This is the BEST cherry pie recipe. My homemade pie crust and whipped cream are my secret weapons to this gorgeous pie...The filling is not too tart or sweet. Delicious. You will be BEGGED for this recipe. Check out more of my homemade pie recipes at the bottom of the page...
This is the best cherry pie recipe...
HOMEMADE CHERRY PIE RECIPE
CHERRY FILLING: 2/3 cups white sugar 1/4 cup cornstarch 1/4 tsp salt 4 cups fresh cherries, pitted 1-1/2 cups water 2 TBS lemon juice 6 drops of red food coloring, optional
NO FAIL PIE CRUST 1-1/2 cups flour 1-1/2 cups cake flour 1 TBS white sugar 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 cup butter, cold 1/4 cup lard, cold 1 egg yolk 7 TBS ice cold water 1/2 tsp vinegar
NOTE: I cannot stress enough that the butter, lard and water must be very cold. You may pop them in the freezer for a few minutes to be certain. Chill the dough down once more before it is rolled out. To prevent soggy pie crust, brush the bottom crust thinly with egg white. This recipe make two 9 inch crusts.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk, vinegar and water. Set aside.
Mix both flours, sugar and salt together in a bowl. With a pastry cutter, cut in the very cold butter and lard until it looks like small peas. Add the yolk mixture in with this flour mixture, and stir until moistened and dough hold together. Gather into a ball and divide in two. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling out.
FILLING: In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add the cherries, water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in food coloring if desired.
Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom pastry; add filling. Make a lattice crust; trim, seal and flute edges. Cover edges loosely with foil.
Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Remove foil; bake 15-20 minutes longer or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.
TIPS TO Make PERFECT Chocolate Covered Strawberries
SECRET #1 There are many way to prepare these strawberries, but I am going to give you my easy methods. When you are melting the chocolate over a double boiler, don't let the water touch the bottom of your upper pan. Heat until only 1/2 of the chocolate is melted, then remove from heat and stir gently until it is all melted.
The chocolate should actually be cool or tepid to the touch. If it's hot, chances are it will seize up and thicken. If it does that, no amount of heating or stirring will fix it.
If you don't have a double-boiler, use a saucepan - bring the water to a boil, and then use a stainless steel bowl to rest in the saucepan to melt the chocolate.
SECRET #2 Strawberries are grown with many pesticides, so rinse the strawberries first with a veggie wash, and let them drain on paper towels until they were thoroughly dry so the chocolate would adhere properly. Any moisture would have interfered with the chocolate adhering.
SECRET #3 Spike the strawberries! Fill a syringe with a sweet white dessert wine, and slowly inject the wine into the strawberries from near the stem (after you've done the dipping in chocolate.) You want to inject enough wine to saturate the berries, but watch not to add too much otherwise they end up becoming runny. These are always a hit when I bring them to dinner parties.
SECRET #4 Pierce the strawberries on the stem side with a toothpick. Holding the strawberry by the toothpick, dip into the chocolate mixture. Turn the strawberries upside down and insert the toothpick into Styrofoam for the chocolate to cool.
A delicious twist on my favorite red velvet cake recipe. Yum.
HOMEMADE RED VELVET CHEESECAKE RECIPE
Ingredients
CRUST: 1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/4 cup butter, melted 1-1/2 TBS white sugar shaved chocolate bar
CHEESECAKE: 3 (8oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened 1-1/2 cups white sugar 4 eggs, beaten 3 TBS cocoa, unsweetened 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup buttermilk* 1 TBS pure vanilla extract 1 tsp white vinegar 2 (1oz) bottles of red food coloring
TOPPING: 3 oz cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup butter, softened 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted 2 tsp pure vanilla extract shaved chocolate bar, for garnish
Directions
PREHEAT oven to 325 degrees. The cake is baked with a water bath to prevent cracking. Wrap a large pan with foil (big enough for the spring form pan to fit in).
Mix the graham crackers and sugar together and add the melted butter. Mix with a fork and press into a 9 inch spring form pan. Sprinkle the bottom of the crust with chocolate shavings from a candy bar.
Beat 3 packages of cream cheese with 1-1/2 cups white sugar until fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into the prepared spring form pan and place in the center of the foil covered pan. Fill with water.
Bake for 10 minutes and lower oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake for 70-80 minutes. The cheesecake is done when the center is firm. Cool completely on a wire rack.
TOPPING: Beat the cream cheese with the butter until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix until smooth and creamy. Spread evenly over the top of the cooled cheesecake. Garnish with the shaved chocolate bar.
*Buttermilk: Place 1-1/2 tsp vinegar or lemon juice in 1/2 measuring cup and fill remainder with milk. Wait 15 minutes, stir, and it's ready for this recipe.