Cherry Pie Filling
Cherries give up so much juice that without starch any pie made with them turns into a swamp. Here the juice is not poured away but cooked, and it turns into a clear ruby syrup that holds the fruit in place. You can see the moment it is ready: the mixture goes from cloudy pink to suddenly clear and deep. That is the signal to take it off the heat.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Rest
- 1 h
- Total
- 1 h 25 min
- Servings
- 8
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 130 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
For sweet cherries cut the sugar to 100 g and add another spoon of lemon juice: without acidity the filling is cloying.
Makes: About 900 g of filling, one 24 cm pie
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Prepare the cherries
Pit fresh cherries; do not thaw frozen ones — tip them straight into the pan, they release their water as they cook.
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Step 2: Mix the dry
Stir the sugar, cornflour and salt together in a separate bowl. The starch has to meet the sugar dry: tipped into liquid it seizes into lumps at once.
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Step 3: Heat the cherries
Put the cherries in a pan with the water and lemon juice and bring to the boil over medium heat. They release their juice and the mixture goes thin and cloudy.
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Step 4: Add sugar and starch
Tip in the mixture and stir immediately. Cook 5–10 minutes, stirring constantly, until the syrup thickens and clears — the colour shifts from pink to deep ruby.
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Step 5: Check the set
Draw a spoon across the bottom of the pan: the trail should hold for a second before closing. If it runs back at once, give it another minute.
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Step 6: Cool it
Take it off the heat and cool completely, first on the counter, then at least an hour in the fridge. It thickens further as it cools, so do not chase it with more starch.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Pit the cherries over a bowl — half the flavour is in the juice that escapes. Tip it into the pan with the fruit.
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Swap
For sweet cherries cut the sugar to 100 g and add another spoon of lemon juice: without acidity the filling is cloying.
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Variation
Two drops of almond extract or a spoonful of cherry liqueur lift the cherry flavour in a way no amount of sugar does.
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Storage
Five days in the fridge, six months frozen. Thaw in the fridge and stir before using.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 8 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 130 kcal | 1,040 kcal |
| Protein | 1 g | 8 g |
| Fat | 0 g | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 32 g | 256 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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