The cult classic Twin Peaks is returning to television this week. Which means coffee “black as midnight on a moonless night” and cherry pie will also be making a comeback.
Since few things are darker than Special Agent Dale Cooper’s investigation of Laura Palmer’s death, I decided my cherry pie had to reflect that. So I painted the base of my shell with melted 85% dark chocolate before filling it with the darkest sweetest cherries I could find.
Below is the recipe. I hope you like it.
Ingredients for the pie shell and top crust:
170 g cold unsalted butter
400 g cold flour
1 tsp cold Crisco (or another vegetable shortening like Trex)
1/4 c ice water
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 egg yolk (save the white for later)
1 tsp caster sugar
a pinch of sea salt
10 g dark chocolate
Method: Cut the fat into the dry ingredients (excluding the chocolate). You can do it with a fork or pastry cutter or blitz them in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined. Shape the dough into two disks. Cover them with plastic wrap and chill them in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Place a rack in the lower middle position of the oven and preheat it to 425°F/220°C/Gas7.
Roll out one round and place it in a 9″ pie dish. Line the dough with baking paper and fill with weights.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove the parchment and weights.
Poke some shallow holes in the crust with a fork then return it to the oven. Bake it for another 5 minutes or until the crust looks dry.
Turn off the oven and remove the pie shell. Allow it to cool completely.
While it’s cooling, melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler. Once the chocolate has melted, use a kitchen brush to paint it on the bottom of the pie shell. Allow the chocolate to cool.
Now it’s time to make the pie filling.
Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/Gas 6.
Ingredients for the filling:
750 g pitted cherries (I mix sour cherries with sweet cherries)
1/4 c corn starch
1/2 cup to 2/3 cup caster sugar (add enough to suit your taste)
the juice of 1 lemon
a pinch of salt
a drop of vanilla extract
Method: Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. If your cherries are very juicy, you can cook down the liquid sans cherries until it thickens up a bit. Pour the filling into the chocolate lined pie shell. Roll out your top crust and place it over the filling.
Brush the top of the pie with a bit of egg white. Sprinkle it with Demerara sugar if you have any to hand.
Bake the pie for 25 minutes on the middle rack.
Then reduce the heat to 350°F/180°C/Gas 4 and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling and the crust is brown.
Allow the pie to cool before serving. This will give the filling time to set. If you cut into it while it’s still hot, the filling will run allover the place.
Chagrinnamon Toast 