Sour cherry is one of the most popular fruits in our country, you can find at least one tree in almost every garden. Hungary is the second biggest producer of sour cherry in the European Union, 60.000-90.000 tons are produced annually. It’s not by chance that sour cherries are beloved and often used ingredient of fruity desserts.

Sour cherry pie is a timeless dessert favorite that reminds me of holidays and celebrations of years past. Making sour cherry pie is a lot easier than you think. All you have to do is to knead a shortcrust pastry and make the filling which is thickened with vanilla pudding. I keep the ingredients for the filling simple because I don’t think the fruit needs any embellishment.

I cook the pudding with sour cherry juice and I don’t add lemon juice or zest because the cherries are plenty tart naturally. I usually use jarred sour cherries, but this recipe can also be adapted to frozen tart cherries, just let them melt completely, so you will have enough juice for thickening.