Cherry Crumb Pie Recipe

With a store-bought puff pastry base, juicy cherries, and an almond crumble topping, this French-inspired cherry crumb pie makes the perfect morning or afternoon treat. Serve it up with fresh whipped cream or ice cream.

To make the most of the cherry season, here is another cherry dessert. I mean to try Chocolate Financiers featuring fresh cherries first.

Do you agree that once summer arrives, fruit desserts become much-anticipated treats?

And who doesn't love fresh red berries, cherries, peaches, plums, and more?

In summer, I love to make fruit desserts that are bright in colors and delicious to taste. The actual problem is to decide what sweet treat to bake next.

This pie is made with a store-bought puff pastry as a pie base and a delicious almond-based streusel or crumb topping on top.

I have recently discovered that French chefs use puff pastry to make a pie or a tart crust, and I started implementing this technique.

The first tart I made with a puff pastry crust was French Strawberry Tart that was a hit.

Sweet or sour cherries

This crumb cherry pie recipe calls for sweet cherries, the ones found in any supermarket or farmer's market in summer.

You can equally use both types of sweet cherries - Bing cherries and Rainier cherries - to make the pie. But I personally prefer the dark red Bing cherries over to two-toned Rainier cherries.

Sour cherries, or tart cherries, are smaller than sweet cherries. Their season is short, about two weeks in late July.

It is a pain to pit them: the best way is to use the tip of a paper clip to push the pit out.

Sour cherries are often preserved in alcohol or used in baking or making chutneys.

If you make a pie with sour cherries, increase the amount of granulated sugar up to ⅔ cup + 2 tablespoons (180 g) while making the cherry filling.

Fresh cherries vs frozen cherries

Surely, when fresh cherries are in season, there is no better way to use them than making this crumb pie.

Frozen cherries used in baking are equally delicious. They are actually cooked or baked faster. And it is a pleasure to use them since they are sold pitted.

You can use fresh or frozen cherries in this cherry pie interchangeably. If you use frozen cherries, let the cherries thaw completely and make sure to drain off excess fruit liquid before making the filling.

How to pit cherries

Most cherry recipes require cherries to be pitted. But there is a French dessert - Cherry Clafoutis - that is actually made with unpitted cherries.

Interestingly, the unpitted cherries deliver an almond flavor into the preparation while baking. That's the secret in authentic cherry clafoutis making.

So, how to pit cherries to make this amazing pie? The easiest way to pit cherries is to use a cherry pitter. You can cut the cherries in haves and remove the pits manually too.

If you have a straw, you can poke it through a cherry until it hits the pit, then keep pushing through until the pit is pushed out the other side.

There is another tip on how to pit cherries. You can take an empty bottle of wine and a wooden skewer or a chopstick. 

Remove the stem from the cherry, place the cherry on the neck (the place where the stem was up).

Press the cherry with the flat end of the skewer to take out the pit and drop it into the bottom of the bottle. That's it!

Attention: to make sure that each cherry is pitted, cut cherries in half after pitting is done to ensure no pits are left.

Why you should try this recipe

1. This crumb cherry pie is one of the best summer desserts.
2. It is easy to make with fresh or frozen cherries interchangeably.
3. This French-inspired cherry filling is perfect to use while making a classic cherry pie with a lattice top.
4. The recipe is perfect for making cherry crumble by omitting the pie crust. Just top the cherry filling with buttery crumble and bake.

Ingredients

For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.

Puff pastry: use a store-bought frozen puff pastry or a store-bought pie crust to make this cherry pie.

Almond flour: it is used to make the crumble topping and sprinkle the puff pastry to prevent sogging. Replace it with hazelnut flour/meal if desired.

Cherries: use fresh cherries, pitted and halved. Read on how to pit cherries in this post.

Replace fresh cherries with the frozen ones, but make sure to drain off excess liquid after thawing the fruit.

Sugar: use granulated white sugar to make the cherry filling and golden brown sugar to make the streusel (crumb) topping.

Orange juice: make fresh orange juice using an organic orange and a citrus juicer.

Orange zest: use a zester grater to make fresh orange zest.

Cornstarch: it is used as a thickener while making the cherry filling.

Butter: make sure to use cold unsalted butter to obtain the correct texture of the pie crumble topping. Replace it with semi-salted butter if desired.

Flour: use all-purpose flour to make the crumble topping.

Icing (powdered) sugar: this ingredient is optional to bring a finishing touch to the pie.

How to make cherry crumb pie

To make the crumble topping, combine cold unsalted butter cut into small cubes, brown sugar, all-purpose, and almond flour in a medium bowl.

Mix with a fork or your hands until crumbly (photo 1). Refrigerate until needed.

To make the cherry filling, in a saucepan, bring the pitted cherries, orange juice, sugar, and orange zest to a boil.

Add cornstarch and cook for 1 to 2 minutes over low to medium, constantly stirring (photo 2). Let cool.

To assemble the pie, preheat the oven to 355 degrees F/180 degrees C. Thaw puff pastry and roll it out between two parchment paper sheets.

Line a fluted tart pan with pastry dough, trim edges (photo 3). Sprinkle with almond flour.

Using a slotted spoon, spoon the cherry filling into the pie crust, leaving an extra fruit liquid in the bowl (photo 4).

Sprinkle the crumble topping over cherries (photo 5). Bake for 45 minutes until golden brown (photo 6).

Let cool completely (for at least 2 hours) and sprinkle with icing (powdered) sugar.

Expert tips

1. Make-ahead option: prepare the crumble topping and cherry filling one day in advance. Cover both bowls with plastic film and refrigerate. The next day, assemble the pie and bake.
2. Check on the pie while baking. To prevent excessive browning, cover it with a piece of aluminum foil.
3. Place a foil-lined baking sheet on the rack below the pie to catch any butter or fruit spills if it happens.
4. Let the pie cool down completely before slicing and serving it. It allows the cherry filling to thicken up.
5. If you are up for a cherry crumble, you are free to make it. Omit the pie crust, pour the cherry filling into a glass pie plate, sprinkle with a crumb topping, and bake until browned on top.

Frequently asked questions

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Recipe card

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.