As American as Cherry Pie – or should I say British...

| Making my first cherry pie – a British one! |

     One of my latest baking adventures involved embarking on the creation of a cherry pie. I've never attempted one before, so I decided to consult the experts – which in my case is The Great British Bakeoff: How to Bake cookbook! And just as a British cherry pie seems a twist on it's usual American associations, this recipe gives us something just a little different. Instead of the usual flour, fat and water that you mix together and roll out, we get to have a bit more fun by adding almonds to the dough and grating it!

     Now, if you know much about British desserts you have probably heard of the Bakewell tart, that little pastry flavored by cherry and almond, which gives this recipe even more of a British connection. Then if on top of that fact you confess that you aren't the greatest fan of too much almond flavor, allow me to reassure you that this recipe is as delicious as any cherry pie imaginable – it is fresh, simple and bursting with the flavors of juicy cherries and a sweet crunchy crust!

     For the crust I simply threw everything into a food processor and pulsed it a few times:

• 250g all-purpose flour
• 50g ground almonds (I love the almond flour from Trader Joe's!)
• 175g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
• 100g sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons cream
• 1 tablespoon iced water

     Then you mold it into one big lump, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it. The recipe said to refrigerate it for half an hour, but I left mine in longer while I got distracted doing other things, and it hardened into a nice solid piece, which turned out to be easier to grate than it would have been after only half an hour.

     I have to say, grating crust is not necessarily easier than rolling it out. The dough inevitably begins to soften in your hands so that by the end you're sort of squishing it through the grater. But then you don't have to deal with finding the space to roll it out, or the dough sticking to the counter top, or the dough cracking when you lay it into the pie plate (off-centered, of course...). But I'll admit that the best thing about it – let's be honest – is that it's just fun do do!

     Basically you slice the lump of dough in half, grate the first half into the pie pan and squish it down with your fingers until it's in an even layer on the bottom and up the sides...

....then you put the filling in before taking the second half of the dough and grating it all over the top. Et vòila!

     It seems like quite a lot, but once it's all cooked it flattens out a bit and turns into a deliciously mild, sweet, nutty, crumbly pie crust that ought to be a part of more recipes. :)

The marvelous Warm Cherry Crumble Pie!

© Anna Morton 2016

Reviving My Favorite Starbucks Drink

Of course I am drinking coffee at 11:00 at night, which nearly everyone, myself included, considers as not a very wise thing to do if you would like to sleep. But once I explain the circumstances, I think everyone will understand.

Five years ago Starbucks came out with a new drink: the Dark Chocolate Cherry Frappucino. For me it was love at first sip! Ah! It was so deliciously chocolately with a hint of something different and delectable. I bought as many of those as I could for two Springs running, since it was a seasonal drink, but in that third Spring, after checking the menu on every visit with disappointing results, I realized the DCCF was no more. It was a very sad moment for me.

Now, after three years of disappointment I have at last attempted to make this drink for myself! You may wonder why it took me so long, and honestly, so do I. But I have finally invested in some Toriani cherry syrup and my life is now complete. ;)

So, I am drinking coffee at 11:00 pm because it is a dark chocolate cherry Frappucino!

And I shall share the recipe with you:


Lady Anna's Dark Chocolate Cherry Frappucino

Serves 1

• 3/4 cup of milk
• 1 tablespoon of heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa
• a couple shakes of stevia
• 1 1/2 cups of ice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 pumps of cherry syrup
• 3/4 cup double strength coffee (two spoonfuls)

1. Brew the coffee and chill it until it reaches room temperature. (It takes about 10-15 minutes when I stick it in the freezer.)
2. Mix all the ingredients in whatever blender you're using, and voila!

It's fun to experiment, so just have fun mixing in more or different ingredients. Chocolate syrup would make it a little sweeter, but the cocoa gives it a stronger chocolate taste to me. And sugar can be used instead of stevia - we're just a bunch of stevia nuts around my house. :)