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Custard cherry hand pies recipe – more delicious than from bakery
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Custard cherry hand pies

Fruity, very creamy, moist, crispy and fluffy at the same time taste the custard cherry hand pies. The perfect combination of the fluffy plunder dough, the delicate custard and the tart cherry filling makes them heavenly delicious. You can use this recipe to make cherry hand pies at home, which taste even better than those from the bakery. They are ideal for breakfast or for dessert after dinner with a cup of coffee and tea.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Prep Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
cooling and rise time 3 hours
Servings 10 pieces

Ingredients

for the dough

  • 250 ml milk lukewarm
  • 50 g butter room-warm
  • 40 g sugar
  • 1 egg
  • approx. 520 g flour
  • 21 g fresh yeast
  • 8 g vanilla sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • flour for the work surface

additionally for the plunder dough

  • 250 g butter cold

for the custard filling

  • 500 ml milk
  • 120 g sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 40 g cornstarch
  • 50 g butter
  • 8 g vanilla sugar

for the cherry filling

  • 400 g sour cherries frozen
  • 20 g sugar
  • 20 g cornstarch

for the coating

  • 1 egg room-warm

Instructions

Preparation of the cherry filling

  • Defrost and drain frozen sour cherries on a sieve, catching the liquid.
  • Weigh out 30 ml of the cherry liquid and dissolve cornstarch in it.
  • Put the sour cherries, the remaining cherry liquid and sugar in a saucepan and bring it to a boil, stirring so that the sugar dissolves before it boils.
  • Take the saucepan with the cherries off the heat and add the cornstarch dissolved in cherry liquid in a thin stream, stirring constantly.
  • Place the cherry mixture back on the stove, bring to a boil, and simmer, stirring, until thickened, about 2 - 3 minutes. Then let the cherry filling cool at room temperature and refrigerate it until you need it.

Preparation of the custard filling

  • Dissolve cornstarch in 50 ml of milk.
  • Add egg yolks and mix until homogeneous.
  • Put sugar and the remaining 450 ml of milk in a saucepan and bring it to a boil, stirring so that the sugar dissolves before it boils.
  • Take the saucepan with the milk off the heat and add the egg yolk-cornstarch mixture in a thin stream, stirring constantly.
  • Return the saucepan with the milk to the stove, bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and continue to cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes.
  • Take the custard off the heat and immediately stir in the vanilla sugar and butter. Then let the custard cool, stirring occasionally.

Preparation of the dough

  • Dissolve fresh yeast and sugar in lukewarm milk.
  • Add softened butter, egg, vanilla sugar and salt and mix roughly.
  • Add flour in batches and knead into a soft, slightly sticky dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes so that it becomes elastic and smooth, wrap it loosely in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
  • Cut cold butter into thin sheets and also place in the refrigerator while the dough rests.
  • On a floured work surface, roll out the dough into a large rectangle. Spread the cold butter slabs side by side on one half of the rectangle, leaving a border about 2 cm wide, and place the second half of the dough rectangle on top, pressing the edge of the dough firmly on all sides.
  • Now carefully roll out the buttered dough into a long rectangle, first fold in one of the shorter sides of the rectangle 1/3 to the center, and then fold in the second side just as 1/3 to the center. Now fold the dough from the two folded sides together like a book, wrap it in baking paper or plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
  • Roll the dough sheet out again on the floured work surface into a long rectangle, fold one of the shorter sides of the square in half to the center and place the second short side over it. Wrap the dough sheet in baking paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Repeat this step once more.

Preparation of the cherry hand pies

  • Roll out the dough on the floured work surface to a rectangle about 0.3 - 0.5 cm thick and cut it into 10 smaller rectangles about 10 cm x 20 cm.
  • Spread about 1 - 1.5 tablespoons of custard on one half of each dough rectangle (from the short side), spread about 1 - 1.5 tablespoons of cherry filling on top of the custard.
  • Cut slits in the second half of each dough rectangle and fold each half over the cherry custard filling. Press the edges of the filled dough pieces together with a fork.
  • Spread the dough pieces on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing them generously apart, and let them rise at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
  • First brush the dough pieces on one of the two baking sheets with beaten egg and bake them in a preheated oven at 200 °C top and bottom heat for about 15 minutes. Repeat the same with the dough pieces on the second baking tray.

Notes

  • You can adjust the amount of sugar for the custard filling according to your taste. Keep in mind that the plunder dough is barely sweetened, and the cherry filling has a sour taste.
  • You can also adjust the amount of sugar for the cherry filling to taste.
  • Instead of fresh yeast, you can use dry yeast for the dough. For the recipe you will then need 7 g of it.
  • The amount of flour given may vary. Therefore, add the flour in portions until the dough has the right consistency. It should be very soft and slightly sticky, in no case dry or too firm.
  • The time needed to thaw the cherries is not included in the preparation time.
  • Note the detailed tips and tricks for making the custard cherry hand pies at the top of the post.