Cherry Crumble Pie
Juicy, buttery and utterly delicious, this pie screams summer fruit and fun days. A layer of cherry filling, a crumb topping, and a bottom crust make this a great dessert that everyone loves. Though we are partial about fresh, sweet cherries, it can be made with frozen ones.
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 recipe for homemade Perfect Flaky Pie Crust recipe or use a good quality store-bought
For the crumble:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter diced and cold
For the filling:
- 27 oz about 5 cups pitted cherries
- ½ cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract or ¼ teaspoon pure almond extract or both
Instructions
For the crust:
- Roll the crust on a lightly floured surface and line a 9-inch pie plate following the instructions on the pie crust recipe card linked above.
- Blind bake the pie crust according to the directions in the recipe. Reserve.
For the crumble:
- In a medium bowl mix 1 cup flour, a pinch of salt and ½ cup brown sugar.
- Add ½ cup cold butter in pieces and integrate with your hands until grainy and the butter is the size of peas. You can do this in a food processor; make sure you stop processing when it still has butter bits. Don’t turn it into a paste.
- If not using immediately, cover and keep refrigerated for up to a week. Or frozen for a month.
For the filling:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Pit 5 cups cherries and put in a medium bowl.
- Add ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup cornstarch, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract. Mix well until the cherries are coated.
Assembling the cherry pie:
- Make sure the oven is already preheated and the crumble ready to sprinkle. You don't want the juices to start seeping into the crust or to spend time breaking up the crumb mixture if it's frozen.
- Transfer the filling to the half-baked pie crust.
- Immediately top the cherry filling with the crumble mixture.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
- Let cool on a wire rack for about 1 hour.
- Eat at room temperature or barely warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Refrigerate leftovers covering them with plastic wrap.
Notes
Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes are as accurate as I they can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer that is placed inside the oven to check that your oven is the right temperature. I recommend keeping track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
Sweetness: you can use a few more tablespoons of sugar if you like sweeter pies or your cherries are too tart.
