Cherry Banana Mini Pies

Did you know this Wednesday is a special day? Well, aside from it being my birthday(!) July 16^th also happens to be National Cherry Day.
When I was sent a cherry pitter from the good people at OXOGood Grips, I knew exactly what I wanted to make with cherries.

A delicious pie baked with the flavor of cherries AND bananas. It’s a flavor combo I’ve been thinking of for a while. I figured the sweetness of the cherries and bananas would make for a really sweet tangy pie.
Instead of one big pie, I decided to make individual pies instead. I used a large muffin pan which housed the individual pies perfectly. And I cheated – I admit, I used shop-bought short-crust pastry. If you want to make your own, grab the recipe here. But when time is tight, I always used pre-made pastry.

I had never used a cherry pitter before but found it very easy to use. Without one pitting the 200 grams of cherries I used would have been a nightmare. But pop a cherry into the gadget and you are done in no time at all. The pitter is also good for olives too btw.

I made a thick cherry pie filling and let it cool before adding banana as I didn’t want the banana to cook down before going into the oven.

I made a cute lattice top for the pies from the pastry which let the fruit juices bubble up to reveal the flavours going on inside. Here’s how I made them.
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Cherry Banana Mini Piesby Stuart Vettese July-14-2014Individual shortcrust pies, filled with a thick cherry and banana fruity filling.Ingredients

• 1 roll Shortcrust Pastry
• 200 grams Pitted Cherries
• 2 medium Bananas
• 55 grams Granulated Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Fresh lemon Juice
• 2 tablespoons Cornflour
• 100 ml Water
• 1/4 teaspoon Almond Extract
• 1 tablespoon Milk
• 1 tablespoon Sugar Crystals

InstructionsPreheat the oven to 200c and grease four cups of a large muffin tin. Cut the pitted cherries into quarters and place in a large saucepan with the sugar, lemon juice, cornflour, water and almond extract. Bring the mix to the boil, stirring constantly then reduce and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile slice the banana in discs and quarter each disc. Remove the cherry mix from the heat and stir in the banana. Allow the mix to cool whilst you prepare the pie shells. Cut circles of pastry large enough to fill each muffin cup. Spoon the pie filling into each well, so that it is slightly heaping. Make the lattice topping by weaving strips of leftover pastry, the cutting out with a pastry cutter, the size of each muffin cup. Transfer the lattice top to each pie and press the top and the sides together slightly. Lastly wash the pastry tops with a little milk and sprinkle with sugar crystals. Place the pies into the oven for 20 minutes or until they are golden brown on top. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before removing them from the muffin tray. Enjoy.DetailsPrep time: 1 hour Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 1 hour 50 mins Yield: 4 mini pies

And here are some other cherry recipes, from well-known bloggers, to get you inspired for National Cherry Day:
Kavey Eats: Homemade White Cherry Rum Liqueur
Maison Cupcake: Cherry Meringue Pie
Veggie Desserts: Black Forest Cherry Chocolate Avocado Mousse
Franglais Kitchen: Sour Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Food to Glow: Cherry Chocolate Clafoutis
The Botanical Baker: Cherry and Almond Muffins
Fab Food 4 All: Cherzipan Cake
Fuss Free Flavours: Black Cherry Syllabub

I'm entering this bake into this month's Biscuit Barrel Challenge, hosted by Laura over at I'd Much Rather Bake Than... The theme this month is In-Season Fruit, which cherries are! As these are mini pies they would fit, rather messily, into a biscuit barrel!

Disclosure Statement: I received the cherry pitter free to review. Any opinions expressed are my own.