Cherry pie with lime screams of the joys of summer. Once you've pitted the cherries, it's easy to make and tastes miles better than using canned cherries. The zesty lime really lifts the flavour of the sweet cherries.
I absolutely love cherries. As soon as they come into season, I can't wait to buy punnet after punnet of these sweet, juicy orbs. I like how they slow you down as you avoid the pit. You must undertake mindful fruit-eating, lest you crack a tooth on their solid pearls.
is inexpensive and makes it so much easier. Sure, even using the pitter I ended up looking like a Jackson Pollock painting when I had finished, but it didn't take long and a face speckled with cherry juice is an easy price to pay for this sweet, juicy and zesty cherry pie. I've added some extra zing with lime juice and zest, because the two fruits go so beautifully together.
At the bottom of my garden, a cherry tree has just sprung into life. It hasn't had fruit in the years that we've lived here, but after pruning an overgrown bush, we now have fresh cherries! The tree will need a bit of love and attention, but I hope it will bear more fruit next year.
Cherries might just be my favourite fruit. They certainly are during this time of year. I love using them in cherry popsicles with dark chocolate and almonds, in crumble, hand pies and just raw from the bag.
Jamie Oliver Bakeware sent me this lovely pale blue pie dish and some pretty wooden spoons and asked me to come up with a recipe. I knew at once that it had to be a cherry pie. The bakeware is a lovely shade of blue and is all so pretty, as well as great quality and perfectly functional.
Cherry pies are so popular in North America (happy 4th of July, American readers!), so they remind me of growing up near Vancouver. I love nostalgic foods and how a method of cooking or a smell can transport you back in time. Looking back, I remember making pastry with my mum when I was a little girl, helping her to roll out the pastry and taking a few cheeky nibbles of the dough. I recall playing with my sisters in the garden while eating cherries and seeing who could spit the pits the furthest into a jar.
I wonder what food memories my children will have when they grow up? What cooking smells will capture a moment for them to look back upon and smile.
If you make this cherry pie recipe, please tag it with #veggiedesserts on Instagram or other social media. I LOVE seeing your recreations of my recipes.
This vegan lime and fresh cherry pie is easy to make with shop bought pastry, though you may need a cherry pitter gadget to help pitting the fresh cherries.
Line a 23cm/9in pie or tart tin with the shortcrust pastry, trim the edges and reserve and refrigerate the excess pastry. Line the bottom with baking paper then weigh it down with baking beans or dried rice. Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden.
Remove the paper and baking beans and cook the tart for a further 7 minutes. Remove from the oven but leave the oven on.
Meanwhile, make the filling: Remove the pits from the cherries with a pitter gadget (much easier!) or carefully with a knife.
Add the cherries to a large saucepan over a medium heat with the water, sugar, vanilla, most of the lime zest (reserve some for decoration) and the lime juice. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pour in the cornstarch slurry and stir to combine. Bring back to the boil, then remove the pan from the heat. It will be thick but not overly gelatinous.
Roll out the excess pastry and cut into desired shapes.
Pour the filling into the pie shell and top with the pastry shapes. Brush the pastry shapes with milk (dairy or non-dairy) and bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 175C/350F and cook for a further 30 minutes.
Allow the pie to cool for a few hours before serving cold. Keep in the refrigerator.
Disclosure: I was commissioned to create a recipe using Jamie Oliver Bakeware. All opinions are my own.
Oh a cherry tart. How utterly glorious. I finally bought a cherry pitter last year, what a revelation! Just need to make sure I use it this year.
This looks as though it would taste delicious! I could do with a slice and a big dollop of vanilla ice – cream. Delicious.
Such a beautiful pie! I think I need to invest in a cherry pitter so I can give this darling a go!
What a gorgeous pie, and I love the lime/cherry flavour combination! I've been baking with cherries today too – they are just irresistible at the moment!
I don't think I've ever had cherry pie before but somehow I know I would just love this. Love the hint of lime in it too, and your pretty star topping! Just gorgeous.
This is such a beautiful pie! We are eating a lot of cherries at the moment and cherry pie is a favourite of ours.
Cherry Pie always makes me think of Twin Peaks! This one is a stunner.