Start by making the pastry. Tip the flour and butter into a food processor and pulse 6-7 times, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the caster sugar and egg yolk and pulse again. Slowly trickle in 2 tbsp cold water, pulsing the blade as you go. Lift the lid and pinch the pastry between your fingers. If it holds together, tip it onto a surface. If not, add the remaining water and pulse again until the pastry is no longer dry and crumbly. It will still look rough and easily breakable, but if it comes together as you pinch, will hydrate further as it rests. Quickly, without over-working the dough, gather the pastry into 2 discs, then wrap separately in cling film or 2 sealable plastic bags and transfer to the fridge to chill for an hour.
While the pastry is chilling, cut the cherries into halves and quarters into a saucepan. This will help them to turn jammy in the oven. Scatter over the sugar, lemon juice and zest and stir to combine. Set aside without cooking.
Heat the butter in a small saucepan until it bubbles, foams and turns brown and nutty. Stir in the ground almonds to make a paste.
Grease a 24cm pie dish with butter and pre-heat the oven to 200c.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one disc of the pastry to a rough round, about 1/2 cm thick so it’s just larger than the pie dish. Don’t worry if it tears – it’s very forgiving if you patch it together. Lay the pastry over the pie dish and use clean fingers to press it into the base and up the sides. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork and trim any excess (reserving for the top).
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