BADA BING
"The whole thing is that cherries have the finest time line of any produce," said Geary, a cooking instructor, author of several baking books, and former Disneyland pastry chef who lives in Fullerton, Calif. "We can have berries year-round, but cherries are now."
There are two main groups of cherries - sour and sweet. Although sour cherries (your Montmorencys, your Morellos) make excellent fresh-fruit pies and preserves, they are unavailable commercially in much of the country.
(You can buy sour cherries canned and frozen, but save this for another time of year when fresh cherries of any variety aren't to be had.) And you can just break yourself of the habit of using the canned neon red glop called cherry pie filling.
What we do have access to right now, in abundance, are Bings, those dark, firm-fleshed sweeties. "This is a great year for cherries; the growers finally have something to sell," said Michael Marks, marketing manager for FreshPoint produce distributor. "These past several years have been horrible. If it wasn't a frost or rain at the wrong time, it was hail, or too warm of a winter.
"This year, the stars were in the right order and we are having a record cherry crop, not in quantity but in quality."
Marks says there are two things to look for when purchasing fresh Bing cherries for baking or for eating out of hand. Shiny fruit that reflects the glare from the supermarket lights means the cherries are very fresh. Green stems are another indicator of freshness.
"Cherries don't ripen once they are picked," Marks said. "If you see that stems have fallen off, those cherries have been around a while."
Don't go for bright red fruit, either, Marks said. Bings should have a dark mahogany color.
"I tell people, when baking with fruit, find the best you can. Always taste before you buy," he added.
"It's like wine. You cook with wine you are going to drink. You should bake with cherries that you would want to eat. Use the best-flavored cherries you can in that pie so people will think you are Martha Stewart."
Marks also suggests sticking to Bings for baking. Rainiers, while super sweet and lovely to eat out of hand, lack the acid and complexity you would want in a dessert.
George Geary isn't so picky. He likes to take advantage of whatever cherries are available at his local farmers markets. You can always adjust the amount of sugar in cherry pie filling, he said. He avoids using frozen and canned products because the sugar has already been added.
As for making a cherry pie, Geary advises cooks to relax. In one of his cookbooks, he gave thanks to his grandmother for never teaching him how to cook. He blames grandmothers everywhere for instilling pie-making fear in the hearts of many. Grandmas don't measure ingredients; it's just a pinch of this and a smidgen of that. Inexperienced cooks find it hard to replicate this cavalier approach.
"Don't be afraid. So many people are afraid because they want it precise, and pie making isn't precise ... or that hard."
Countering some complaints that cherry pie filling can be runny, Geary said, "If you really have a lot of liquid, you can't do much about that. Just scrape it out of the pie pan, put it in a glass and call it something else and nobody will know it was supposed to be pie."
Truly the hardest part about baking with fresh cherries? The pits.
A cherry pitter (available in cookware specialty stores) is probably the easiest way to get the stone out of the fruit. A paper clip can serve as a makeshift pitter, too. Unfold a paper clip at its center, and depending on the size of the cherry, insert either the large or small end of the clip through the top of the stemmed cherry. Loosen the pit, and pull it out.
Or, if you have world enough and time, you can cut each cherry in half by running the tip of a sharp paring knife around each, starting at the stem. Gently twist cherries to separate halves, and remove pits.
No matter which method you choose, after you have been pitting for a while, your kitchen will no doubt take on the look of an abattoir. Perhaps Geary's single best tip for making a cherry pie?
"Don't wear white."
CHERRY TURNOVERS
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 (17.25-ounce, 2 sheets) box frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 (12-ounce bag) frozen cherries or 2 cups fresh cherries, pitted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 large egg yolk, beaten with 2 teaspoons water (for egg wash)
2 to 3 tablespoons coarse sanding (or granulated) sugar
Yields 8 servings.
Preheat oven to 375 F. On lightly floured surface, using a rolling pin, roll out each sheet of dough, still folded (see note) into a 10x14-inch rectangle (trim edges straight with a pizza cutter or knife). Cut each rectangle into quarters to form 8 small rectangles.
In medium bowl, combine cherries, flour, granulated sugar and lemon juice; toss to coat.
Mound cherry mixture on 1 side of each rectangle, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Lightly brush border with water; fold other side of pastry over cherry mixture, and press edges firmly to seal. With floured fork, crimp edges.
Transfer turnovers to baking sheet. With paring knife, cut 3 to 4 slits in top of each turnover. Brush tops with egg wash, and sprinkle with sanding sugar.
Bake until turnovers are golden and puffed, and filling is bubbling, 30 to 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Note: Some sheets of puff pastry come folded over a piece of paper; unfold pastry, remove paper and carefully fold again.
- Everyday Food, April 2007.
CHERRY LATTICE PIE
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 pounds (3 1/2 cups) fresh Bing cherries, pitted and juices reserved
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
Flaky Cream Cheese Pie Crust (see accompanying recipe)
Optional glaze:
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon heavy cream
Yields 1 (9-inch) pie.
