Tag Archives: cherry

Wild Cherry Pie

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There is an old railroad path where the tracks have been gone for many years. Nasty weeds such as stinging nettles are about to take over as almost no one walks there anymore. Along the path a little further on grows some black cherry trees.  The cherries are tiny, sweet with a slight almond taste. They are absolutely fantastic and something I long for every summer.  Its a great treat (despite the burning weeds) to eat directly or to freeze for pies and hot sauces in the Autumn. As they are just too good to be left on the tree for the birds to eat, I will continue coming back each year.

Wild Cherry Pie
serves 4

almond dough
300 ml (1 ¼ cup) milled almonds
100 g (3 ½ ounces) butter
5 tablespoons sucanat

about 750 ml pitted black wild cherries (or similar)

With your hands mix together butter, milled almonds and sugar. Work the dough together. As this is not a crumble, the dough should feel a little sticky. Let it rest in the fridge for about an hour. Grease a 9 ½ inch pie form and arrange the cherries in the form. Flatten some of the dough out in your hand and place over the cherries. The crust should be about 1/4” thick. Repeat until all the cherries are covered. Bake the pie in the oven at 200°C (400F) until the crust has started to get color, about 15 minutes. The crust should be a little crisp and still buttery. Serve warm with some whipped cream.

This recipe was first published at Honest Cooking, 1 September 2011.

 

 

Pear Almond Cake

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kokblog_pear_basket

A few weeks ago I went to a street party in Borum Hill, Brooklyn, with a whole roasted pig, delicious cheeses and desserts. At the cake table I found a fantastic apple tart, made by David Becker @ Friend of the Farmer. David’s cake had almost no flour and was very moist and fruity. It also seemed to be really easy to make. His cake reminded me of a fantastic fruit cake I made this summer, except that my cake was too complicated and I used milled almonds instead of flour. At home I decided to turn my summer cake into something as easy as this…

for the cake
3-4 ripe pears (or any other seasonal fruit such as apple, cherry or plums)
2 large eggs
1 cups (240 ml) sucanat
1 1/3 cup (300 ml) fresh milled almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk
3.5 oz (100g) butter, melted
2 teaspoons of crushed cardamoms

Preheat the oven to 375° F (190°C). Peel the pears and slice into thin slices. Whisk the eggs with the sucanat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the milled almonds and baking powder. When the almonds are well blended with the eggs add milk, melted butter and cardamoms. Carefully add the pears to the mixture. Grease a baking tin, about 11 inch diameter. Fill the form with the cake mixture and bake it in the center of the oven for about 40-50 minutes. The cake should be golden brown and if you stick a small knife into it, it should come out clean. Cool the cake a little before serving. This cake can be made in advance as it taste fabulous the next day too.

Thanks David!