Sweet Seasons, the latest cookbook by Michael and Pippa James, is a reflection on the seasons of their lives told via baking. The cookbook also features bakes from their time at Melbourne’s influential bakery Tivoli Road Bakery, which they took over in 2013 and sold in 2018.
“The recipes emulate the rhythms and seasons of our lives, from annual gluts to family celebrations and festive gatherings,” the couple write in the book’s introduction.
Michael’s Cornish childhood is revisited through recipes for Cornish saffron cake and warm rice pudding with berry compote, while Pippa’s upbringing in Canberra is poured into recipes like brown poles (the name for this almond slice is a riff on the National Gallery of Australia’s Jackson Pollock acquisition Blue Poles) and black forest gateau like the one her mum used to make. There’s also a section dedicated to recipes designed to be shared with friends, including British Bakewell tart and peach and rosemary galette, plus recipes for certain times of the year: Christmas mince pies, hot cross buns and this cherry and rye pie.
“Cherries herald the coming of Christmas in Australia,” the two write. “The lead-up to year’s end can feel hectic, and the making of this pie is an antidote to the frenetic pace of the season. It holds the lesson that good things take time, and it will taste better if you lean into that.”
The recipe makes the most of the glut of cherries available around Christmas – and if you have the family around for the holidays, be sure to enlist them to help.
“Pitting a kilo of cherries is a task best shared in a relaxed way, creating space for conversation to unfold, possibly with some test cricket on in the background. Be sure to taste as you work – who can resist fresh cherries?”
If fresh cherries aren’t an option, frozen pitted cherries can be used instead. Defrost them in a sieve over a bowl to collect the juice as they thaw. Reduce the juice slightly in a pan over a medium heat to concentrate the flavour before adding it back to the cherries.
And if your fresh cherries are on the tart side, add a further 10g of sugar; if they are too sweet, add an extra squeeze of lemon juice. You can also use spelt in place of rye flour for a softer, nuttier flavour in the pastry, or any wholegrain flour will do nicely.
Cherry and rye pie by Michael and Pippa James
Serves 8–10
Preparation time: 1 hour 45 minutes, plus refrigeration (at least 1 hour) and maceration (at least 2 hours)
Cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients
800g fresh pitted cherries (1kg whole unpitted)
140g raw cane sugar
28g cornflour
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (or 1 tsp vanilla paste)
1 tbsp lemon juice
Grated zest of 1 lemon
20g unsalted butter, cut into 1cm dice
Raw sugar, to sprinkle
Clotted cream, vanilla ice-cream or mascarpone, to serve
WHOLE RYE FLAKY PASTRY
225g unsalted butter, chilled
180g rye flour or wholegrain rye flour
170g plain flour
5g fine sea salt
EGG WASH
1 egg
Splash of full-cream milk
Pinch of fine sea salt
Method
Cut the butter into 1cm dice and chill it in the freezer while you weigh up the rest of your ingredients.
Put the flour and salt in a mound on your kitchen bench and scatter the chilled butter cubes over the top. Use a rolling pin to roll the butter into the flour, gathering the flour back into the middle as you go with a dough scraper. Keep rolling until the mixture has a crumbly texture, with pea-sized lumps or shards of butter still visible.
Make a well in the middle, and add 140ml of cold water. Use a dough scraper or spoon to gently cut the flour into the water until you have an even crumbly texture, gathering up any leaks as you do.
Use your fingertips to gently push it all together into a rough dough, with a slightly sticky texture. If it feels dry, add more water, 1 tbsp at a time, until there are no floury bits left.
Roll or press the dough out into a rectangle roughly 2–3cm thick (exact dimensions are not important here). Fold one-third of the dough into the middle, then the other third over the top of that, as if folding a letter. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll it out again, into a rectangle roughly 2–3cm thick, then repeat the letter fold. Don’t worry about making these folds perfectly neat – this is just to finish bringing the dough together and layering the butter, which results in a lovely flakiness. If the dough is still a bit dry or floury, add a bit more water as you go.
Rotate and roll out the dough once more into a rectangle 2–3cm thick and do one last fold. Wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
Whilst the dough is resting, put the pitted cherries in a bowl with the sugar, cornflour, vanilla, lemon juice and zest. Stir gently to combine well, then set aside to macerate for a couple of hours, or overnight.
Meanwhile, prepare your rested pastry. Grease a 23cm pie dish. Divide the pastry in half and roll one piece out into a circle 3mm thick – this is for the bottom of your pie. We’re not blind baking it, so you don’t want it to be thick (thick pastry equals undercooked pastry, and nobody wants that).
Gently lay your pastry circle over the pie dish and use your thumb to press it into the corners. Leave any overhang for now, to allow for shrinkage. Transfer your lined dish to the fridge and turn your attention to the other piece of pastry.
Roll the second piece of pastry out to 4mm thick and cut strips 5cm wide for the lattice top. You will need differing lengths – longer ones for the middle, shorter for the edges. Lay the strips on a tray and pop it in the fridge.
When you’re ready to finish building the pie, preheat the oven to 190°C. If you have a pizza stone, it’s a good idea to put it in the oven now, as the extra heat will help to bake the base. Make the egg wash by lightly whisking the egg, milk and salt together.
Strain your cherries and put the liquid in a small, heavy-based saucepan. Reduce over a medium heat until thick and jammy. Put the cherries in the pie dish, pour over the thickened juice and scatter the butter cubes over the top. Arrange the pastry strips into a closed lattice over the pie, weaving as you go. Gently press the edges together to seal the pie, or pinch the pastry into a crimped pattern, and gently trim any overhanging pieces (keep these for another use).
Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash and sprinkle the lattice strips with raw sugar. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180°C and bake for another 20–30 minutes, until your pastry is lovely and golden. If the pastry is getting dark around the edges while the middle is still underbaked, gently fold strips of aluminium foil over the edges to protect them while the rest bakes through.
Cool for 10 minutes before serving with clotted cream, vanilla ice-cream or mascarpone.
This is an edited extract from Sweet Seasons by Michael and Pippa James (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $50). Available in stores nationally.