In medium bowl, stir together sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in cherries along with any juice and almond extract. Allow mixture to sit for minimum of 10 minutes and maximum of 3 hours.
On lightly floured surface, roll the larger disk of dough for Flaky Cream Cheese Pie Crust into 12-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Fit dough into 9-inch glass pie plate. Pour in cherry filling.
Roll second disk of dough into 12-inch round. Cut dough into 3/4-inch strips and lay over filling, creating lattice. Trim edges to 1-inch, and seal by crimping edges with thumb and forefinger.
For optional glaze: Lightly beat together egg yolk and cream. Brush it on lattice and border. If time allows, refrigerate pie for 1 hour, lightly covered with plastic wrap, to keep crust from shrinking when it bakes.
Set oven rack at lowest level and place a baking stone or baking sheet on it, then preheat oven to 425 F for at least 20 minutes before baking pie.
Set pie on baking stone or sheet and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until filling is thickly bubbling all over and center is slightly puffed. Cover edges with a foil ring after 15 minutes of baking. If lattice starts to become too dark toward last 10 minutes of baking, cover it lightly with piece of foil with vent hole in center.
Cool pie on rack for at least 3 hours before serving.
- Adapted from "The Pie and Pastry Bible" by Rose Levy Beranbaum (Scribner, $45).
FLAKY CREAM CHEESE PIE CRUST
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
1 1/3 cups bleached all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, cold
1 1/2 tablespoons ice water
1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
Yields pastry for 1 (9-inch) lattice pie.
Cut butter into small cubes. Wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze until it is frozen solid, at least 30 minutes.
Place flour, salt and baking powder in zip-top gallon-size freezer bag and freeze for at least 30 minutes.
Place flour mixture in food processor with metal blade and process it for few seconds to combine. Set bag aside.
Cut cream cheese into 3 or 4 pieces and add it to flour in food processor. Process for about 20 seconds, or until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add frozen butter cubes and pulse until none of the butter is larger than the size of a pea. (Toss with fork to see it better.)
Remove cover from food processor and add water and vinegar. Pulse until most of the butter is reduced to size of small peas. Mixture will be in particles and will not hold together. Spoon it into plastic bag.
Holding both ends of bag opening with your fingers, knead mixture by alternately pressing it, from outside of bag with knuckles and heels of your hands until mixture holds together in 1 piece and feels slightly stretchy when pulled.
Wrap dough with plastic wrap, flatten it into disk, and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes, preferably overnight.
(To make pie shell and lattice top, divide dough into portions of two-thirds for shell and one-third for lattice top. Flatten each piece into a disk.)
- Adapted from "The Pie and Pastry Bible" by Rose Levy Beranbaum (Scribner, $45).
CHERRY ALMOND TART
7 ounces almond paste, cut into a few pieces
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup cake flour
3/4 cup cherries, pitted
Sweet Tart Dough (see accompanying recipe)
Yields 1 (10-inch) tart.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare Sweet Tart Dough and press into 10-inch metal tart pan with removeable bottom.
In work bowl of food processor fitted with a metal blade, process almond paste and brown sugar until softened, about 30 seconds. Add butter and process until incorporated. With motor running, add eggs, vanilla and almond extract through feed tube until well incorporated, about 20 seconds. Add flour and process until smooth, about 30 seconds.
Pour mixture into prepared tart shell. Arrange cherries on top. Bake in preheated oven until crust is light brown and filling is set, about 45 to 60 minutes.
- "The Complete Baking Cookbook: 350 Recipes From Cookies and Cakes to Muffins and Pies" by George Geary (Robert Rose, $35).
SWEET TART DOUGH
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, chilled
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons water, ice cold
Yields pastry for 1 (10-inch) tart shell.
In work bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade, place flour, salt and sugar. Pulse 5 times. Add butter, cut into chunks, around work bowl. Pulse 20 times until blended. Add egg yolks and water through the feed tube while machine is on.
Just when it starts to gather (not form a ball), stop machine and dump out on clean surface. Press together with palm of your hands. Dough should not be sticky. You can firm it in refrigerator for about 10 minutes.
- "The Complete Baking Cookbook: 350 Recipes From Cookies and Cakes to Muffins and Pies" by George Geary (Robert Rose, $35).
CHERRY CHOCOLATE CHEWS
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
1 large egg, beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups sweetened, flaked coconut
1 cup cherries, pitted and chopped
Yields 2 dozen cookies.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a 1-quart saucepan on low heat, heat chocolate and milk together until chocolate has melted. Set aside.
In mixer bowl with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg on low speed for 30 seconds. Blend in melted chocolate mixture, flour and baking soda on low speed for 2 minutes. Fold in chopped nuts, coconut and cherries. If batter is too soft, refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie onto prepared pans; press down with palm of your hand. Bake until edges are light brown, about 10 to 12 minutes.
- "The Complete Baking Cookbook: 350 Recipes From Cookies and Cakes to Muffins and Pies" by George Geary (Robert Rose, $35).
Greater Paramus News and Lifestyle Magazine
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