Ingredients
Crust:
1 cups flour
1/2 cup rendered lard
1/4 cup cold water
Pinch of salt
Fruit Filling:
2 cups pitted sour cherries
1 ¼ cup white sugar
10 tsp. Cornstarch
1 tbs. Butter, melted
¼ tsp. Almond flavoring
½ tsp. Cinnamon
¼ tsp. Ground nutmeg
Mascarpone Cheese Layer:
8 oz. Mascarpone cheese, softened
½ cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. Almond extract
Topping:
½ Cup chopped pecans
½ cup brown sugar
4 tbs. Butter, melted
Directions
Crust:
Cut lard into the flour until the particales are the size of small peas. Dissolve the salt into the ice cold water. Sprinkle in the water until the flour mixture is moistened. Gather the pastry into a ball and refrigerate overnight. Roll pastry out on floured board. Fold the pastry into quarters, unfold and ease into the pie pan.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and bake for 10 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Cool completely.
Fruit Filling:
Mix together pitted cherries, sugar, cornstarch, melted butter, almond flavoring, cinnamon and ground nutmeg. Cook on medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture is thick. Cool completely. Pour 1/3 of the cherry filling into the baked crust.
Mascarpone Cheese Layer:
Beat the softened mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar and almond extract together until smooth.
In another bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream until peaks form. Gently blend in the mascarpone cheese mixture until smooth. Spoon over the cherry fruit filling layer and smooth over the top.
Topping:
Combine nuts and brown sugar. Stir in melted butter until mixture is crumbly. Crumble mixture over the mascarpone cheese layer. Refrigerate the pie until ready to serve.