Cherry Pie with
Lemon Custard

To make this pie nut free, simply omit the almonds from the pie pastry.
To make the dish soya-free, replace the soya milk with another non-dairy milk, such as almond or rice.

For the Pie:

75g vegan margarine
25g unrefined icing sugar
125g plain flour
10ml (2 tsp) soya milk
2 tsp ground almonds

10ml (2 tsp) soya milk
1 tsp soya flour

225g fresh cherries, washed. halved and pitted
25g unrefined caster sugar
5-10ml (1-2 tsp) water

To make the pastry, cream the margarine with the sugar and half of the plain flour. Add 10ml of soya milk, mix in the rest of the plain flour and the ground almonds. Wrap in plastic film and chill in a fridge for 30 minutes.
Roll the pastry out and line 4 individual tart tins (9cm diameter).
Cover and rest in the fridge for one hour. Bake at 170°C for 10 minutes.

Mix the soya flour with 10ml of the soya milk. Brush the inside and rim of the part-baked pastry cases with the mixture, and cook for a further 2 minutes at 170°C, to seal the cases.

Mix the cherries with the caster sugar and place in a hot heavy based pan. Add the water and stir the cherries to glaze them. Divide the berry mixture between the four pastry cases.
Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes at 170°C.

For the Custard:

1 lemon
500ml soya milk
25g (2 Tbsp) custard powder
25g unrefined caster sugar

Peel the lemon and remove the pith from the peel. Place the lemon peel in the milk. Leave in a cool place to infuse for about 2 hours. After this time, pass the milk through a sieve to remove the lemon peel.
Warm all but 30ml of the milk in a saucepan to just below boiling. Mix the reserved 30ml of milk with the custard powder and sugar to form a smooth paste.
Pour the warm milk onto the custard powder mix, stirring well.
Return the mix to the saucepan, and bring to the boil, stirring continuously until the custard begins to thicken.
Serve immediately with the pie.

Serves 4