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If you’re looking for a super easy Cherry Pie recipe, THIS is it. Made with delicious, juicy, fresh cherries, it’s the perfect summertime dessert. Here’s a foolproof recipe with a step-by-step guide, so you can whip up this mouthwatering, impressive and beautiful-looking homemade pie with no trouble!
For those of us of a certain age (!) who remember Twin Peaks, you won’t be able to think of Cherry Pie without thinking of Agent Cooper’s ‘Damn Good Cherry Pie’.
I’d never eaten or even seen a great deal of cherry pie here in the UK. Apple yes, cherry no. So when I first went to New York City in 2002 and I tasted a slice, it was HEAVEN and every bit as good as Agent Cooper promised.
I’ve been making this easy version at home ever since and it is divine (and easy!)
With just a few simple ingredients and a light flavouring of vanilla and cinnamon, plus a hint of zesty lemon juice, we have ourselves a real treat of a dessert.
Hope you’ll love it!
Why you’ll love this Cherry Pie recipe
⭐️ Fresh fruity, juicy cherry pie filling
⭐️ Easy shortcut pastry to create lattice topping
⭐️ Impressive but simple summery dessert
How we came up with this pie recipe
Once I committed to creating a recipe for Cherry Pie that I could bake again and again, I knew there had to be ways to keep things simple.
For this (and most of my pies, to be honest), I use ready made shortcrust pastry.
It’s plenty easy to make it yourself, so go ahead if you’d prefer, but as we’re also stoning cherries for this dish, I thought I’d keep the pastry easy (see tips below on how to pit them speedily.)
So while this recipe is easy, there are a few tips and tricks to make sure it all goes smoothly, so give this guide a quick read before you dive in.
There’s also step-by-step information with images to show you how to create the impressive lattice-style topping.
We’re using 1kg of cherries for this recipe, so if you live somewhere you can go cherry picking, or you’ve already got your spoils during the summer months, THIS is how you can enjoy them.
Cherry Pie Ingredients Notes
- Cherries – We’re using fresh cherries for this, either from the shops or ones you’ve picked yourself!
- Pastry – This recipe is for ready made shortcrust pastry, but feel free to make your own instead
- Cherry pie filling – We’re adding caster sugar, cornflour (corn starch in the US), vanilla extract, cinnamon and the juice of a lemon in with the cherries for the pie filling
- Egg – This is to beat and brush over the top of the pie before baking to get that golden finish
How to make a Cherry Pie
1. First, stone the cherries and add them into a pan with the sugar, flour, vanilla, cinnamon and lemon juice.
2. Heat them over a medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring gently. When thickened, allow the sauce to cool.
3. Preheat the oven as per the recipe below, then line the bottom of a pie dish with half of the pastry.
4. Add the cold cherry filling over the pastry.
How to make the lattice Pie crust
5. Cut the rest of the pastry into strips with a pizza cutter, then add one long one through the middle.
6. Add another strip across, and begin weaving your strips over and under, like in the image.
7. Continue this pattern, adding more strips across the middle and threading the downwards strips through them.
8. Once you’ve finished the lattice crust, brush egg wash over the pastry and bake for about 1 hour until cooked through.
Substitutions
- Raspberries – You can make this into a Raspberry Pie by switching the fruit if you like. Great for if you have a glut of berries after picking!
- Frozen cherries – You can use frozen cherries if you prefer, but beware that they will have excess juices, so I would recommend defrosting them overnight in the fridge first and draining off the liquid before adding them into the pie mixture
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat fully before serving or eat cold.
In the freezer Leftovers are fine to be frozen, but for best results, freeze the pie BEFORE it’s been baked.
Doing this also makes your pie extra crispy, so it’s a good step to add if you can!
Top tipS
How to stone cherries easily
This is the perfect easy and cheap gadget to do it with. It makes the job SO easy.
How to make sure the bottom of the pie is cooked
While cooking your cherry pie, sit the dish onto a baking tray as it helps to crisp up the bottom. No soggy bottoms thank you!
If the topping browns quickly
As you’re cooking your pie, if the top starts to go brown very quickly, cover it with tin foil for the rest of the cooking time to avoid burning the top.
❗️EXTRA TIP FOR CRISPNESS
Also, if you really want to be sure that your cherry pie will be crisp, a good tip is to freeze it before baking. It will take a little longer to cook but gives really crisp pastry.
More dessert Recipes…
FAQs
This works perfectly with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or creme fraiche. Or a little pour of cream. Yum.
Some people prefer to do this, but if you follow my tip about popping the pie onto a heated baking sheet in the oven, I find it to cook through perfectly without needing the extra step.
Yes! Once the filling is cooked, allow it to cool down fully before adding it to your pastry base. This is so the pie stays intact and doesn’t melt.
Yes! Follow to the step where you’re about to bake it, then instead cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to cook. You can also freeze it at this stage too. To bake, defrost it thoroughly first.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Cherry Pie {Easy Recipe}
Ingredients
- 1 kg Fresh cherries
- 250 g Caster sugar
- 3 tbsp Cornflour, See notes
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 1 Lemon, Juice only
- 500 g Ready-made shortcrust pastry
- 1 Egg, Beaten, for brushing
Instructions
- Stone the cherries using the gadget linked in the notes.
- Put them into a pan with the sugar, cornflour, vanilla, cinnamon and lemon juice.
- Heat over a medium heat for about 15 minutes, gently stirring.
- When the sauce has thickened, remove from the heat and allow to cool fully.
- Preheat oven to 180℃ fan/200℃/Gas Mark 6.
- Line the bottom of a pie dish with half of the pastry.
- Add the cold cherry filling.
- Top the pie making a simple lattice (see steps in the post above for guidance).
- Brush with beaten egg.
- Bake for about 1 hour until cooked through.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was originally published on July 18, 2017 and updated later to make improvements.
Made the pie from. Your recipe and we all agree it the best cherry pie ever. Thank you
Oh yay! So happy to hear that Gwen. Thanks for your comment.
Wow, Its looking delicious. i love Cherry Pie. I would try it by this weekend for sure. Your recipes are superb.
I love cherry but never tried anything like this. Going to try it soon.
Thanks for sharing.
Oh my goodness that looks completely delicious.We love cherries at Eat Simply too
Hi Sarah, how are you? Just came across your blog today so thought I’d say hello. This cherry pie looks lovely, I think I’ll make this and plop a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. Thanks again and I look forward to reading more from your blog.
My daughter loves cherries so will give this one a try
Oh my gosh, cherry pie is literally my favourite dessert – this looks incredible! x
That looks like a juicy pie! I love cherry time. We are lucky enough to live where the orchards sell their fruit direct to us…… So cherry pie is perfect! x