the edge for a neat finish, or use any pastry scraps to make shapes to run around the edge - we used a piping nozzle to cut small circles. Stick them on with a little more egg wash, then brush the whole pie with a thin layer of egg wash. Sprinkle over a little caster sugar. Bake for 55 mins-1 hr, checking the pie after 40 mins. The edges may brown more quickly than the centre, if this happens, wrap a little kitchen foil around the edge to protect it.
• Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 1 hr. If you cut it too soon, the fruit juice will be very runny and flood the pie. Best served just warm with cream or ice cream.

MICHIGAN CHERRY JAPANESE-STYLE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Place a 9-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Wrap foil securely around pan. Line bottom and inside of pan with parchment; set aside., In a small saucepan, cook and stir butter and cream cheese over medium heat until melted. Remove from heat; whisk in cream until smooth. Let cool completely., Sift flour and cornstarch together twice; place in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks, vanilla, zest and cooled cream cheese mixture until smooth. Add to flour mixture; beat until well blended., In a large bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until soft glossy peaks form. Fold a fourth of the whites into batter, then fold in remaining whites. Gently transfer to prepared pan. Place springform pan in a larger baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan., Bake for 25 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 280°. Bake until top is puffed, springs back when lightly touched and center appears set, 55-65 minutes longer., Meanwhile, for topping, in a small saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch and if desired cayenne. Whisk in water until smooth. Add cherries; cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter. Cool completely., Remove springform pan from water bath. Loosen sides from pan with a knife; remove foil. Remove rim from pan; remove paper. Serve cheesecake warm with confectioners' sugar and cherry topping. Refrigerate leftovers.

AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN CHERRY PIE (ATK)

Steps:

• Mix flour, salt, and sugar in food processor fitted with steel blade. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture, tossing to coat butter with a little flour. Cut butter into flour with five 1-second pulses. Add shortening and continue to cut it in until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal with butter bits no larger than small peas, about four more 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl.
• Sprinkle all but 1 tablespoon of the ice water over mixture. With blade of rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix. Press down on dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 1 tablespoon of remaining ice water if dough does not come together. Divide dough into two balls, one slightly larger than the other. Flatten each into 4-inch-wide disk. Dust lightly with flour, wrap separately in plastic, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
• Remove dough from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature to soften slightly, about 10 minutes. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss fruit with sugar, lemon juice and zest, spices, almond extract, brandy, and tapioca; let stand for 15 minutes.
• Roll larger dough disk on lightly floured surface into 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer and fit dough into 9-inch Pyrex pie pan, leaving dough that overhangs the lip in place. Turn fruit mixture, including juices, into pie shell. Scatter butter pieces over fruit. Refrigerate until ready to top with remaining dough.
• Roll smaller disk on lightly floured surface into 10-inch circle. Lay over fruit. Trim top and bottom dough edges to 1/2-inch beyond pan lip. Tuck this rim of dough underneath itself so that folded edge is flush with pan lip. Flute dough in your own fashion, or press with fork tines to seal. Cut four slits at right angles on dough top to allow steam to escape. If pie dough is very soft, place in freezer for 10 minutes before baking.
• Place pie on baking sheet; bake until top crust is golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until juices bubble and crust is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer.
• Transfer pie to wire rack; let cool to almost room temperature so juices have time to thicken, from 1 to 2 hours.