Summer Fresh Cherry Pie

Real summer cherry pie is a simple equation. Six cups of fresh tart cherries, sugar, a little flour to thicken, and a properly flaky double crust. Skip the canned filling and you taste the actual fruit in all its bright, tangy glory.

Tart cherries (Montmorency or sour cherries) are what you want. Sweet Bing cherries make a pretty pie but the flavor falls flat. The acidity in tart cherries is what gives this pie its bracing, juicy personality. If you can only find sweet, add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to compensate.

Flour rather than cornstarch is the right thickener for this fresh-fruit pie because it doesn’t run translucent like cornstarch does. You want a slightly cloudy, jammy filling that holds its shape on the plate. A half cup of flour is exactly right for six cups of pitted fruit.

The foil collar trick prevents the edges from over-browning before the bottom crust sets. Remove it for the last 15 minutes so the whole pie finishes golden and the juices have time to bubble visibly through the steam vents.

Pro Tips

• Pit the cherries over a deep bowl. The juice loss is impressive and you’ll want to scrape every red drop into the filling.
• Look for bubbling through the slits as the doneness signal. Hot, syrupy bubbles mean the flour has activated and the filling will set on cooling.
• Let the pie cool at least 3 hours before slicing. Cherry filling needs time to gel, and a hot pie will run all over the plate.
• Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cherry pies always weep through a slit and you’ll thank yourself later.

Variations

• Add ½ teaspoon of almond extract to the filling. Almond and cherry are a classic Italian pairing that intensifies the cherry flavor.
• Substitute frozen tart cherries when fresh are out of season. Thaw and drain first.
• Top with vanilla ice cream or a dollop of softly whipped cream while the pie is still warm.