Hello everyone,

As mentioned in my last post, my friend Micheline and I were fortunate enough to take a pie making class through Edmonton’s beloved Duchess Bakery.

During our class, we made apple pie, banana cream pie, butter tarts, pie dough and my favourite – sour cream cherry pie. It was a very productive few hours!

One of our instructors, Sharileen, is the genius responsible for this wonderful pie recipe. Like many Albertans, she grew up with a sour cherry tree in her yard. She wanted to find something to do with the sour cherries and came up with this recipe, changing the lives of Edmontonians for the better.

The sour cherry pie filling is a shockingly simple 4 ingredients: Sour cherries, sour cream, flour and sugar.

One thing that was kind of fun about this pie was that we did a lattice top. It looks pretty complicated but is very easy. Roll out your dough approx. the size and shape of a pie top and cut into strips (a pizza cutter works nicely.) Simply place each strip on top of the pie to create the lattice as you like, no need to weave them together all fancy-like, just keep it simple!

Before baking the pie, be sure to brush the crust with an egg-white/cream mixture, and sprinkle with white sugar. The egg whites will make the pie crust shine and the cream will help it brown nicely.

As for the sour cherries, they are definitely seasonal. If you have access to a sour cherry tree, then you are in the money! If not, Edmontonians can go to Duchess Provisions (the branch of the bakery that sells baking tools and products) and purchase the cherries frozen. They sell them in exact portions to make this pie.

PIE TIPS FROM THE CLASS (pay attention, these tips are gold!!)

• To get the dough on the pan, fold rolled dough in half before sliding the pan underneath.
• Once dough is placed on pan, use a kitchen scissors to cut hanging dough around the perimeter of the pie pan, leaving about 1 inch overhang.
• When sealing the edges of the pie, fold excess overhung dough underneath itself so it just comes over the edge of the pie pan.
• Before baking, brush pie with an egg white – cream mixture, and sprinkle with white sugar. THIS IS KEY!

If you are interested in Giselle’s dough recipe for you pie, click here.

This pie is insanely good. Like pure insanity.

Micheline and I had a blast at our pie making class, and learned so many tricks that we are excited to employ in all of our future pie making endeavours! If you are interested in taking a baking class through Duchess Provisions, here is a link to their website: https://duchessprovisions.com/

Special thanks to Giselle and Sharileen for hosting such a fun class and sharing all their great pie-making knowledge with us. In a round crust covered cherry filled world, these women are gods!

Bon appetit,

Julie

Other post in this series:

Duchess Bake Shop Pie Class Part 1: Pie Dough

Click here for printable PDF version of recipe:
Sharileen’s Sour Cream Cherry Pie

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Sharileen’s Sour Cream Cherry Pie
Courtesy of Duchess Bake Shop

EQUIPMENT:

9 inch pie plate

INGREDIENTS:

1 Batch Easy Mixer Pie Dough
440g (3 and ½ cups) fresh or frozen pitted sour cherries
175g (3/4 cup + 2 tbsp) sugar
40g (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour
122g (1/2 cup) sour cream

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 375 F

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the cherries, sugar, and flour. Add the sour cream and stir until all ingredients are combined. If your cherries are really juicy and look a bit watery, stir in another 2 tsp flour.
2. Roll the pie dough and shape the shell. Fill the pie with the filling (level, not heaping) and then cover the pie with a lattice top and finish with egg wash (egg whites and cream)
3. Bake for 70-75 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling and thickened. Allow the pie to cool completely before serving.

STORAGE:

This pie will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.