Winter Cherry Pie is a wonderful dessert that evokes memories of summer fruits in the cold season! The secret of the “winter” version often lies in the use of frozen cherries and an extra spicy, rich shortcrust pastry.

Here is a recipe for a truly tender, juicy and melt-in-your-mouth Winter Cherry Pie:

🍒 Winter Cherry Pie
I. Ingredients
A. Shortcrust pastry (for approx. 26 cm pie)
Ingredient Quantity Note
Flour $300\, \text{g}$ Cold flour.
Butter $200\, \text{g}$ Very cold butter, cut into cubes.
Ice cold water $5\, \text{ek}$ (approx.)
Powdered sugar $2\, \text{ek}$
Salt $1\, \text{pinch}$
B. Cherry Filling


Ingredient Quantity Note
Cherries (frozen) $600\, \text{g}$ Use without thawing!
Granulated sugar $150\, \text{g}$ Or to taste, depending on the acidity of the cherries.
Cornstarch $3\, \text{ek}$ To thicken the juice.
Lemon juice $1\, \text{ek}$
Vanilla extract $1\, \text{tk}$
Cinnamon $1/2\, \text{tk}$ For the winter flavor.
II. Preparation

1. Making Shortcrust Pastry (The Secret)
   Dry: Mix together flour, powdered sugar, and salt.
   Butter: Quickly work the very cold butter cubes into the flour (by hand, with a fork, or with a food processor) until the mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs. This is the key to shortcrust pastry.
   Adding Water: Add the ice-cold water a tablespoon at a time until the dough just comes together into a ball. Do not over-knead!
   Refrigerate: Divide the dough into two balls ($2/3$ for the bottom sheet, $1/3$ for the top). Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least $1$ hour.
2. Make the Filling
   
   
   Prepare the cherries: Combine the frozen cherries (no need to thaw), sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large bowl. The starch will prevent the frozen fruit from making the pie too watery.
3. Assemble and Bake
   Dough Base: Preheat oven to $200\, \text{°C}$. Roll out the larger dough ball on a floured surface and line a $26\, \text{cm}$ pie pan. Trim off any excess edges.
   Filling: Pour the cherry filling over the base.
   Topping: Roll out the remaining dough and place on top of the pie (or make a lattice). Cut a few holes for steam to escape.
   Seal the edges: Press the edges together and brush the top of the pie with beaten egg, then sprinkle with a little sugar.
   
   
   Baking:
   High temperature: Bake for $15\, \text{minutes}$ at $200\, \text{°C}$.
   Reducing: Then reduce the temperature to $180\, \text{°C}$ and bake for a further $35$–$45\, \text{minutes}$ until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
4. Cooling (The Juicy Secret)
   The pie will only be truly juicy if you let the filling set. Let the pie cool for at least $2$–$3\, \text{hours}$ before cutting it.

Bon appetit with this winter delicacy!