This cherry pie is made with sour cherries and flaky, all butter pie crust. This delicious pie is a perfect spring dessert, especially with some ice cream!
In a food processor, sift your flour, salt and powdered sugar. Add cold cubes of butter. Pulse until the mixture is like a coarse sand, with a few bigger chunks of butter. Add 5 tablespoons of ice cold water and pulse until the dough starts clumping together, not more than that. If it doesn't start coming together, then add another tablespoon of ice cold water. When it's done, it should still be crumbly - that's fine, because we want to combine it together with our hands.
Transfer the pie dough onto a lightly floured surface and using your floured hands just combine it until it forms a homogenous dough and there are no traces of flour. Form the dough into a ball and divide in half. Put each half onto a piece of plastic wrap, loosely wrap it and then flatten it with your hands to form a disk. Leave it in the fridge for at least an hour or up to four days.
Prepare the filling. In a large bowl, combine cornstarch and light soft brown sugar using a whisks. Next, add in the cherries with vanilla extract and orange juice. Stir all the ingredients with a wooden spoon or a spatula until everything is combined. Set aside.
Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F).
Take one of the discs of chilled dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. To keep the dough from sticking and to ensure rolling it out in a circle, rotate the dough every couple of rolls. When you're dough is approx. ¼ inch thick and has a diameter of 12 inch (30 cm) or more, carefully place it into a 9 inch (23 cm) pie dish. Using your knuckles, press the dough into corners, making sure it's smooth. Brush the dough with some egg white and leave it to dry for a couple of minutes. That will prevent liquid ruining your flaky dough.
Spoon the into the prepared crust and top it with diced butter.
Now, if you want a simple design, just roll out the other disc in he same manner. Top the pie with it, press the edges together, trim the excess and press with a fork for a rustic design. Also, make a couple of cuts in the middle to let the steam away, so your pie doesn't get puffy.
For the lattice, take the other disc from the fridge, roll it out in the same manner as the first one and using a sharp knife cut strips approx. ¾ inch (2 cm) wide. Carefully place the strips on the pie, so they're over and under one another. Since I'm bad at explaining this, here's a good explanation of how to arrange lattice. :)
When you're done, bake the pie in a preheated oven for around 45-50 minutes. Allow the pie to cool on room temperature for a couple of hours before eating. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
*I used frozen sour cherries that I thawed prior to using. If you use fresh cherries you might need less cornstarch. I suggest using 30 g in that case or 25 g if you like your pies on the runny side.** If you experience browning on the top, cover the pie with some baking paper.