to make the crust:
You will need a 22cm pie dish. Double the pie crust recipe so there will be enough for a lattice crust. Keep both disks (see below) in the fridge until ready to be rolled, first baking the pie crust and then the lattice.
Add the flour and arrowroot powder to a food processor, and pulse the ingredients together. Then add in the cubed vegan butter, and pulse the ingredients until the mixture resembles a sand texture.
Place the lid back onto the food processor, and begin to blend again. Remove the top insert from the lid and pour in the maple syrup and water, only adding 1 tbsp of water at a time until you reach a large smooth dough ball. Stop the food processor and remove the dough. Place it onto a piece of plastic wrap and form the dough into a flat disk. Wrap it in the plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
When the pie crust is ready to be rolled, pre-heat the oven to 200C, remove the dough from the fridge and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. Sprinkle a piece of parchment paper with flour, as well as the dough disk and a rolling pin. Gently roll the dough to be about 0.3 cm thick and at least 2.5 cm wider than the pie dish. Drape it over the pie dish and carefully press the dough into the sides of the pie dish.
To parbake, place the dough back into the fridge and chill for at least 15 minutes while the oven is preheating. Poke holes in the base and use pie weights. Bake for 8 minutes then remove and fill with the cherry filling and follow the filling recipe for the rest of the baking.
to make the filling:
In a medium saucepan toss the cherries with the maple syrup, arrowroot starch, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract and almond extract. Mix until the cherries are evenly coated. Turn the heat to medium. Allow the cherries to start to come to the boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and allow the cherries to cook down for a few minutes and thicken. There will be quite a lot of cherry juice but keep it and do not drain the cherries. Remove from the heat and transfer the cherries to a medium bowl. Allow them to cool at room temperature for up to an hour.
Once the base has been par-baked, add the cherry filling. Do not slice the overhanging crust yet. This will seal off the lattice crust. Place the pie into the fridge to chill while you roll out the lattice crust.
to make the lattice crust:
Roll the second dough out to be a large circle that measures about 40 cm in diameter. To make the lattice, measure 4cm in width for each strip, slicing 10 strips so 5 strips per side. Drape half of the strips parallel to each other over the pie. Do not seal off the lattice yet. Then place the other strips parallel to each other across these strips forming a lattice. Press the strips against the filling to make sure they stick.
This is a much easier way to make a lattice than the traditional one which doesn’t work well with gluten-free pastry.
Cut any overhanging lattice pieces to meet the edge of the pie dish. Then fold over the hanging pie crust onto the edges of the lattice crust. Place the pie into the freezer for 10 minutes to allow the crust to solidify.
to bake the pie:
Brush the pie crust with coconut cream or melted vegan butter and sprinkle with coconut sugar. Then place the pie in the oven to bake for 40 – 50 minutes. If you notice the edges of your crust are browning midway through baking, you can place baking parchment over the crust to slow the browning.
Once the crust is golden and tough to the touch, remove the cherry pie from the oven. Allow it to set for 3 – 4 hours
Andy’s Sugar Safe® tips:
I recommend using dark sweet cherries so you get a deliciously sweet fruit pie that celebrates the natural sweetness of the fruit, and is much lower in sugar.
