Cherry Crumb Pie With Almond Streusel

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So it's cherry time and everyone has a cherry recipe up on his or her blog.  Oh dear....

It's nail biting time for Lindaraxa, she who hates to bake pies and make cookies.  But she who knows how to make a shortcut sing no matter what.  And, much to her surprise and Madame Mere's, the stiffest judge on this face of the earth, this easy as pie recipe worked in spades!

Take a ready made crust from Mrs. Smith and partner it with an inspiration from a David Leibowitz tart and an adaptation of Dorie Greenspan's streussel topping and you get the quickest, easiest and most divine Cherry Almond Crumb Pie ever.  That's it, take a bow and exit right.

This shot is just to prove I really made this.

So you may ask, why did Lindaraxa fudge around with two recipes instead of making one or the other?

Well, David Leibowitz required apricots and I didn't have any ; but I did have a full bag of cherries that would have gone to waste quickly unless drastic measures were taken.  I also was not sure about the marzipan addition to the crumble.  I thought the almond flavor might be too intense and I preferred the subtle taste of almonds.

As to Dorie Greenspan's recipe....whilst her tart dough is easy and no problem for a neophyte like Lindaraxa, why not use one of the two ready made crusts in her freezer seeing she was running behind schedule.   There was also almond flour in her pantry....

The rest is for you to behold.  Even Madame Mere had no idea it was a ready made crust.  She is still asking about the recipe.  Mum's the word.

Look at that streusel topping...crispy and perfect!

Cherry Crumb Pie With Almond Streusel

Serves 6

1 Mrs. Smith frozen and ready to bake pie crust or

   a homemade sweet tart dough 

2 TB almond flour


Cherry Filling

• Enough cherries to fill an 8 inch pie crust, pitted
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar, depending how sweet you like your filling.  

Almond Streusel

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature*

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup almonds

3 to 4 drops almond extract

Directions:

Pit all the cherries. Add the cornstarch and the sugar to the cherries, mix and set aside.

Pre bake the pie crust according to directions.  Cool.

Make the crumble

Put all the ingredients except the nuts in a food processor and pulse just until the mixture forms clumps and curds and holds together when pressed.  Scrape the topping into a bowl, stir in the nuts and press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface.  (you can also do this by hand) Refrigerate until needed.  Covered well, the crumb mixture can stay in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

After the pie crust is cool sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of the almond flour on top.  This makes a layer between the crust and the filling and prevents it from getting soggy.

 Add the cherry/cornstarch mix.  

Add the crumble in tablespoons and scatter all over the top of the filling leaving some gaps in between.  Bake in a preheated 375 oven for 30 minutes or until it is bubbly and the top is golden. . Let cool for about a couple of hours.

It was really good the next day after it sat refrigerated overnight and brought to room temperature the next day.

*original has 10 TBS