Saturday 25 July 2015

Cherry Slab Pie Bars.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

This is what I baked when the cherries invaded.

Last year, it was these brown butter cherry bars and this year, I thought I would finally make a pie.

As you may have read in my homemade pastry post, I'm kind of loving all things pie right now. Before that, there was a moment with bars, so I thought, why not combine my love of the two and make pie bars??

And, I'm so glad I did. Bars are portable, you can cut them any size you like and please please please fill them with fresh cherries like I did. It'll really help in getting through that cherry glut.
Also, how pretty do these look? I mean, that gorgeous pinky purple is the result of nothing but a mountain of cherries, a little sugar, cornflour and lemon juice. Who needs food colouring when we have nature's bounty to give us such beautiful things? Alhamdulillah, I think I feel an obsession with fresh fruit and its beautiful colour coming on. I'm off to see if my ice lollies (so excited to share the results) have frozen in the hope of munching one in the sunshine. Apparantly, it's going to rain tomorrow. Welcome to England!

Fruit Pie, previously: orange meringue pie.
Cherries, previously: brown butter cherry barsberry cherry cake crumblecherry bakewell cupcakes.

A Simple List of Ingredients:
2. Cherries
3. Sugar
4. Cornflour
5. Lemon Juice
6. Salt
7. An Egg
8. Icing Sugar
9. Water

Bismillah, let's begin!

First job, make one batch of sweet shortcrust pastry and place it in the fridge to chill.
Of course, you could also use ready-made shortcrust pastry too.

For the filling, it could not be easier. Take 680 grams Cherries.

And, if you love cherries as much as I do, I highly recommend buying a cherry pitter. It makes pitting a whole lot easier and is pretty satisfying too!

Give the cherries a quick rinse.

And, get pitting!


Keep going until you have a bowl full of pitted cherries ready to use.


Soft fruit pie fillings could not be easier to make. All you need is, soft fruit. In our case, sweet cherries.


A little sugar.


To the cherries, add 85 grams Sugar. My cherries were on the sweeter side so I went with less sugar. Also, I glazed the pie after baking with a sweet glaze. But, if you think yours could do with more, adjust as needed.


To thicken the filling and all the lovely cherry juices that will release as the pie bakes, cornflour.


Add in 30 grams Cornflour.


To provide a little acidity and sharpness to the sweet fruit, fresh lemon juice.


Slice a lemon in half and get squeezing.


Add the juice of 1/2 Lemon to the bowl.


Finally, add a pinch of Salt.


And, that's it. No pre-cooking, just a good stir.


Once stirred well, set aside whilst you roll out the pastry.


Pre-heat the oven to 190C / Gas Mark 5.
Take the shortcrust pastry out of the fridge and let it warm up for 10 minutes or so. This will make rolling out easier.


Grease and line a rectangle tray measuring approx. 34cm x 25cm (13 inch x 10 inch).
As I mention in the full written recipe at the bottom, this pie can also be made into a double-crusted round pie too.


If your pastry isn't already, slice it in half. Take the first half, and place it onto a floured surface.


Time to start rolling!


Using your baking tray as a guideline ....


... roll the first half of the pastry into roughly the same size.


Fold it up on the counter.


And, place onto the baking tray. This folding trick makes moving pastry round really easy.


Fit the pastry to your baking tray. It doesn't matter it any bits overhang - we can tuck them in before baking.


Then, grab your cherry mixture and place it onto the pastry.


Spread the cherries out evenly, and don't worry about the juice that has been released. It'll make the pie super yummy!


Take the second half of your pastry.


And, again roll out on a floured surface to roughly same size as the baking tray.


Fold it up.


Place over the cherries.


Open out over the cherries. 


Any overhanging extra bits can be used to patch up holes made in transit.


Tuck the pastry into all the edges and press them together to create a border.


Take a fork and prick the pastry all over. This will help to release steam when baking.


Then, beat 1 Egg with 1 tablespoon Water to make a quick egg wash.


Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash all over the pie.


Pricked, brushed and ready to bake!


Bake in the pre-heated oven at 190C / Gas Mark 5 for between 40 to 55 minutes.


Once baked, the pie should be golden, puffed and bubbling at the edges.


Like this!


Let the pie cool completely especially if you want to glaze it. If you don't, serve hot with vanilla ice cream.


This pie was baked in Ramadan for iftar. So, I may have moved it off the baking tray sooner than it should have been hence the slight crack in the middle.


To make a simple glaze, mix together:
225 grams Icing Sugar
A tablespoon or two Water
until you get a thick, smooth but still slightly runny glaze.


Basically you should be able to drizzle it but it should still set when cool, not drip everywhere.


Drizzle the glaze all over the pie. This glaze was one of the reasons that I kept the sugar in the pie filling on the lower side. It's quite sweet too.


Let the glaze set for about 10-15 minutes which I didn't hence the dripping. In my defence, it was iftar time and we were hungry!


We sliced the pie into squares and enjoyed it in all its freshly-baked glory.


The next day, I took the pie out into the daylight.


This pie is summer in pie. No-fuss, simple ingredients but made with love, it cannot be beaten.


Slice into bars and enjoy hot, cold or warm. I highly recommend an addition of vanilla ice cream though.

Full Written Recipe:


Cherry Slab Pie Bars.

Prep Time: About 30 minutes (an extra hour, if making homemade pastry)
Bake Time: About 40 to 55 minutes.
Serves: Cuts into 12 large bars.

Ingredients

For the Cherry Slab Pie Bars
680 grams Cherries, pitted
85 grams Sugar
30 grams Cornflour
Juice of ½ Lemon
Pinch of Salt
1 Egg, beaten with a tablespoon of Water

For the Glaze
225 grams Icing Sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons Water, enough to make a glaze

Method

Make the shortcrust pastry and let it chill in the fridge.

To make the filling, place the pitted cherries into a bowl. Add the sugar, cornflour, lemon juice and salt. Stir together and set aside.

Pre-heat the oven to 190C / Gas Mark 5.

Take the pastry out of the fridge and let it warm up for 10 minutes. This will make it easier to roll out.

Grease and line a rectangle baking tray measuring 34cm x 25cm (13 inch x 10 inch).

{Alternatively, this recipe would also work as a double-crusted pie. Simply use a round, deep pie dish, and roll the pastry to fit it.}

Split the pastry in half. On a floured surface, roll the first half into a rough rectangle measuring about the same size as your baking tray.

Fold it up and place it onto the tray. Open it out to fit and trim off the excess.
Tumble on the cherry mixture and spread out.

Roll the second half of the pastry to the same size as the tray. Carefully place over the cherries and tuck into fit. Trim or tuck in overhanging pieces of pastry – these will make a great crust.

Prick the top of the pastry all over with a fork.
Beat the egg and water together. Using a pastry brush, brush all over the pastry.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 190C / Gas Mark 5 for 40 to 55 minutes until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling.
Allow to cool completely.

To make the glaze, place the icing sugar into a bowl and add the water, a tablespoon at a time, until you get a thick but runny smooth glaze.
Drizzle it all over the pie. Let it set for 15-20 minutes.

Slice into bars and serve, preferably with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

{Adapted from Smitten Kitchen}

This Time One Year Ago:

This Time Two Years Ago:

Keep me in your duas, please, and enjoy your cherry pie bars,

Wasalaam!


Spice Enthusiast
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