This Cherry Cola Crumb Pie has a cherry cola filling topped with a crumb topping and glazed with a cola ice cream glaze.
It’s National Mathematical Constant that is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, approximately equal to 3.14159 Day.
Otherwise known as Pi day.
And a lot of people, especially bakers, celebrate Pi day by making pies.
I am no exception.
For I made this Cherry Cola Crumb Pie for Pi day.
I have quite a few cherry cola based recipes on this blog, but oddly enough not a cherry pie recipe.
So here it is.
Cherry Cola Crumb Pie Details:
- Flavor: While the cherry flavor is front and center in this pie, you’ll enjoy the hint of cola as well as the buttery crumb topping.
- Texture: There is a lot going on texture wise with this pie. You have the pie crust, which has a little tang from the cream cheese, that is flaky. You have the bursting cherries. A butter crumb topping. And then a smooth cola glaze.
- Difficulty Level: Overall, this is about a medium level of difficulty. For me personally, pie is never easy. And it never cooperates for pictures. 😀 But the difficulty in this pie is just all the steps. But the pie crust can be made ahead of time. So can the crumb topping.
Ingredient Highlights:
As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found at the bottom of this post.
- Cola: I used Coke for this recipe. You can use your favorite cola as long as it’s not diet.
- Pie Cherries: Pie cherries are a tart cherry. I am fortunate the I live in Washington state and have a great selection of cherries that I freeze so I have them all year long. You can almost always find them in the freezer section.
- Unsalted Butter: I use European butter with the highest butterfat I can find. Most of the butter you find at the store is 80%. European butter starts at 83%. Brands like Plugra, Kerrygold, Danish Creamery, and Straus are examples of European butter.
- Baker’s Sugar: Also known as Superfine Sugar. It is granulated sugar that has been finely ground so the crystals are smaller. As a result, it dissolves easier than regular granulated sugar.
- Vanilla: I am a Rodelle vanilla girl through and through.
- Brown sugar: I like the caramelized flavor that brown sugar provides.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch is used to help absorb the liquid the cherries release.
- Vanilla Ice Cream: I use melted vanilla ice cream as part of my glaze. You will also want it to serve with the pie.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Why do I have to bake pie on preheated baking sheet?
Because this helps with bottom crust not being soggy. While I did the cardinal sin of cutting by pie before it was ready (the sun was going down and I needed to take photos) it amazingly still had a flaky bottom.
Can I freeze this pie?
Baked and cooled cherry pie can be covered tightly and frozen for 2-3 months as long as you do not glaze it. You will need to glaze after you thaw the pie overnight in the refrigerator.
Do I have to use tart cherries?
Since you are adding both sugar and cola you are going to want to use a more tart cherry. If you are using one of the sweeter varieties you may want to reduce the sugar amount.
Do I have to use the glaze?
While you can certainly skip the glaze, the whole point of the pie is the have a hint of cola throughout it. And the glaze really adds to that.
Baking at Two Temperatures:
Why do some pie recipes call for an initially hot oven temperature that you eventually lower? Baking this pie at 400F for 20 minutes helps the pie dough set and activates the cornstarch in the filling. After that, reduce oven temperature down to 375F to continue baking the pie.
P.S. It’s a great day to buy my cookbook Holy Sweet!
Want More Pie Recipes?
Cinnamon Toast Crunch Apple Slice
Cherry Cola Crumb Pie
Ingredients
- For the Cream Cheese Pie Crust:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened but still cool
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
- pinch of salt
- For the Cola Syrup:
- One 12-ounce can Coke (or Pepsi or other cola...just no diet soda)
- For the Cherry Cola Filling:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 TBSP cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 cups whole pitted pie cherries (about 2 pounds whole unpitted cherries)
- 1/4 cup cola syrup
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- For the Crumb Topping:
- 12 TBSP unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 12 TBSP unsalted butter
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- For the Glaze:
- 2 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 5 TBSP cola (not diet)
- 4 TBSP vanilla ice cream, melted
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- For the Crust:
- In a mixer, combine all ingredients and mix on medium-low until it forms a dough.
- Divide dough into two equal balls and flatten each into a disk.
- Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days in the fridge. Since you only need one, I suggest freezing the other for another day. Will be good in the freezer for 3 months.
- For the Cola Syrup:
- Place Coke in a saucepan over medium-high heat and reduce to a little more than 1/3 cup, about 25-30 minutes.
- Watch carefully because it can start to burn.
- Set aside to cool.
- For the Filling:
- Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend.
- Stir in cherries, cola syrup, and lemon juice; set aside.
- To Make The Pie:
- Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 14-inch round.
- Fit into a 9-inch pie plate.
- Trim any excess dough to leave a 1/2-inch overhang.
- Chill shell while making the crumb topping.
- For the Crumb Topping:
- Cut cold butter into a small dice.
- Add the brown sugar, flour, and salt and then, using a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour and sugar until the mixture forms coarse crumbs.
- Remove pie shell from fridge.
- Pour in the cherry filling.
- Top with the crumb topping.
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Bake pie on preheated baking sheet for 20 minutes, then cover edge with a pie shield or foil and reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
- Continue to bake until crust is deep golden and filling is bubbling in center, 50 minutes to 1 hour more.
- Transfer pie to a rack to cool completely, about 3 to 4 hours.
- For the Glaze:
- Simply whisk together the Coke, butter, melted vanilla ice cream, and powdered sugar in a medium bowl.
- Drizzle glaze over the top of the pie.
- Let the glaze set up.
- Serve pie with vanilla ice cream.
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