This Cherry Vanilla Cream Pie features a velvety smooth vanilla cream pie filling, that’s topped with a luscious red tart cherry topping made with fresh or frozen cherries. It’s the best combo ever! You may never want to eat regular cherry pie again. It’s that good!

Any dessert using red tart cherries takes me back to my childhood when we had several cherry trees right outside of our kitchen window on the farm. My mother made fresh cherry pies, cherry preserves, and cherry cobbler. I didn’t have a favorite. I loved all of them! These days I use red tart cherries in as many desserts as I can. They are the best!

I make regular cherry pie quite often, but I wondered what it would taste like to hide a homemade rich vanilla cream filling underneath all that luscious cherry pie filling. Needless to say, I was not disappointed in my pie testing. The combination of the vanilla filling and that luscious tart cherry pie filling results in the perfect pie!

If you can’t get your hands on fresh red tart cherries, you can use frozen. As a matter of fact, I use frozen most of the time. I have one cherry tree that yields enough cherries for 2 to 3 pies, and I bake cherry pies year-round. I think I need more cherry trees.

You can find frozen red tart cherries at GFS stores and I also find them at my local Meijer store. Most grocery stores seem to carry dark red sweet cherries only, so it’s sometimes hard to find red tart cherries. When I find them, I buy several bags and hoard them in my freezer.

There are two parts to making this pie…three if you count the pie crust. Both parts are cooked on the stovetop, so you only need to heat your oven to bake the empty pie shell.

Vanilla Cream Filling Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 cup half & half
  • 3 large egg yolks, slightly beaten
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

The vanilla cream filling is easy. The first 5 ingredients get cooked over medium heat until the mixture boils for 1 minute. Then about 1/3 of the hot mixture gets added to the egg yolks and beaten vigorously for a few seconds (this is called tempering the eggs, so you don’t have scrambled eggs). The egg mixture gets added back to the pan. The mixture gets stirred constantly until it comes to a boil and boils for 1 minute, then removed from the heat. The butter and vanilla get mixed in and it’s done! Then it gets poured into the empty pie shell. This filling gets made first. It needs to be refrigerated for at least 4 hours before adding the cherry topping.

Cherry pie filling/topping ingredients

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 bag frozen Red Tart cherries, (12 ounces), thawed & drained well, RESERVING JUICE, you can also use 3 cups of fresh cherries.

To make the cherry filling/topping, you simply add the sugar, cornstarch, and reserved cherry juice to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, and cook for 1 minute. Add the cherries and continue stirring, and cook for an additional minute. Remove the heat and place the pan in a freezer for a few minutes until the cherry topping is slightly chilled. Then spread it over the vanilla cream filling.

Optional Whipped Cream Topping

So easy! To a large mixing bowl, add 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, 1/3 cup of powdered sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Whisk on high speed until thickened, about 1 minute.

More cherry recipes you might like…

Homemade Tart Cherry Pie

Red Tart Cherry Fritters

Buttermilk Pancakes with Cherry Compote

Easy Puff Pastry Cherry Turnovers

If you make this recipe please rate it, and leave a comment below on how you liked it. I love getting your feedback! 🙂

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Cherry Vanilla Cream Pie.

Cherry Vanilla Cream Pie

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  • Author: Cindy @mycountrytable
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x
  • Category: Pies
  • Method: Cook
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This Cherry Vanilla Cream Pie features a velvety smooth vanilla cream pie filling, that’s topped with a luscious red tart cherry topping made with fresh or frozen cherries. It’s such a light and refreshing pie!

Ingredients

Units Scale

PIE CRUST

  • 1 pre-baked 9-inch pie shell, cooled

VANILLA CREAM FILLING

  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 cup half & half
  • 3 large egg yolks, slightly beaten
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

CHERRY TOPPING

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 bag frozen Red Tart cherries, (12 ounces), thawed & drained well, RESERVING JUICE, you can also use 3 cups of fresh cherries.

WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING (OPTIONAL)

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

VANILLA CREAM FILLING

  1. Add the granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt, milk, and half & half to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Continue to stir and cook for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat. Pour about 1/3 of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks, and whisk vigorously for about 30 seconds. Add the egg yolk mixture back to the pan and return the pan to the heat. Bring the mixure back to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once it comes to a boil, cooke for 1 minute and remove it from the heat. Add the butter and vanilla and stir to blend in.
  2. Pour the filling into the cooled pie shell. Cover the filling with a piece of plastic wrap, to prevent a skim from forming. Refrigerate pie for at least 4 hours or overnight.

CHERRY TOPPING

  1. Add the sugar, cornstarch, and reserved cherry juice to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, and cook for 1 minute. Add the cherries and continue stirring, and cook for an additional minute. Remove the heat and place the pan in a freezer for a few minutes until the cherry topping is slightly chilled.
  2. Remove the plastic wrap from the pie. Spread the cherry topping over the pie and refrigerate until ready to serve.

WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING (OPTIONAL)

  1. Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the mixture on high speed until the whipping cream is thick. Spoon or pipe dollops of whipped cream around the edges of the pie.
  2. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.
  3. For best flavor, remove the pie from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before serving. Pipe the whipped cream on top right before serving.

Notes

  • Prep and cook times do not include times for prepping and making pie crust.