Rye flour makes a hearty golden pastry, which makes for a beautiful contrast to the dark red cherry juices that ooze out of this pie, dappling the surface with sticky pools of cherry toffee.
SERVES 8
FOR THE PASTRY
- 200g rye flour
- 200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 tbsp raw cane crystals
- Pinch of sea salt
- 225g cold, unsalted butter
- 120ml ice cold water
- Half tsp almond extract
FOR THE FILLING
- 450g ripe dark red cherries, stoned and stems removed
- 2 tbsp rye flour
- 150g raw cane crystals
- 50g ground almonds
FOR THE GLAZE
- 1 tbsp milk
- Half tsp raw cane crystals
- To make the pastry, sift the flours into a large mixing bowl and mix in the raw cane crystals and salt. Mix the water with the almond extract in a cup.
- Dice the butter into roughly 1cm cubes and rub into the flour very lightly and quickly with your fingertips to make a texture of coarse breadcrumbs, with some big pea-sized bits of butter still visible. Add 100ml of the almond water a little at a time, mixing it in gently with your fingers. Keep adding water tbsp by tbsp until the dough is wet enough to hold together in a ball.
- Divide the dough into two equal discs and cover with cling film. Chill for at least 30 mins, but preferably overnight. The pastry dough can be stored in the freezer at this stage for up to 2 weeks.
- Heat the oven to 220C/gas 7 and grease a 23cm diameter pie dish with butter.
- To make the filling, put the cherries in a large non-reactive bowl with the flour and cane crystals, and set aside.
- Dust the counter and a rolling pin with rye flour. Using the rolling pin, roll out one disc of pastry into a circle approx. 30cm in diameter and 3mm thick.
- Fold the pastry in half gently, then transfer it to the pie dish using the rolling pin. Press the sides gently to fill the corners and cut away any excess pastry with a knife.
- Sprinkle the ground almonds over the bottom of the pie, then pour in the cherry mixture and spread evenly.
- Remove the second pastry disc from the refrigerator and roll out to a circle approx. 30cm in diameter and 3mm thick. Transfer the pastry to the top of the pie using the rolling pin and press down the edges of the pie to seal the pastry. Cut away any excess pastry, re-roll and cut into leaf-shaped decorations using a sharp knife.
- Top the pie with the pastry leaves and brush with milk. Sprinkle with raw cane crystals and bake in the preheated oven for 15 mins, then reduce the heat to 190C/gas 5.
- Bake for approx. 25 mins, then check if it is deep golden brown. Bake for 15–20 mins more, then remove from the oven. Set aside for 5 mins before serving warm, or cool completely and then serve cold.
The No-Sugar! Desserts & Baking Cookbook by Ysanne Spevack, published by Lorenz Books