Cherry Pie

Abaisse - A term used in French cookery for a sheet of rolled out pastry. Hence, abaisser means to roll out thin, as for a pasty base.

Hey Everyone,

For anyone who has read my blog before, you may notice a small change to my usual posts - that being the added definition at the top. Recently, some friends of my parents have moved away from the area and as a result they have given away and sold a lot of the things they don't need to take with them. Whilst this may not seem to have anything to do with the definition, I assure it does! As they knew I'm an aspiring chef, it was to me that they gave the most amazing book ever (in my opinion)! Although it is an encyclopedia, instead of containing ALL the words EVER, it has everything and anything to do with French cuisine! The "Larousse Gastronomique" is officially one of my favourite books and I've decided that I'm going to add a definition at the top of every post I do... This won't mean that my blog will solely be related to French cuisine, as I won't always relate it to the book. I'll just write the definition and continue as I normally do; sometimes you can't relate it to anything as it could be a custom or a profession!

Due to my not updating for so long, what few regular readers that I had have now gone unfortunately, so I'll be updating for regularly to keep it interesting, as I'm on my holidays (I'll have SO much more time to do everything)!

Anyway, this week, I'm making an amazing cherry pie! (If you haven't noticed this can be related to our post definition - rolling out the pastry!) Currently, cherries are in season - at least they are in the UK - so if you want to use fresh and local cherries, now is the perfect time to use them...

Cherry Pie - From "The One and Only Pies and Tarts Cookbook"

Prep Time - 20 mins, plus 30 mins soaking and 20 mins chilling
Cooking Time - 35 mins
Serves 4

Ingredients -

For the Filling

• 500g Cherries, pitted
• 3 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Kirsch

For the Pastry

• 400g Plain Flour
• 200g Butter
• 500g Caster Sugar
• 2 Egg Yolks

To Finish

• 1 Egg, Beaten

1. For the filling, toss the cherries and sugar together with the kirsch and leave to stand for 30 minutes.

2. For the pastry, put the flour in a mixing bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. add the caster sugar and egg yolks and mix to a dough. If it is too stiff add a little cold water. Wrap in cling film and chill for 20 minutes.

3. Heat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Grease a large pie dish.

4. Roll out half of the pastry and line the pie dish. Put the cherry mixture in the dish.

5. Roll out the remaining pastry and cut out a lattice pattern with a sharp knife or a lattice cutter. Place on top of the pie and crimp and seal the edges. Brush with a beaten egg.

6. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden.

Enjoy!!!