The end of the year festivities are already over and it’s sad that I’m saying goodbye to fresh raspberries, huge pomegranates, blackberries and cherries, products that only appear around here at this time of year. Of course, I always take the opportunity to make a small stock in the freezer, but frozen is not the same thing, right?
Cherries, for example, I didn’t buy to store. Frozen cherries lose their bright red color and have a juice that’s half amber, half red caramel, which I don’t like. On the other hand, I made three fresh cherry pies this December, and as practice makes perfect, I realized that, at least for now, this cherry Slab Pie is my favorite American pie!
Lately I’ve been championing the shorter, wider Slab Pie shape as ideal for fruit pie – the slices are easier to cut and the filling doesn’t fall apart on the plate. Furthermore, the proportion of dough in relation to filling increases a little, and this dough is so good that it deserves to appear more. The secret, in fact, is to bake the pie for at least 20 minutes on the lowest shelf of the oven, close to the heat source, so the base toasts and stays crispy [because no one deserves a pie with raw dough, right?].
As for the filling, whole, pitted cherries go into the pan with orange juice, zest, starch, sugar and spices, just enough to activate the starch. It’s an optional step in the recipe, but I like it because it keeps the dough from getting soggy in the oven while the filling cooks. The result is a fragrant, ruby jelly filled with whole, still slightly firm cherries.
And as the dough is very neutral and the filling is not very sweet, I like to cover the pie with a mixture of icing sugar, water and vanilla, which is crumbly and gives a sweet touch. Optional, but not completely dispensable.
So enjoy the cherries and make this pie at home! Oh, and right after the New Year they tend to get cheaper, keep an eye out! 😉
Hope you like it!
I forgot, for a change: on December 23rd, Cozinha Coletiva completed 7 years on the air, can you believe it?! Thank you to all the readers who have been following me during this period, you give me so much joy! 🙂
For the dough:
3 cups of wheat flour;
1 teaspoon of salt;
1 tablespoon of sugar;
120g cold unsalted butter, cubed;
120g cold vegetable fat, cubed;
1 cup of cold water with ice cubes;
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