Cherry Pie with Frozen Cherries

This delicious cherry pie with frozen cherries features a flaky homemade pie crust and a flavorful cherry filling. It’s perfect when fresh cherries aren’t in season.

Frozen cherries are an easy way to enjoy fruit pies year-round, especially when fresh cherries aren’t in season. The filling is a delightful mix of frozen dark cherries, lemon juice, zest, sugar, and almond extract thickened with corn starch.

Frozen fruit is an easy way to enjoy fruit pies year-round, especially when that particular fresh fruit isn’t in season. I love making my blueberry pie with frozen blueberries all year round too.

It’s paired with a buttery crust. My favorite pie crust recipe with yogurt makes it lovely and tender. I’ve also got a recipe for pie crust using lemon juice or vinegar that does a similar thing.

Ingredients

Find the ingredient amounts for this homemade cherry pie recipe in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

A 9-inch double pie crust. This pie uses a homemade double pie crust but you could use store bought.
Frozen dark sweet cherries. A convenient choice when fresh cherries are unavailable. Using frozen cherries means no cherry pitter is needed!
Lemon juice and lemon zest. Adds brightness and balance to the cherry mixture.
Sugar: Sweetens the cherry filling and complements the tart cherries perfectly.
Almond extract: Enhances the cherry flavor beautifully.
Cornstarch: Thickens the cherry filling to the perfect consistency.
Salt – A flavor enhancer
Butter – A few cubes of butter dotted on top of the filling adds richness.

Equipment

9-inch pie pan

Method

The flaky crust

Whisk the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.

Add the cold butter to the bowl and use a pastry cutter or your fingers to cut the butter into the flour mixture into coarse crumbs, with a few pea-sized pieces.

Add the yogurt to the bowl and stir until the dough comes together.

Use a fork or your hands to combine the dough into a shaggy ball, and add in as much chilled water as needed, a teaspoon at a time.

It should hold together easily when pressed but not be sticky. If the dough is crumbly, add a bit more water.

If the butter has softened or the dough is warm, place it in the fridge for 30 minutes before continuing with the next step.

Roll the dough Into a rough 10-Inch (25cm) rectangle on a lightly floured work surface. Fold the bottom third of the dough up to the middle, then fold the top third over it, creating a pamphlet shape.

Turn the dough a quarter turn, and repeat the roll-and-fold process once more.

Cut the dough into two equal portions, and gently shape each piece into a flat disc using your cupped hands.

Wrap each dough disc tightly in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. Chill it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days before using it.

The filling

The homemade cherry pie filling is cooked and cooled before adding to the pie. Combine the frozen cherries, cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juice, almond extract, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan.

Place on low heat until the frozen cherries release some liquid, stirring occasionally. Turn the heat to medium and occasionally stir until the mixture heats up thoroughly. Take care not to squash the cherries too much.

Once the mixture starts bubbling, let it boil while carefully stirring for two minutes until it becomes thick and glossy, losing its cloudy appearance.

Pour the hot cherry mixture into a large bowl and cool to room temperature

The cherry filling can also be made a couple of days in advance. Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator until needed.

Assembling

Roll out one pie dough disc into a 12-inch/30cm circle using a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface. Lightly dust the top of the pastry with flour, then gently roll it up the rolling pin like a spiral.

Transfer it to a pie dish and carefully unroll it from the rolling pin until it’s draped over the pie plate and overhangs the sides.

Scoop the cooled cherry pie filling into the bottom crust and spread it out.

Dot on little cubes of butter.

Roll out the second pie crust disc into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured work surface.

Drape this second layer of the pie to create a whole top crust (with a few slits cut into it) or cut into strips for a lattice crust.

Lattice crust

Cut dough into 10-12 strips of dough, depending on how wide strips you prefer. Lay 5-6 strips vertically on top of the pie. The longest strips will go in the middle of the pie, and the shorter strips can go on the ends.

Fold back every second strip halfway. Lay one of the unused strips horizontally in the middle of the pie. Lay it over top of the strips that haven’t been folded back. Unfold the folded strips so they cover the horizontal strip.

Repeat this now but with the other vertical strips. Fold them back and add a horizontal strip, to create a weaved pattern. Continue with the remaining strips until the whole pie is covered.

Cut off the uneven excess dough overhang. Leave enough overhang so you can roll and pinch together the top crust and bottom crust of the pie. Flute the edges of the pastry with your fingers.

Brush the top of the pie crust with egg wash.

Baking

Bake pie at 425°F/220°C for 15 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 375°F/190°C and continue baking for a further 50-60 minutes until the filling is thick and does the occasional bubble.

The pastry should be a deep golden brown. If the pastry is browning too fast, loosely cover it with aluminum foil. However, don’t fear a deep golden brown crust. This is what brings flavor and flakiness. You want the crust to be thoroughly cooked and crisp.

Serving

Once baked, remove the hot pie from the one and let it cool down to room temperature on a wire rack. Let the pie cool completely for a firmer filling, and refrigerate it for a few hours once cold.

Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

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