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Cherry Pie Topped with a Scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream

Classic Homemade Cherry Pie

This made-from-scratch old-fashioned Cherry Pie is made with large fresh sweet cherries. Serve plain or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Canadian
Keyword cherries, cherry pie, classic cherry pie recipe, homemade cherry pie recipe, made-from-scratch cherry pie recipe
Servings 8
My Island Bistro Kitchen Barbara - My Island Bistro Kitchen

Ingredients

  • Pastry for a two-crust pie to fit 9” pie plate
  • 2 pounds (908g) fresh sweet cherries (e.g., Bing), stemmed, pitted, and halved
  • 2/3 cup + 1 tbsp granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • pinch salt
  • 1½ tbsp freshly squeezed and strained lemon juice
  • 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp pure almond extract
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1½ - 2 tsp Turbinado/cane sugar (optional for sprinkling on top crust)
  • 1½ - 2 tsp granulated sugar (optional for sprinkling on top crust)

Instructions

  1. Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside. Using a cherry pitter, remove and discard the stones from the cherries and cut each cherry in half. Place cherries in medium-sized heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir in about half of the sugar and cornstarch mixture. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Let mixture sit for about 5 minutes then stir in the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture. Let stand for about 10 minutes longer to allow cherries to release their juice and the sugar to dissolve.
  2. Cook cherry filling over medium heat, stirring frequently, just until mixture barely comes to the boiling point then immediately reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens, about 6-9 minutes in total.
  3. Remove mixture from heat and stir in the lemon zest, cinnamon, vanilla and almond extracts, and butter. Let filling cool completely to room temperature then refrigerate for at least 1½ – 2 hours.
  4. While filling is chilling, prepare double crust pastry, according to pastry recipe directions, for 9” pie plate.
  5. On a lightly floured work surface and using a little better than half the pastry dough, roll pastry into a circle approximately 12” – 13” round and about 1/16 - 1/8“ thick. Transfer pastry to a lightly greased 9” pie plate, fitting the dough over the bottom and sides of the plate, ensuring there are no air pockets. Trim pastry flush with edge of pie plate. Place pie shell in zippered plastic bag and transfer to refrigerator to chill until ready to assemble pie. Form remaining pie dough into a small disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, place in zippered plastic bag and place in refrigerator.
  6. About 10-12 minutes before assembling pie, remove pie dough disk from refrigerator and let rest on counter for apx. 8-10 minutes to allow it to become pliable enough to roll out for top crust. Do not, however, bring the pastry back to room temperature.
  7. Roll out pastry for top crust into a circle approximately 11” – 12” round (slightly larger than enough to cover top of pie to pie plate edge) and about 1/16 to 1/8“ thick. Alternatively, strips may be cut from the dough and placed over the pie filling in lattice formation, if desired.
  8. Remove pie shell from refrigerator and, using a pastry brush, brush the bottom crust in the pie plate with a light coating of the beaten egg to keep the crust from getting soggy. Reserve the remainder of the egg.
  9. Transfer the chilled cherry filling to the prepared pie plate fitted with the pastry dough.

  10. To make a full cover top pie crust, lightly moisten the bottom crust edge all around the pie plate rim edge with a wee bit of water. Place top pie crust over cherry pie filling. Trim excess pastry from the pie plate around the pie plate edge. Press the edge of the pastry all around the pie plate rim with tines of a fork to adhere the top crust to bottom crust. Cut a “X” (or 2-3 slits) about 1½“ - 2” long in center of top crust to allow steam to escape as the pie bakes. For additional venting, prick the pie in several places with the tines of the fork. (For lattice-topped pie crust, see Note 1 below)

  11. Place pie in refrigerator for 30 minutes (or in freezer for 15-20 minutes) to allow filling to settle and to chill pastry to reduce shrinkage while it bakes.
  12. While pie is chilling, place oven rack on bottom rung position of oven and preheat oven to 425°F. Remove pie from refrigerator. Add 1 teaspoon milk to remaining reserved beaten egg. Lightly brush egg wash over top crust of pie. If desired, mix turbinado/cane sugar and granulated sugar together in small bowl and sprinkle on top of pie crust.
  13. Place pie on tinfoil-lined baking sheet to catch any drips should filling bubble out as pie bakes. Transfer pie to oven. Bake for 15 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until crust is baked and golden brown and pie shows signs that filling is bubbling. Check pie after it has been in the oven for about 30-35 minutes – if top crust is browning too quickly, loosely tent pie with tin foil.
  14. Remove pie from the oven and transfer to wire rack to cool completely (minimum of 4 hours for the filling to set; longer is better) before cutting and serving plain or with a scoop of fine vanilla ice cream.

Recipe Notes

Yield:  1 – 9” double-crusted pie

NOTE 1:  If you wish to make a lattice top crust instead of a full cover crust and are unfamiliar with the method for placing the pastry strips in lattice formation, there are any number of tutorials and how-to videos on the subject on the internet which you can find by googling.

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