Image is for illustrative purposes only.
This is a simple cooked cherry filling built on canned cherries and their own syrup, thickened with modified starch so it sets clear and glossy rather than cloudy. A little cinnamon, vanilla and citric acid lift it, so the fruit tastes bright and sharp instead of flat and sugary.
It is the filling to reach for in pies and tarts, but it also works spooned between sponge layers, into baked cheesecakes, or as a topping on a cream torte. Because modified starch holds up to heat, the filling can go into the oven inside a pastry case without thinning out or weeping.
Ingredients
The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units',
you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
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Weight Per Unit: 594
Number of Units: 2
Unit Size: 20 cm pie, about 600 g of filling each
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WEIGHT
(grams)
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ALTERNATIVE METRIC
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INGREDIENT
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IMAGE
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CONDITION
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A
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625 |
22 ounces
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Canned Cherries
Canned cherries are pitted cherries preserved in syrup or juice. They are already soft and ready to use, so they only need draining and a gentle fold through the hot thickened syrup at the end.
pitted, in syrup
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drained |
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B
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375 |
1.6 cups
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Canned Fruit Syrup
Canned fruit syrup is the sweet liquid that canned fruit is packed in. Drain it off tinned cherries or other tinned fruit and keep it; it carries both flavour and sugar, so it makes a better base for a compote than plain water.
the syrup from the cherries
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C
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125 |
4.4 ounces
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Sugar
Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
caster
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D
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50 |
1.8 ounces
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Modified Starch
Modified starch is a corn or tapioca starch that has been treated so it thickens smoothly and stays stable when acid, sugar and freezing are involved. In a glaze it gives body and shine without becoming cloudy or watery; plain corn starch can be used instead, though the set will be a little softer.
heat and freeze stable
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E
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3 |
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Cinnamon
Cinnamon (/ˈsɪnəmən/ sin-ə-mən) is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods. While Cinnamomum verum is sometimes considered to be "true cinnamon", most cinnamon in international commerce is derived from related species, which are also referred to as "cassia" to distinguish them from "true cinnamon".
ground
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F
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5 |
1 teaspoon
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Vanilla Essence
Vanilla Extract is made with 100% pure vanilla beans. With a sweet, syrupy consistency, this Vanilla is ideal for use in icings, drinks and whipped cream as well as classic baking recipes. Vanilla Essence is commercially manufactured by chemicals and is more of a watery consistency as opposed to vanilla extract which is thicker and a lot fuller and richer in flavour. You can replace one with the other but use 50% more of essence. For example, for 1 teaspoon of extract, use 1.5 teaspoons of essence.
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G
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5 |
0.2 ounce
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Citric Acid
Citric acid is the natural acid found in lemons and other citrus fruit, sold as fine white crystals or powder. A small pinch sharpens the flavour of sugar syrups and helps stop them crystallising during storage.
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dissolved in a little water |
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1188
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Recipe Calculator Tool
Using this tool, you can alter this recipe for your own requirements. Use the two fields below to generate new weights for the ingredients above.
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Method
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STEP
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ACTION
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DETAIL
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CONDITION
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1 |
Prepare |
Drain A (canned cherries) well in a colander over a bowl, keeping the syrup. Measure out B (canned cherry syrup), topping it up with water if the cans are short. |
Cherries well drained so the filling does not thin down |
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2 |
Mix |
In a bowl, whisk C and D (caster sugar and modified starch) together dry, then whisk in about a quarter of the measured syrup. |
Smooth slurry with no lumps of starch |
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3 |
Heat |
Bring the remaining syrup to the boil in a saucepan over medium heat. |
Simmering steadily around the edges |
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4 |
Thicken |
Whisking constantly, pour the starch slurry into the boiling syrup and cook for a minute or two. |
Thick, clear and glossy; it should coat the back of a spoon |
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5 |
Flavour |
Take the pan off the heat and stir in E, F and G (cinnamon, vanilla essence and citric acid). |
Evenly mixed; taste and check it is pleasantly sharp, not flat |
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6 |
Fold |
Fold the drained cherries through the hot thickened syrup with a spatula. |
Fruit coated and whole, not crushed |
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7 |
Cool |
Spread the filling in a shallow tray, press cling film onto the surface and leave to cool. |
Cold and set to a soft, spoonable gel before using |
Important Notes
The quarter batch given here makes about 1,190 g of filling, enough for two 20 cm pies or one large deep-dish pie. The chef's own bakery batch of 4.752 kg fills seven pies, so allow roughly 600 g of filling per pie.
Modified starch is used instead of cornflour because it stays clear and stable when baked or frozen, so the filling will not weep inside a pastry case. If you substitute cornflour, the set will be softer and less bake-stable.
The citric acid does the work of lemon juice without adding liquid; add it off the heat, as acid added while boiling can weaken the starch set. Store the cooled filling covered in the fridge and use within 4 to 5 days, or freeze it in portions.
Tools & Arrangements
Colander and bowl for draining, digital scales, medium heavy-based saucepan, balloon whisk, rubber spatula, shallow tray for cooling, cling film
