FOR THE PASTRY
350g plain flour
25g caster sugar
1tsp (5g) sea salt
280g unsalted butter, cut into 1/2cm cubes
3 tablespoons (45ml) cold water
FOR THE FILLING:
500g Scotty Brand cherries, pitted
50ml Drambuie whisky liqueur (optional)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
¼ tsp almond extract
100g caster sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
SUGAR TOPPING:
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp sugar
Combine the flour with the sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse twice to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse until no dry flour remains and dough just begins to collect in clumps, in about 25 short pulses.
Transfer dough to a large bowl. Sprinkle with water then using clean hands, fold and press dough until it comes together into a ball. Divide ball in half. Form each half into a 4-inch disk.
Wrap tightly in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling and baking.
Preheat oven to 220C/fan200C/gas 7
For filling; Place cherries in a large bowl; drizzle with lemon juice, Drambuie if you are using it, and almond extract. In a small bowl, mix sugar, cornflour and cinnamon. Sprinkle over cherries and toss gently to coat. Set aside while you prepare the pastry in the pie dish.
Remove the dough from the fridge 10 minutes before you begin rolling, as dough that is too cold will crack.
On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 dough portion into a 2-3mm -thick circle; transfer to a 20cm. pie plate. Trim crust even with rim.
Add filling.
Roll remaining dough into a 2-3mm thick circle; This is the pie top and you can cut out stars or other shapes using cookie cutters, or cut strips to form a lattice. Place top crust over filling. Trim, seal and flute edge. If desired, decorate top with cutouts.
Put the pie dish onto a baking tray before it goes into the oven, just to catch any bubbly juice that may come from the pie.
Bake for 40 minutes.
For the topping, brush top of pie with milk; sprinkle with sugar. Bake 15-20 minutes longer, or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly.
Cool on a wire rack & enjoy!
Enjoy this Cherry Pie recipe with a Drambuie (or Honey) & Cinnamon Whipped Cream. To make you’ll need: 300ml Double Crean, 50ml Drambuie or 1 tablespoon of Scottish Runny Honey, ½ tsp Ground cinnamon.
Method: Whisk the cream with the rest of the ingredients until you can pull the cream up with the whisk to stand in soft points. It should silky, and pillowy, rather than firm. Refridgerate until needed.
