Cherry Crumb Pie, a summer dessert made with fresh cherries and a homemade buttery, crumbly golden crust. It has a hint of almond extract which adds a fantastic flavour to an already delicious dessert. Super easy to whip up, a big hit every single time.
Seasonal fruit are such a treat! Take cherries, you can’t possibly get a better taste than in summer when they are fully ripe, juicy and divinely sweet. And if they are amazing on their own, imagine how nice a cherry dessert can be!
I am no stranger to baking pies, although it’s the first time I try a crumb pie. Now, there is not a massive difference apart from the fact that the top is made by scattering buttery dough crumbs over the fruit rather than rolling it to a perfect shape.
But somehow, the deliberate untidy appearance is what makes this pie so amazing, and actually nicer looking than any other classic pie. When you have a bite, you know this is the dessert you are going to have again and again. And rightly so!
If you are a fan of sour cherries, do go for them too! You might not be able to go through lots of them on their own – or maybe you can, but in desserts, jams or any preserves they are absolute heaven.
Do use proper ripen cherries, they will be naturally sweet, so there will be no need to add tons of refined sugar. Plus, they taste better, thus creating a much better, tastier dessert too.
HOW TO MAKE CHERRY CRUMB PIE
Forget about ready-made pastries, this homemade crumbly pastry is the best you can possibly get. You don’t even need that many ingredients, and there is nothing fancy here: butter, flour, sugar, a pinch of salt and almond extract. You can use any other extract you have around, the vanilla one would work quite well too.
But, trust me on this, the almond extract will make the difference between an ok dessert, and a scrumptious dessert. It’s strong enough to give a unique flavour that comes through beautifully in every single bite, and pairs nicely with the cherries. So, I highly recommend using it!
STEP-BY-STEP
- beat the soften butter with the sugar until it becomes light and fluffy – 1-2 minutes with the hand mixer or blender would do
- add the flour, almond extract and a pinch of sugar, and use your hands to mix everything together get crumbs (see picture 4)
- add half of the crumbs to a pie/quiche dish, and press down well to create a crust, also pressing up the sides too
- cover the crust with kitchen foil, add add baking beans or dry pulses to blind bake it
- bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, remove the foil and beans, and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the crust is golden
- in a bowl, mix the pitted cherries with the sugar and cornflour, then add everything to the baked crust (I use a straw to pit the cherries, it’s a brilliant method that works every single time)
- top with the remaining crumbs, and bake for a further 20-25 minutes until the top is golden too
EASY SWAPS
Apart from the almond extract, I wouldn’t make any other swaps to the homemade crumb crust. It’s got the perfect texture, taste and colour, and there is no need for anything extra.
But, when it comes to the filling, that’s a completely different story – we can make any adjustments we like, as long as it’s edible. I have already mentioned that cherries can be replaced with sour cherries. But even frozen cherries can be used too – let them thaw first, and you might need more sugar depending how sweet they are – frozen fruit are rarely sweet enough.
If you want to be adventurous, try any sort of berries, they should all work beautifully with this pie – strawberries, blueberries, gooseberries, blackberries, or any currants, and why not, the gold old rhubarb.
Any other combination of the above fruit would also work too – a fruit salad kind of pie sounds like an exquisite idea to me. Serve the pie with custard, cream or just on its own, it’s still amazing no matter your choice. If you fancy a rather traditional kind of summer pie, why not try my Strawberry Rhubarb Pie? It’s to die for!
If you happen to have way too many cherries, my Homemade No-Churn Cherry Ice Cream without Condensed Milk, Chocolate Chips and Cherry Clafoutis or Fluffy Almond Cherry Muffins are just what you need!
If you’ve liked my CHERRY CRUMB PIE or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Cherry Crumb Pie, a summer dessert made with fresh cherries and a homemade buttery, crumbly golden crust. It has a hint of almond extract which adds a fantastic flavour to an already delicious dessert. Super easy to whip up, a big hit every single time. The fresh cherries can be replaced with sour cherries or frozen cherries or any other berries that are in season.
- 375 g plain flour
- 250 g soften butter
- 100 g sugar
- 1 tsp almond extract
- a pinch of salt
- 350 g pitted cherries
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp cornflour
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Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).
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To make the crust, beat the soften butter with the sugar for 1-2 minutes using an electric mixer - you should have a light, fluffy texture.
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Add the almond extract, flour and salt, and use you hands to rub all the ingredients together until you get crumbs.
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Use half of the crumbs to add to a pie or quiche dish - pressing the crumbs down and up the sides well to create a uniform crust.
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Cover the crust with kitchen foil, and fill the dish with baking beans or dry pulses.
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Bake for 10-15 minutes, remove the foil and beans, and bake for a further 10 minutes until the crust is golden.
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In a large bowl, mix the pitted cherries with the sugar and cornflour, then add them to the baked crust.
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Scatter the remaining crumbs all over the cherries, and bake for a further 20-25 minutes until the top with golden.
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Allow the pie with cool before slicing it.
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Serve it with custard, cream or just on its own.
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Click on the US Customary link to see the measurements displayed in cups and ounces.
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The servings can be adjusted by clicking the number next to Servings.
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