Homemade Cherry Pie Filling

Before you start

Cooking cherry filling on the stovetop before it goes into a crust solves the most common cherry pie problem: a filling that floods the plate when cut. Heating the cherries with sugar draws out their juice, and bringing that juice to a full boil with cornstarch thickens it before baking, so you can see and adjust the consistency instead of guessing.

Sour (tart) cherries such as Montmorency give the classic bright flavor and hold their shape. Sweet cherries work but need less sugar and more lemon to keep the filling from tasting flat. The cornstarch must boil for a full minute to reach its full thickening power; undercooked starch tastes chalky and turns runny. Use the filling cooled, never hot, or it will melt a pastry crust.

Ingredients

• 900 g (about 6 cups) pitted sour cherries — fresh or frozen; thaw frozen cherries and keep the juice
• 170 g (¾ cup + 2 tbsp) granulated sugar — use 110 g for sweet cherries
• 35 g (¼ cup + 1 tsp) cornstarch
• 60 ml (¼ cup) water — or reserved cherry juice
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice — use 2 tbsp for sweet cherries
• ¼ tsp almond extract
• 1 pinch fine salt
• 1 tbsp (15 g) unsalted butter

Method

1. Combine the cherries, any juice and the sugar in the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes, until the sugar dissolves and the cherries release plenty of juice.
2. Whisk the cornstarch and water in a small bowl until completely smooth, with no lumps at the bottom.
3. Stir the slurry into the cherries. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a full, rolling boil, stirring constantly so the bottom does not scorch.
4. Boil for 1 minute after the bubbles cover the whole surface. The juice will turn from cloudy to clear and glossy and thick enough to coat the spatula heavily.
5. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the lemon juice, almond extract, salt and butter until the butter melts.
6. Spread the filling in a shallow dish so it cools quickly and evenly. Cool to room temperature, about 1 hour, before using it in a pie, or refrigerate it until needed.
7. For a 23 cm (9 in) pie, spoon the cooled filling into the bottom crust, top with lattice or a full crust and bake at 200°C (400°F) for 20 minutes, then 190°C (375°F) for 30 to 40 minutes, until the crust is deep golden and the filling bubbles thickly through the vents.

Tips for success

• Taste the cherries before adding sugar. Sour cherries vary widely in acidity from tree to tree and year to year.
• Pit cherries over a bowl so you catch every drop of juice, and use it in place of the water in the slurry.
• Thick bubbling in the center of the pie, not just at the edges, tells you the filling has heated through and the crust is ready.

Substitutions

Cornstarch

Use 40 g instant ClearJel if you plan to freeze the filling. It stays thick through freezing and thawing, where cornstarch can weep slightly.

Sour cherries

Sweet cherries make a softer, mellower filling. Use 110 g sugar and 2 tbsp lemon juice to keep the flavor lively.

Almond extract

Use ½ tsp vanilla extract, or 1 tbsp kirsch stirred in at the end. Almond is traditional because cherries and almonds share flavor compounds.

Variations

Mixed berry filling

Replace the cherries with 900 g mixed blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, use 150 g sugar and leave out the almond extract.

Cheesecake topping

Halve the recipe, cook it until slightly thicker, cool completely and spoon it over a chilled cheesecake just before serving.

Troubleshooting

Filling is runny after baking

The cornstarch was not boiled for a full minute, or the pie was cut warm. Boil until glossy and clear, and let a baked pie cool at least 3 hours.

Filling tastes starchy or chalky

The slurry was undercooked. Return the filling to the pan and boil it for 1 minute more, stirring constantly.

Filling became gluey after reheating

Cornstarch thins and then thickens again if it is stirred hard while hot. Stir gently, and avoid long boiling.

Storage

Refrigerate cooled filling in a covered container for up to 5 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months; cornstarch fillings may loosen a little after thawing. This recipe is for refrigerator or freezer storage only and is not designed for home canning.