Tart Cherry Pie with Spiced Pie Crust

Place flour, sugar, salt, five spice, and cinnamon into a large bowl. Mix to combine.

Cut butter into cubes and add to the flour. Toss lightly to coat. Working quickly, using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mixture until there are only pea-sized chunks left. You want a few lumps of butter remaining to keep the pastry nice and tender.

Combine ice, water and cider vinegar in a bowl. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the ice water into the flour and butter mixture, and using a stiff spatula or your hands, mix in well.

Continue adding water one tablespoon at a time (I normally need about 3/4 to 1 cup, but add slowly) until you have a dough that holds together well, but is not too wet. Squeeze together with your fingertips to make a homogenous dough.

Divide the dough into two – I like to do a 1/3 to 2/3 split. Shape the smaller portion into a disc and the larger into a rectangle.

If desired, roll out and perform letter folds after an hour of resting (see notes). Rest in the fridge for at least two hours, or preferably overnight.

Place the thawed Montmorency Tart Cherries and their juices into a medium saucepan, add the vanilla, and place over medium heat.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, salt, and corn starch.

Add the dry ingredients to the saucepan and stir to combine using a rubber spatula. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens and the juices turn from cloudy to clear with a darker color, 3-4 minutes.

Transfer to an airtight container and allow to cool completely in the fridge.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the disc of pie dough into a circle slightly larger than your pie dish. You want it to be approximately 1/8 inch (3mm) in thickness. Line a 9″ pie dish, leaving the extra dough overhanging. Trim the dough so there is about 1 inch overlapping the edge of your dish.

Transfer the cooled Montmorency Tart Cherry filling to the crust and smooth down. Place in the fridge while you prepare the lattice.

Roll out the second piece of dough (the rectangle) into a rough rectangle approximately 1/8 inch thick. Use a pastry cutter to cut strips for your lattice. Place your strips onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and store in the fridge until ready to use. Press together the scraps and re-roll, these are good for extra lattice strips or for using pie stamps to cut out for the border – freeze for 10 minutes or so before stamping out to help the stamps hold their shape.

Whisk together the ingredients for the egg wash.

Arrange the strips of pie dough on the top of the pie, weaving into your desired lattice. If you are adding stamps, trim any overlapping pie dough and lattice strips so that they are flush with the edge of the pie dish, then glue on the stamps with a little egg wash. If you are crimping, trim the crust with a little overhang and then crimp as desired.

Rest the pie in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. While the pie is resting in the fridge, preheat the oven to 220°C. Place a baking tray on the bottom rack of the oven.

Brush the pie with egg wash and sprinkle liberally with raw sugar. Bake at 220˚C for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is set and beginning to go golden. Reduce the temperature 190°C and bake until the pastry is deeply golden and the filling is bubbling slightly, 50 to 60 minutes.

Store leftovers wrapped in foil at room temperature and re-warm slightly when serving.