Cherry's English Kitchen

Cherry's Fresh Cherry Pie

I have always been rather afraid of pies. Thinking, incorrectly, that they were super hard to make or at least to get right. But I'm discovering that in actual fact a pie is constructed in a very similar way to a stew. Which in my head equates to creating or providing a receptacle for a whole bunch of ingredients that taste wonderful when put together, adding a lid or a top and baking the whole lot in the oven for a certain period of time.

With this in mind I set about making my own version of the classic Cherry Pie. Using fresh cherries and adding crunch and texture by a sprinkling of baked almonds on the top.

Take enough shortcrust pastry (shop bought or home made) to line the bottom and sides of your pie dish while leaving enough to form a lattice pattern on top. I rushed the lattice on mine as I was peckish at the time and really should have made some more pastry. De-stone enough fresh cherries ( a large punnet or a generous sized paper bag full) to cover the bottom of the pie dish, one layer of cherries deep. Add two thirds of a tin of tapioca to a separate bowl along with one tablespoon of caster/baking sugar, three drops of a very good quality almond essence and two drops of a good quality vanilla essence and mix well. Pour the mixture over the cherries and add some semblance of a lattice top (ahem!!). Brush the top with egg and sprinkle a large handful of flaked almonds on to the top of the pie.

Bake in the middle of your oven at 180c for the first thirty mins and 200c for the last thirty mins. Keep a good eye on the pie as you don't want it to burn in the last twenty minutes but at the same time you'll want it to be browned to perfection when you cut through the top of it. You should also keep an eye on the pie overspilling when it heats up and covering your over floor with cherry mixture. It's a pain to have to remove!

Serve with ice cream or cream of a variety that suits your fancy or custard of course. But I prefer to leave custard until the days are shorter.

Pie. It's good for the soul and doesn't last long!!!!!!!!!!

I should remind you that it's the last day(s) of this months In The Bag blog event. Please get your entries in to me by the end of the weekend at the very latest.

Balsamic 'Barb Puff

My kitchen is all but packed up right now, but feeling rather bereft I felt it was essential to my wellbeing to turn something out, and sharpish!

Rhubarb (forced) is in season right now and it has always been something that I have avoided cooking with. Images of sour, bitter, long stalks have been conjured up in my mind and I felt it was time to conquer them.

I cut 4 rhubarb stalks up into pieces about an inch long and placed them in to a pan. I added 4 tablespoons of aged balsamic vinegar, 1& a half teaspoons of ground cinnamon and 1 cup of packed brown sugar. I then turned the gas on to a low heat and began to cook the rhubarb down. I really does not take as long as you think and it's important not to let it burn or to cook it too fast. There is no standing there for hours stirring the stalks and waiting for sign of movement and it is one of the quickest seasonal desserts to prepare that I have come across. It also makes you look like you have been slaving over a hot pan and oven whipping up a magnificent rhubarb concoction! 

The first time around I added the cooked rhubarb to several uncooked ready- made puff pastry shells before popping it all into the oven in order for the pastry to cook around the rhubarb. This does not work and cooks the rhubarb and sugar juices hard onto your oven-ware, so much scrubbing is needed. The next time around I prepared a pizza shape of puff pastry and placed it into one half of a cake tin to bake in. I baked it and then transfered the rhubarb into said pastry shell and sprinkled with powdered sugar before serving.

I'd like to go on, but there really is no need. It is that simple.......and delicious of course!