Recipes

George Washington's Favourite Cherry Pie was the winning recipe for CherryBake on National Cherry Day at Borough Market. Made by Martha Crouch to an American recipe, she used Sunburst cherries from Rent A Cherry Tree in Sussex.

For the Crust

    2 cups flour
    1 tsp salt
    2 tsp sugar
    6 tbsp lard
    6 tbsp unsalted butter
    6 tbsp iced water
    1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water for egg wash

For the Filling

    6 cups pitted cherries
    2 tsp fresh lemon juice
    1/8 tsp ground allspice
    1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
    1/8 tsp almond extract
    1 cup sugar
    2-4 tbsp quick-cooking tapioca

Method

For the crust, combine the flour, salt, sugar and fats with a pastry cutter or in a food processor until the dough has the texture of coarse oatmeal. Sprinkle the water over the mixture little by little and bring together gradually with your hands until it just holds together. Divide the mixture into two balls, flatten into fat discs, wrap in greaseproof paper and clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.

For the filling, toss the filling ingredients together and let sit for 15 minutes. Roll our one ball of dough to fit a 9 inch pie pan. Brush the bottom crust with egg wash. Add the cherry mixture. Place in the ffreezer while rolling out the top crust. Roll out the top crust or make a lattice. Cover the pie with the top crust, cut air vents and glaze with egg wash.

Place the whole pie in the freezer for 10 minutes or refrigerate for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200C.

Place the pie in the oven on a baking sheet and turn the heat down to 180C. Check after 35 minutes and rotate or cover the edges with foil if it's not baking evenly. Bake for 1 hour in total. 

When the pie is done, the crust will be nut brown in colour and the juices will bubble from the lattice or air vents. Allow to cool for 1 hour before serving.