Sweet pies with cherries: sharing the secrets of making seasonal pastries

Cherry pies can be called a traditional Ukrainian pastry without exaggeration. They have a wonderful flavor and go well with compote or milk – a true taste of childhood. And now is the right time for such a dish, because the cherry season is in full swing. The main thing is to prepare a dough that is fluffy, elastic and baked well.

The idea of making fluffy pies with cherries was published on the Instagram page of food blogger Yulia Simonchuk (cook_julija_simonchuk).

Ingredients for the dough:

• flour - 500 g
• milk - 160 g
• sugar - 100 g
• butter - 70 g
• dry yeast - 7 g
• vanilla sugar - 10 g
• eggs - 2 pcs.
• salt - 2 g
• yolk of 1 egg and a little milk for greasing

Ingredients for the filling:

• cherries - 500 g
• sugar - 120 g
• starch - 6 g

Ingredients for streusel:

• butter - 20 g
• flour - 40 g
• sugar - 20 g

How to prepare the dough:

1. Add yeast, 1 tbsp of the total amount of sugar, and flour to warm (not hot) milk, mix, cover with foil, and set aside for 10-15 minutes.

2. Lightly beat the eggs with the rest of the sugar (and vanilla sugar), and salt, add soft butter, and dough and mix. Gradually add the sifted flour and knead the dough. Knead the dough for at least 10 minutes; at first glance, it seems a bit stiff, but keep kneading and don't add anything.

3. Put the dough into a bowl greased with a drop of oil, cover and let it rise until it triples in size. Knead and divide into 16 pieces. Form into balls, place on a surface, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 5-10 minutes.

4. At this time, prepare the filling: wash the cherries (pits can be removed). Mix the starch and sugar.

5. Roll out the ball or form it with your hands, put a teaspoon of sugar and starch, then the cherries, you can sprinkle sugar and starch on top.

6. Pinch the cake well. No need to add flour to the dough in the process.

7. Put it on a baking sheet covered with parchment.

8. Let it rise, brush with beaten egg yolk with a drop of milk, and sprinkle with streusel (butter, sugar, and flour ground into crumbs).

9. Put in a preheated oven at 190 degrees for 25 minutes until golden brown.