Valentine's Day

Heartbreak Pie (aka Black-Bottom Cherry Pie)

February 10, 2015
5
1 Ratings
  • Makes one 9.5" pie
Author Notes

I came up with this after a particularly difficult break-up, modifying Rose Levy Beranbaum's sweet cherry pie recipe and Paul Grimes' chocolate tart recipe to create an entirely new pie. With a chocolate ganache bottom, a cherry-raspberry top, and a barely sweet pastry shell, this pie is a tart, bittersweet experience in every bite. —amykelinda

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Ingredients
  • Pastry Shell (this is Rose Levy Beranbaum's "Perfect Flaky Crust" recipe)
  • 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
  • 3 cups bleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking powder (a dash)
  • 2/3 cup cream cheese, cold
  • 4 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 4 teaspoons cider vinegar
  • Ganache and Cherry-Raspberry Fillings
  • 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
  • 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups pitted Bing cherries
  • 1/2 cup raspberries
  • 3/4 cup sugar (minus 1 tbs)
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch (minus 1 tsp)
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • turbinado sugar (optional)
Directions
  1. Pastry Shell (this is Rose Levy Beranbaum's "Perfect Flaky Crust" recipe)
  2. Cube the butter and freeze for 30 minutes. Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in a freezer bag and freeze for 30 minutes as well.
  3. In a food processor, process the cold flour and cream cheese for about 20 seconds until it looks like a coarse meal. Add in the frozen butter and pulse until the butter is slightly smaller the size of peas.
  4. Add the cider vinegar and heavy cream and pulse until the mixture comes together. It won’t stick together into a cohesive lump (yet), so don’t worry! Turn the dough onto a cutting board and quickly knead it with the heel of your hands until it comes together.
  5. Divide into halves and flatten into rough discs. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
  1. Ganache and Cherry-Raspberry Fillings
  2. For the chocolate ganache bottom, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Pour it over the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate melts and is smooth.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and salt. While whisking the chocolate, drizzle in the egg mixture and whisk until it’s nicely combined. Set aside.
  4. For the cherry-raspberry top, combine the cherries, raspberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes. Over medium heat, stir the mixture constantly until it bubbles and thickens and the cherries and raspberries break down a bit, which should take 1-3 minutes.
  5. Cool the mixture and add in the lemon zest and vanilla. Stir well to combine. Set aside.
  6. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
  7. Roll both discs of pie dough on a floured surface until they’re both ¼” thick. Trim one to be a 13″ round. Line the bottom of the pie pan with the 13″ round and decoratively crimp the edges, then poke some holes into the bottom with a fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  8. With the other disc of pie dough, cut out decorative shapes — hearts, circles, ducks, whatever — and refrigerate the pieces for 30 minutes.
  9. Pour the ganache into the chilled pie dish, then gently top with the cherry-raspberry mixture. Arrange the decorative shapes on top. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar (optional).
  10. Put the pie dish on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes on the middle rack, rotating halfway through. If the crust starts browning too much, cover it with foil and continue baking.
  11. Let the pie cool completely before serving so that the filling sets. Serve at room temperature.

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1 Review

Carson M. December 11, 2019
Looks awesome to eat 💜