Description
This Vegan Cherry Pie features a flaky, homemade vegan pie crust filled with a luscious cherry filling made from fresh or frozen cherries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Perfectly glazed with vegan butter and baked to golden perfection, this pie offers a delightful balance of tart and sweet flavors with a rich, plant-based twist.
Ingredients
Scale
Pie Crust
- 1 batch vegan pie crust (prepared at least 1 hour ahead)
Cherry Filling
- 600 g fresh or frozen cherries (pitted)
- 150 g granulated sugar (plus extra for garnish)
- 40 g cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Glaze
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter (for glazing)
Instructions
- Prepare the pie crust: Make the vegan pie crust according to your chosen recipe and chill for at least 1 hour before use.
- Prepare cherry filling (fresh cherries): Wash and pit cherries, leaving them whole. Toss cherries with sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to release juices. Strain cherries over a fine mesh sieve, reserving the juice.
- Cook cherry juice: Pour reserved cherry juice into a saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cherries. Cool to room temperature for 10-15 minutes.
- Prepare cherry filling (frozen cherries): Heat frozen cherries gently in a saucepan over medium-low heat for 5 minutes until defrosted. Drain juices into a bowl through a fine mesh sieve.
- Make cornstarch paste: In a medium bowl, whisk sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and ¼ cup strained cherry juice to form a paste.
- Cook filling: Add reserved cherry juices and cornstarch paste back to saucepan. Simmer over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently until thickened. Remove from heat, stir in cherries, and cool 10-15 minutes.
- Preheat oven and prepare tart pan: Preheat oven to 200°C (392°F). Lightly grease tart tin using vegan butter or oil.
- Roll out bottom crust: Remove dough from fridge, rest 5 minutes at room temperature. Roll out one disc larger than tart tin diameter on floured surface. Transfer carefully to tin and press into base and sides. Trim edges and crimp edges. Pierce base with fork holes to prevent bubbling.
- Prepare top crust: Roll out second disc of dough. Place whole or create lattice top. Trim excess pastry, crimp edges to seal. If top is whole, cut slits for steam vents.
- Glaze crust: Melt vegan butter and brush evenly over the top crust. Sprinkle with granulated sugar for sparkle and sweetness.
- Bake the pie: Bake in preheated oven at 200°C (392°F) for 20 minutes. Then reduce heat to 190°C (374°F) and bake another 30 minutes until crust is golden brown and filling bubbly.
- Cool and chill: Let pie cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to a day, to allow filling to set and make slicing easier.
- Store leftovers: Cover leftover pie tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Notes
- For pitting cherries, use a cherry pitter or carefully remove with a knife to keep cherries whole, which improves texture.
- Adjust sugar quantity depending on the sweetness of your cherries and personal preference.
- Chilling the pie before rolling out helps prevent dough shrinkage during baking.
- Allow pie to fully chill after baking to ensure the filling sets properly and slices cleanly.
- You can use fresh or frozen cherries; just follow the appropriate filling method for best results.
