Cherry Pie

Jumping back in to the blog with a five minute dessert spectacular that the kids can pretty much make themselves. I'd say 'pantry cupboard staples' but it's probably a bit of a Belgian thing to have jars of cherries lying around in the  back of the cupboard. Here they eat cherry tarts, rice pudding with cherries, and even meatballs with cherry sauce. I got in trouble from the husband the first time he suggested meatballs and cherry sauce (frikadellen met krieken) for dinner, and I said 'Yeah, OK, but with what? Mash? Vegies? Pasta?'  But no, you are not allowed to serve it with anything else. Nothing, just a piece of white bread. Meatballs, cherries and white bread - add that to your list of nutritious Belgian dinners!

Anyhoo, it was Valentine's Day and I had a jar of cherries in the cupboard, a packet of pastry in the fridge, some eggs from our very own chookies, and a packet of marzipan left over from Christmas. So I invented a cherry pie for the cherry-lovin' husband, and it was delicious.


Ingredients:
1 sheet puff or shortcrust pastry
100g marzipan
1 jar cherries, drained
2 eggs
100ml cream
1 tablespoon sugar

Line a pie dish with the pastry
Get your eager and willing kids to chop the marzipan in to small pieces and put that on to the pastry, along with the cherries.

Whisk together the eggs and cream and sugar and pour over the top.
Bake for about 25 minutes at 200 degrees C.

I should really have blind baked the pastry as it had a bit of a soggy bottom, but for a super quick and easy dessert, this was a winner.  The marzipan kind of melts in to the egg and cream mix and forms a frangipane, but there are chewy little bits of caramelised marzipan on the top. Delish.

Almost as much of a winner as our bright pink new tablecloth which made it's debut for Valentines Day, much to the delight of the FlourGirl.