Vincent Van Gough
Blossoming Almond Tree, 1890.
Oil on Canvas, 73.5 x 92cm
Van Gough Museum, Amsterdam
Post-Impressionist Master
A thing of beauty rarely lasts, but never dies. Captured in your mind’s eye, through the lense of a camera, that gorgeous moment is emblazoned on your cornea, forever on your tongue, waiting to be remembered.
“They pass in a doorway a young girl whose beauty becomes the flowers about.”
-Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian, pg. 39
Cast some flowers about your house, arranged just so, in that particular vase you’ve been vying to fill with your favorite blooms. There really is no time like the present and as such, you shouldn’t let another day pass without having tasted this cherry pie…
It’s a thing of beauty and as such, will never fade from the annals of my kitchen…It’s my Marilyn Monroe, my classic…
CLASSIC INDIVIDUAL CHERRY PIESFor the crust: One batch pate brissee:
Pate Brissee (Short Crust)
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
¾ cup cornstarch
¼ cup +2 tablespoons glutenous white rice flour
¼ cup sorghum flour
1/8 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 kinfe points of kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoons guar gum
16 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 small eggs
Makes enough dough 8 individual pies…
Mix all the dry ingredients in a spacious bowl with a few turns of a whisk. Add the diced unsalted butter and begin to cut it in with a pastry cutter, using a butter-knife to clean out the spokes when necessary. Repeat until the mix resembles a heap of damp, engorged seeds.
Whisk the eggs and fold them in using two plastic pastry scrappers. Keep folding until you have a firm, somewhat sticky ball of dough. Turn the dough onto a very clean surface that has been lightly dusted with tapioca flour. Knead with the palm of your hand several times until you have a leather smooth ball. Divide the dough into two sections, quickly shape each section into a semi-flat disk, and wrap tightly with cellophane.
Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before rolling out, and up to five days, or frozen for three weeks.
Roll out your dough on a lightly tapioca flour dusted counter, being careful to maintain your circular shape. Flip several times for a more even result and to prevent any sticking. Roll the dough to about ¼” thick.
Place your individual pie pan on top of the rolled out dough. Using a very sharp knife, cut 1” past the edge of the pan while maintaining the shape of the pan with your cut.
Gently remove your cut out round and nestle it into the pan and use your fingers to nimbly guide the dough into the folds and bends of the pan. Repeat until the base crusts for all of your pies are done. Now, roll out the rest of your dough and cut out eight rounds that will be your pie tops. Cut out a decorative vent-hole of your choice. Place pie tops on a cookie sheet and refrigerate until you finish the cherry filling.
For the Filling:2 lbs. fresh organic cherries, pitted
2 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/3 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Combine the granulated sugar and cornstarch in a heavy bottomed saucepan and whisk to eliminate any lumps the cornstarch may have produced. Add the water and the pitted cherries. Fold with a wooden spoon to coat the cherries, using a very slight pressure so as not to bruise the fruit. Cook over a very low flame for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the mixture thickens too much, the cherries have a low water content, so just add more water in tablespoon increments to prevent caramelization of the thickened sugars.
Once the cherries have infused the sugar, releasing their secrets, add the almond extract and the nutmeg. Stir to combine, remove from the heat and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before filling your pies.
To Assemble Your Pies:Remove your reserved pie tops from the refrigerator and place beside your prepared pie pans. Fill the pies with the cherry filling until the filling is gone.
Brush edges of the pie crust with whole milk as if it were an adhesive. Now, center the pie tops over the pie pans, and join the top of the pie to the crust by running your finger over the top of the pie where the edges meet. Repeat until each pie is covered. Now brush each pie top with whole milk and then sprinkle sanding sugar over the tops for a stellar finish.
Bake the pies on a cookie sheet in your preheated 425°F oven for 20 minutes or until the tops of the pies have taken on a golden glow.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Serve immediately or when the time feels just right with either vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.
Makes 7-8 Individual Pies depending on the size of your pans.
Helmut Newton
Domestic Nude IV, In My Living Room,
Chateau Marmont, Hollywood, 1992.
German-Born Photographer
