Monday, January 11, 2010

Free form cherry and blackberry pies

Free form cherry and blackberry pies / Tortas de cereja e amora

I got a little carried away with all the beautiful cherries available at this time of the year and ended up buying tons of them: some I ate – delicious! - and some were transformed into baked goods. :)

After some email talk with my friend Ana Elisa – she’d been deciding on whether or not to buy a food processor – I decided to buy one, too. I’ve been using it a lot and even regret not buying it earlier – making the pastry for these tarts was dead easy using my newest toy. :)

Free form cherry and blackberry pies / Tortas de cereja e amora

Free form cherry and blackberry pies
adapted from Donna Hay magazine

1/3 cup (75g) unsalted butter, cold and chopped
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
½ tablespoons caster sugar
1-1 ½ tablespoons iced water

Filling:
1 cup cherries, pitted and halved
1 cup blackberries
1 ½ tablespoons corn starch
2 ½ tablespoons caster sugar
finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
2 tablespoons almond meal
1 tablespoon caster sugar, extra

To make the pastry, process butter, flour and sugar in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. While the motor is still running, add enough iced water to form a soft dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
To make the filling, place the cherries and blackberries in a bowl, sift over the corn starch and add the sugar and lemon zest. Toss to combine.
Divide the pastry in half and roll each piece on a lightly floured surface to 3mm thick. Place the pastry on a large baking sheet lined with baking paper and sprinkle with the almond meal. Pile the berry mixture into the middle of each pastry disc and sprinkle with the extra sugar. Fold over the pastry to form an edge, partially enclosing the berries. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until pastry is golden and crisp.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Serves 2

14 comments:

  1. These look yummy and perfect for a wintery day. I love DH's recipes!

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  2. so pretty!

    where do you get your wooden utensils?

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  3. I love your pink polka dotted napkins!

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  4. Cherries! I'm so ready for cherries. But with temps in the 20s I won't be seeing them any time soon! And I've had a full-size food processor on my to-get list FOREVER. I'm getting one this year. For real this time!

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  5. Envious of your cherry season :) It is freezing here!!!

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  6. Just found your blog..so HAPPY I did. Love your photos!

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  7. I don't have food processor; I always thought I didn't need one. I just figured there’s nothing I can't do with my one two hands. :D :D
    I'm not so sure any more. :D

    I love these pies, they look so adorable. :)

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  8. Looks lovely! Love anything that says free form.. and has cherries in it!

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  9. Beautiful little pies! I'm saving that recipe for cherry season here.

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  10. Beautiful recipe Patricia and I love the styling too! We've got lots of lovely summer berries around at the moment so this is just perfect :)

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  11. Dragana, thank you! I love Donna's recipes, too - she's the best!

    Abi Porter, thank you for stopping by!
    I bought these in London.

    Pam, they're Cath Kidston's - she has lots of polka dot stuff, so pretty!
    Thank you!

    Abby, I hope you do get one - I'm in love with mine! :)

    Maya, and it's insanely hot in here... Wanna swap? ;)

    Figtree, thank you for visiting and for your kind words! ;)

    Andrea, I used to think exactly like you - not anymore. ;)
    Thank you!

    Bethany, thank you for visiting! Anything with cherries is a winner in my book. ;)

    Poppyseed, thank you for stopping by! I hope you give this a try.

    Lorraine, thank you, darling! The more berries, the merrier! :)

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  12. JUST AWESOME! Rustic & moreish, I love free form galettes!

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  13. Patricia, I love, love, love the rustic beauty of these pies. Wonderfully done.

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  14. yum yum! i've been meaning to try making freeform pies/galettes for a while now, i just need to get my butt in gear. regarding the food processor, my brother bought me a mini one for my birthday last year and i totally agree--it's SO useful!

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