Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Cherry Slab Pie

It’s a rare and unexpected occurrence when my dad asks me to make something for him.  It’s even more so when he says “Put that on your organization {he meant the blog, I hope!}”  He tries to refrain from the sweets for the most part so it’s a little serious when he asks.  Of course I can’t say no, but I always get nervous because I want him to love it!

When I was a kid, Dad planted a couple of fruit trees in our back yard.  We’ve never really had a good yield from what I can recall, except for this year-the cherry tree was incredible!  Dad dropped off a bucket of cherries and Gavin and I spent our Saturday night pitting them. We don’t have lives, you see….:)

I chose to make this slab pie-it’s so unique and beautiful.  Though I felt it look more work than a regular pie, it was worth it.  The cherries remained tart but not too tart, and so flavorful.  The almond extract helped bring out some of the cherry flavor, and wasn’t really overwhelming.  Definitely worth every minute we spent on it-it's doesn't look 'perfect', but it's sure tasty.  Mom called me to tell me that dad’s been loving it-eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Cherry Slab Pie

Makes 18-20 servings

INGREDIENTS

for the crust:
2½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes 
6 - 8 Tablespoons cold buttermilk

cherry pie filling:

9 cups tart (sour) cherries, pitted
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup cornstarch

½ teaspoon almond extract

egg wash for the crust:
1 egg, lightly beaten 
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar 

DIRECTIONS

to prepare the crust:

In a large food processor, add the flour, salt, granulated sugar and cold butter cubes. Pulse until it resembles cornmeal and transfer to a mixing bowl.  Place the mixing bowl in the freezer for about 20 minutes.

Remove the bowl from the freezer. Start off by sprinkling 3 tablespoons of the buttermilk on top of the mixture, and continue to add the buttermilk, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough starts to form a ball.  Don’t get the dough too wet and sticky.  Separate the dough in half, one slightly larger than the other and flatten into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 3 hours.

cherry pie filling:

In a large bowl, mix together the cherries, granulated sugar, cornstarch & almond extract.  Let sit together for about 15-20 minutes-prepare the pie dough while you wait.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 15X10X1 inch rimmed baking sheet, line the bottom of the sheet with parchment paper.

Flour a large working surface.  Using the large half of the disk, roll out into an 18X12 inch rectangle. Place on the prepared baking sheet and allow the edges to hang over the rim.

Pour the cherry pie filling over the dough. Spread evenly and set aside.

Re-flour the work surface. Roll out the second half of the dough into a 16X11 inch rectangle. Try to get 3 or more long strips, and 5 or 6 smaller strips. Work a lattice crust and trim the edges and fold the bottom crust over the lattice strips and pinch them together. Brush with a beaten  egg and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for about 50 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.  Bake until the crust is golden brown and the pie filling in the center is bubbly.

Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Cool before slicing and serve.

Source: adapted from Une Gamine dans la Cuisine, pastry originally from Martha Stewart