The Best Cherry Pie Recipe Ever (video!) (2024)

FAQs

Should you prebake the bottom crust of a cherry pie? ›

If you struggle with a pale, pasty bottom crust in your fruit pie, then yes, you can prebake it — with a couple of caveats: Choose a single-crust fruit pie, one with a crumb or streusel topping.

By mixing cornstarch with the filling ingredients. The starch will thicken up the cherry juices as it bakes so that it's syrupy and not runny!

If you don't leave the pie in the oven long enough your thickener doesn't get to the necessary temperature and time to thicken your filling. You want to see thick bubbling! The bubbling of the filling is activating the natural gelatin of your fruit as well as your thickeners.

The most common way to ward off a soggy pie crust is by a process called blind baking. Blind baking means you pre-bake the crust (sometimes covered with parchment or foil and weighed down with pie weights to prevent the crust from bubbling up) so that it sets and crisps up before you add any wet filling.

We like tapioca in blueberry, cherry or peach pies. Arrowroot, unlike cornstarch, is not broken down by the acid in the fruit you are using so it is a good choice for fruit with a higher content of acidity such as strawberries or blackberries.

Next Time You're Making Cherry Pie, Don't Skip Past The Frozen Fruit Aisle. While canned cherry filling is a time saver, it may come with an aftertaste that you didn't anticipate.

Sweet cherry varieties, such as Bing, Rainier, and Lapins, are best for eating fresh due to their sweet and juicy flesh. On the other hand, bakers prefer tart cherry varieties, including Montmorency and Morello, for making pies and preserves because of their tangy flavor and firm texture.

Tip: What's the best way to tell if your pie is done? For fruit pie, the top crust will be golden brown, and you'll be able to see filling bubbling around the edges and/or through the vents. For best results, let the filling bubble for at least 5 minutes before removing the pie from the oven.

A soggy bottom crust happens when the wet filling of your pie soaks into the raw pie dough beneath before it's had a chance to set, causing it to become sodden and gummy. This is particularly problematic with both fruit pie and custard fillings because they have high moisture content.

How can you tell if cherry pie filling is bad? ›

You can tell if the cherry pie filling has gone bad if it exhibits a strange odor, discoloration, or mold. If the can is bulging, leaking, or has rust, it is unsafe to eat. For homemade filling, if there are any signs of mold or an off smell, discard it.

Cornstarch has thickening power similar to Instant ClearJel. Like flour, it lends a cloudy, semi-transparent look to filling. It can also give filling a starchy taste.

Crust dust is a 1:1 mixture of flour and granulated sugar. When baking a pie, especially a fruit pie, a couple of teaspoons of crust dust sprinkled into the bottom of the crust will help prevent the crust from becoming saturated with juicy filling as it bakes.

You do not need to pre-bake a pie crust for an apple pie or any baked fruit pie really, but we do freeze the dough to help it stay put. Pre-baking the pie crust is only required when making a custard pie OR when making a fresh fruit pie. you should probably get: Pie weights are super helpful to have for pre-baking.

Bake: For a pie that you will cook further, like a quiche, bake the crust until it's dry and just beginning to brown, but still pale in color, 45-50 minutes. For a pie that will need no further baking, like a chocolate cream pie, bake the crust until it's evenly browned and crisp-looking, 60 to 75 minutes.