Homemade Cherry Pie with Crumb Topping

It's cherry season! And I have to admit that eating fresh cherries straight from the fridge is probably my favorite way.

But, there's always room for a juicy pie with a crumb topping, a mix between two of this blog's perennial favorites: the easiest cherry tart ever and the beautifully golden peach crumb pie.

I was very skeptical of baking pies during the Summer as it implies turning on the oven, making homemade pie dough, and all those tasks that I don't exactly thrive on during hot days.

But how will we eat homemade fresh fruit pies if we don't get into the kitchen?

So here we are, making and sharing a fantastic cherry crumb pie recipe that can be a part of your 4th of July desserts, among other outdoor celebrations.

I'm a huge advocate for easy fruit desserts like the cherry crisp or old fashioned peach cobbler, but a pie is a pie, and we might go as far as to say that nothing compares.

Ingredient list

• Homemade crust: if using our flaky pie dough recipe you'll also need shortening. Alternatively, use your favorite easy homemade pie crust recipe or a good quality store-bought one.
• Cherries: I love to use fresh fruit whenever possible. Tart cherries are my first choice but they're hard to find, so I usually make this pie with sweet ones. But know that frozen cherries work just fine.
• Unsalted butter.
• All-purpose flour.
• Brown sugar: the crumble topping or streusel is made with brown sugar to give it a more golden look and add a caramel undertone.
• White granulated sugar.
• Cornstarch: it’s used as a thickener for the filling. Argo 100% pure cornstarch is a popular one.
• Lemon juice: enhances the flavor of the rest of the ingredients and adds an acid tone needed to balance out the butter and sugar.
• Vanilla: I use pure vanilla extract or pure vanilla paste when available, but a good vanilla essence (artificially flavored) also works and is infinitely cheaper. 

Pie crust

I will always favor a homemade crust if I want to make the best cherry pie I can, like our Perfect Flaky Pie Crust (which can be made in advance and has videos to guide you), over a commercial one.

BUT, know that a good dough from the bakery will work very well also. Sometimes we need shortcuts and hot days require them more than others, right?

Blind baking: this is a necessary step where the pie crust is half-baked or pre baked so that it doesn't lose its shape and get soggy after the cherry filling is piled up and the whole pie is fully baked.

To prepare the crust for blind baking, cover with a large piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil, add pie weights (or unbaked rice, chickpeas, flour, anything that doesn't burn and that will weight the paper and crust down) and bake for 15 minutes before removing the paper.

The crust will have dried in parts and the paper will be easily removed. If it's stuck, bake it 5 minutes more.

Cherry filling

• Cherries: as discussed in other parts of this post, you can use sweet or tart cherries. In both cases sugar is added, but I recommend a smaller amount if using sweet cherries. Unless you want a very sweet cherry dessert.
• Pitting cherries: it's the only part of this recipe that takes a little patience and an apron. Make sure your clothes are covered as this step means drops of cherry juice will be flying around. You can buy pitted frozen cherries for convenience.

Cherry pitter: one of my most loved gadgets, it makes pitting cherries so easy and fast. And it also works for pitting olives, in case you wanted to know. You can easily buy them online, and I love the OXO Cherry and Olive pitter.

Filling: the cherries are mixed with the rest of the ingredients and then poured into the pre-baked crust. Make sure all the fruit is well coated.

Kitchen notes

• Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
• Baking time: consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer(like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust. 
• Sweetness: if using sweet cherries I recommend ⅓ cup sugar, and if using tart cherries I recommend ⅔ cup of sugar.
• Pitting cherries: you can buy pitted frozen cherries, but need to do it manually is using fresh ones. There are many types, for just one cherry, or for pitting multiple cherries at once. You do need pitted cherries for this recipe.
• Serving it: I love this cherry pie plain, at room temperature. But many of my friends ask for it to be served barely warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of the pie, they say it's the perfect dessert because the ice cream starts to melt a little but not completely. Whatever way you like it will be the best one.