Apple pie may rule fall, but cherry pie is summer’s queen, lording over all other flavors for the few brief weeks when fresh cherries are in season. Because, while cherry pies made with frozen fruit are perfectly delightful, nothing beats the juicy bite of seasonal cherries, baked until syrupy and wrapped in a buttery crust.
The only question is, sour cherries or sweet? Each has its virtues. Sweet cherries are complex and gently spicy, with a crisp flesh that holds its shape even after baking. Sour cherries are tangier and more perfumed, with a tendency to break down to something between a compote and a glossy jam. You can make this recipe using either kind of cherry, with a few small adjustments.
To play up the acidity of mellow sweet cherries, I stir the grated zest and juice of a lemon into the fruit. Lime also works, adding floral notes along with its bite. You can skip this step with sour cherries, which are born zippy.
Sour cherries do need more sugar than sweet, but how much more depends on exactly how sour they are. Taste one. If you squint forcefully and uncontrollably, use the whole cup of sugar; three-quarters of a cup will probably do it for a fluttering-eyelid kind of tang.
You have options for the tapioca thickener, too. Use less for a slice of pie whose juices stream all over your plate, possibly mingling with some vanilla ice cream alongside. Using the full amount of tapioca will give you a pie that’s neater to cut and serve, with a wobbly, jellylike filling.
I used to prebake the bottom crust of all my fruit pies, just to make sure it stayed nice and crisp. Nowadays, I find that using a metal pie pan (for good heat conduction) set on a piping-hot baking sheet in the bottom third of your oven works nearly as well and saves a whole step. But, if you’re using glass or ceramic pans, which don’t conduct heat as well, consider prebaking, or simply baking the whole pie a bit longer. (Glass pans let you see the color of the crust, so leave it in the oven until it’s well bronzed.)
The cherries will remain just as vibrant, because for the next few weeks, they reign supreme.
