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Sour Cherry Slab Pie (The Juice-Reduction Method for a Filling That Actually Slices)

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A sheet-pan sour cherry pie with a juice-reduction filling that slices clean instead of running all over the plate.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 3/4 cups (470g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, very cold, cubed
  • 3/4 to 1 cup ice water
  • 6 cups pitted sour cherries (fresh, frozen and thawed, or jarred and drained)
  • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (reduce to 3/4 cup if using sweetened jarred cherries)
  • 1/3 cup instant tapioca, ground fine in a spice grinder
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
  • Pinch of black pepper
  • 2 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 2 tbsp heavy cream, for brushing
  • Coarse sanding sugar, for topping

Instructions

  1. Toss cherries with 1 1/4 cups sugar in a bowl. Let sit at room temperature 45–60 minutes, stirring once, until a pool of juice collects at the bottom.
  2. Drain the juice into a small saucepan (keep the cherries separate). Simmer the juice over medium heat until reduced to about 1/3 cup and syrupy, 8–10 minutes. Cool slightly.
  3. Meanwhile, pulse flour, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 1/2 tsp salt in a food processor. Add cold butter and pulse until pea-sized crumbs form. Drizzle in ice water, pulsing, until the dough just holds together. Divide into two pieces, one slightly larger, flatten into rectangles, and chill 1 hour.
  4. Roll the larger dough piece into a rectangle and fit it into a 13×18-inch sheet pan, letting excess hang over the edges.
  5. Combine the drained cherries, reduced syrup, tapioca, almond extract, lemon juice, 1/4 tsp salt, and black pepper. Let sit 10 minutes so the tapioca starts to soften, then spread evenly over the bottom crust. Dot with the 2 tbsp cold butter.
  6. Roll the second dough piece and cut into strips for a lattice, or lay it whole and cut vents. Weave or lay over the filling, trim and crimp the edges to seal.
  7. Chill the assembled pie 20–30 minutes. Brush the top crust with heavy cream and scatter with sanding sugar.
  8. Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 20 minutes, then reduce to 375°F (190°C) and bake 30–35 minutes more, until the crust is deep golden and the filling bubbles thickly at the vents.
  9. Cool completely on a rack, at least 4 hours, before slicing into squares.

Notes

Grind instant tapioca in a spice grinder or blender before using — whole pearls stay chewy and won’t dissolve fully in the bake time. If your cherries are very juicy jarred ones, skip maceration and just reduce a cup of the jarring liquid down to syrup instead. The unbaked, assembled pie freezes well wrapped tightly in the pan; bake straight from frozen, adding 10–15 minutes to the covered baking time.

Find it online: https://www.receipster.com/sour-cherry-slab-pie-the-juice-reduction-method-for-a-filling-that-actually-slices/