strawberry cherry pie and a return from the dead

OH MY LORD it has been two months since my last post…

Nobody’s really been banging on my door demanding new recipes and an explanation for my absence, but I’ll give you both anyways. First –

Where Have I Been??

• pretending not to be an Asian tourist in Europe
• reuniting with my Mexican family in the Yucatan peninsula
• enduring a marathon of icebreakers at freshman orientation
• back home, where I have spent my days attempting calligraphy, figuring out college things, and making mediocre art

The view from a boat ride in Amsterdam.

Where you’ll find me next year…

I can cross Venice off my bucket list!

Venice from St. Mark’s Campanile

Can’t believe I just summarized my trips to Europe and Mexico in two bullet points, but there is just too much to say so I’ll let the stories and photos leak out slowly in the coming weeks. This is completely cliché but I feel like I’ve been learning so much about myself, as often happens during these months away from school/constant company, and I love it.

In terms of baking, sadly I am feeling pretty rusty. But! I absorbed plenty of pastry inspiration from the patisseries in France, snagged a recipe for Black Forest cake from Germany, as well as discovered some insanely good Mexican pan recipe I have yet to track down, so I’ll be back at full speed for the rest of the summer!

Using straws as strawberry hullers!

I thought I’d warm up with a classic summer recipe, some sort of flaky pie with a sweet berry filling. I settled on a strawberry cherry pie.

This might prompt you to question my credentials as a baker, but due to an unrelenting pie-crust-phobia this has been my first-ever pie from scratch. Also, on an unrelated note, my first-ever cherry recipe! Hooray for firsts.

My sister and I stained our fingers bright red while pitting dozens of cherries by hand and it was worth it. Sweet and tart, this pie tastes like summer and feels like a warm welcome after weeks away from home. Enjoy with whipped cream, or a la mode if you’re feeling fancy.

Strawberry Cherry Pie

Adapted from The Smitten Kitchen

1 recipe pie crust (recipe found here)
3 and 1/2 cups chopped strawberries
3 cups halved and pitted cherries
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sweet rice flour (or tapioca flour, or cornstarch, though cornstarch will create a thinner filling)
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter cut into small pieces
heavy cream for brushing
raw sugar for sprinkling

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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine strawberries, cherries, lemon juice, both sugars, sweet rice flour, and salt. Stir together well.

On a well-floured surface, roll out one half of the pie crust into a 10-12 inch circle (keep the other half refrigerated). The crust should be about 1/4 inch thick. Using a rolling pin, transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie dish. Pour filling on top, and dot with butter pieces.

Take out the other half of the pie crust and roll out into a second 10-12 inch circle. Cut into strips for a lattice top, or keep it simple. Place top crust over the filling, seal the edges, and make some fancy decorative edges (the fork technique has never failed me). Cut out designs from the top using a small knife, or just poke holes with a fork to let the steam escape.

Brush over the entire top of the pie with heavy cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, then lower temperature to 350 and bake for another 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Let the pie cool for several hours before cutting. You can also bake this the night before and eat the next day.