Martha's tart cherry bounce and pie
Contributed by Martha Nolin
My neighbor friend Martha grew up near the Michigan fruit belt and she often brings back lush peaches, cherries and berries from her jaunts to the lake house. She knows how to treat and use them and often treats us with pies, daiquiris, and yes, cheery bounce!
Cherry bounce, I learned from Martha, is a liquor made of tart cherries, sugar, spices, and brandy. In the original recipe by Mrs. Martha Washington, pitted cherries are halved and mashed. Martha Nolin’s version keeps cherries whole, which actually make the best part of cherry bounce even more so that the liquor itself.
Excellent Cherry Bounce by Martha Washington with modifications by Martha Nolin
My fried Martha says — The main modification from Martha Washington’s recipe is that I process the bounce with the cherries whole, instead of mashing and pressing them for only the juice as the Washingtons did. Most people enjoy eating the brandied cherries as much as the cherry brandy liquor “bounce”.
Flaky and gooey tart cherry pie
Martha says she adapted her tart cheery pie from the NYT Cooking’s “Twice-Baked Sour Cherry Pie.” It’s flaky, buttery, and not too sweet, paying a proper respect to tart cherry’s dignity.
Here, Martha pitted cherries by hand with a pitter, which likely took an eternity.
Playful, star-shaped upper crust is her adjustment, and she also added almond flavor, which injects more nuance to the overall flavor.
One might be tempted to add a dollop of whipped cream, but this is just perfect as is, longing with earthiness and sweetness of fleeting tart cherries in season.
Flaky and gooey tart cherry pie (modified from NYT Cooking Twice-Baked Sour Cherry Pie)
Ingredients
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flower plus two tablespoons and more for rolling out dough
- 3/8 tsp kosher salt
- 15 tbsps unsalted butter chilled and cut into pieces
- 1 cup sugar
- 2-3 tbsps instant tapioca
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp almond flavoring
- 2 lbs tart cherries about 6 cups; rinsed and pitted
- 1 tbsp kirsch or brandy
- 1 tsp Demerara sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Make dough: in bowl of a food processor pulse together flour and salt just to combine. Add butter and pulse until chickpea-size pieces form. Add 3 to 6 tablespoons ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until mixture just comes together. Separate dough into 2 disks, one using 2/3 dough, the other using the remaining. Wrap disks in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days) before rolling out and baking.
- Bake bottom crust: Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place larger dough disk on a lightly floured surface and roll into a 12-inch circle, about 3/8-inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Line dough with foil and weigh it down with pie weights. Bake until crust is light golden brown, about 30 minutes.
- While pie crust is baking, prepare filling. In bowl of a food processor, combine sugar, tapioca, cinnamon, and almond flavoring (use more tapioca if you prefer a thicker, more solid filling, and less if you like a looser, juicier filling). Run the motor until tapioca is finely ground. Place cherries in a bowl and add sugar and tapioca mixture. Drizzle in kirsch or brandy and toss gently to combine.
- Fill pie with tart cheery filling: When pie crust is ready, transfer it to a wire rack to cool slightly and reduce heat to 375 degrees. Remove foil and weights. Scrape cherry filling into pie crust.
- Make upper crust: Place smaller disk of dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it 3/8-inch thick. Use a star-shaped cookie cutter (or other shapes of your choice) to cut out dough for upper crust. Arrange circles on top of cherry filling in a pattern of your choice.
- Bake the pie: Brush top crust with cream and sprinkle generously with Demerara sugar. Bake until crust is dark golden brown and filling begins to bubble, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer pie to a wire rack to cool for at least 2 hours, allowing filling to set before serving.
Excellent Cherry Bounce by Martha Washington, with modifications
Ingredients
- 10 lbs fresh tart cherry can use frozen tart cherries
- 8 cups French brandy can use American apple brandy
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 cups 100% cherry juice
- 2 sticks cinnamon broken into pieces
- 3 pieces cloves can be up to 5 pieces
- 2 slices fresh nutmeg a few slices or pieces
Instructions
- In a large glass or plastic container with a lid, put cherries, brandy, sugar and juice. Mix the cherries and the liquid gently with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved. Place the container in the refrigerator for 24 hours, occasionally stirring.
- Bring 3 cups of the cherry liquid to boil in a small saucepan with the cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Stir and simmer the juice for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
- Strain liquid from the spices, and add juice back into the larger batch. Return container to the refrigerator for another 24 hours.
- Remove container from refrigerator, and distribute cherries and liquid into smaller covered glass containers, making sure that the liquid completely covers the tops of the cherries. Set aside jars for at least one month, occasionally shaking jars in a circular motion.
- Serve cherries and cherry liquor at room temperature, and store the remainder in the refrigerator.
About The Author
Editor
Leave A Comment