Name: Cherry pie
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 500g ready-made shortcrust pastry, see recipe below; for dusting plain flour; 350g black cherries, pitted (if using frozen, defrost, then drain well); 100g after draining cherries in kirsch from a jar; 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract; 3 tbsp cornflour; 4 tbsp icing sugar; ½ lemon, juiced; 1 egg, beaten; 2 tbsp demerara sugar; to serve squirty cream

500g ready-made shortcrust pastry
see recipe below
for dusting plain flour
350g black cherries
pitted (if using frozen, defrost, then drain well)
100g after draining cherries in kirsch from a jar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
3 tbsp cornflour
4 tbsp icing sugar
½ lemon
juiced
1 egg
beaten
2 tbsp demerara sugar
to serve squirty cream

Method

step 1
Cut off 1 / 3 of the pastry and put aside. Roll out the remaining 2 / 3 on a lightly floured worksurface to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use a rolling pin to drape into a 20cm metal loose-bottomed straight-sided tin (3.5cm deep), ensuring it fits into the corners. Trim the edge to leave 1cm of overhanging pastry, then chill. Roll out the remaining pastry into a circle 1cm bigger than the tin, put onto a baking-paper-lined tray and chill.
step 2
Tip all the cherries into a bowl and add the vanilla, cornflour, icing sugar and lemon juice. Toss gently, then carefully tip into the pie base. Drape the pastry lid over the top, trim any excess, then crimp together with the overhanging pastry until tightly sealed all the way around. Use a small, sharp knife to cut a 1cm cross in the centre to allow steam to escape. Brush the top with some of the beaten egg then chill for 30 minutes.
step 3
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Brush the pie again with more beaten egg and sprinkle over the sugar. Bake for 45 minutes until the pastry is golden brown, covering with foil if it gets too dark. Cool for 15 minutes, then carefully remove the pie from the tin, cut into wedges and serve with squirty cream.