Cherry pie of DREAMS

I hope you enjoy making this as much as I have enjoyed recipe testing and eating it. The time I got it just right I gasped and it hit the tops of my cheeks and made me smile.

Makes 1 x 8 inch pie x 2inch height

Ingredients:

Pastry

225g strong white flour

175g unsalted butter, cold, cubed

15g caster sugar

5g fine salt

70ml ice cold water

2tbsp milk, for brushing

1tbsp demerrera sugar for sprinkling

Cherries

500g pitted cherries

180g golden caster sugar

¼ tsp almond extract/Disaronno (optional)

50g cornflour (this is the same as corn starch)

Make the pastry:

1. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the flour, salt and sugar together

2. Add in the butter and mix until the butter had formed breadcrumbs, you still want to be able to see some chunks of butter

3. Add in the water in one go and mix quickly to form a dough

4. Tip the dough out onto your work surface and bring together with your hands

5. Wrap tightly in cling film and place in the fridge to firm up, about 4 hours

Make the filling

1. Pit the cherries and place them in a large bowl (the amount of cherries post pitting should be 500g)

2. Coat the cherries in the sugar, almond extract/Disaronno (if using) and the cornflour

3. Set aside whilst you prepare the pie case. There may be some juice that leaches out from the cherries but don't worry too much that's what the cornflour will help with.

Prepare and bake

1. Gently knead the cold dough a bit, cut ⅓ off and keep aside for the top. Roll out to 4mm, grease an 8 inch pie case or closed bottom cake tin.

2. Line the tin with the pastry, leaving a bit of an overhang. Keep the scraps if you have any and add this to the ⅓ for the top. Put the lined tin in the fridge whilst you prepare the top.

3. Roll the rest of the pastry to 4mm and cut a lattice or leave whole, put in the fridge to chill for 15 mins on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.