The Easy Cherry Pour-and-Bake Pie You’ll Be Asked to Bring to Every Gathering

If you want a sweet bake that looks like you fussed but absolutely did not, make this pour-and-bake cherry pie-cake situation. Crisp edges, a tender sour-cream crumb, juicy berries doing the heavy lifting. One bowl, no layered dough, and it comes out looking like you meant it.

What you need

• Cherries, fresh or frozen, pitted — 300 g
• Sour cream, 15% fat — 200 g
• Eggs — 3
• Sugar — 150 g
• All-purpose flour — 180 g (about 1.5 cups)
• Baking powder — 1 tsp
• Vanilla sugar — 10 g
• Butter — 30 g (for greasing the pan)

Prep the cherries

Using fresh fruit? Rinse well, pit, and let the cherries sit in a colander so excess juice can drain. Working with frozen? Thaw completely, drain off the liquid, and blot them lightly with a paper towel. If you ended up with a lot of juice, give the cherries an extra blot so the batter stays the right texture.

Mix the batter

In a deep bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla sugar until lightly foamy. Stir in the sour cream until smooth. Sift in the flour, add the baking powder, and mix just until you have a smooth, lump-free batter. You want it like thick sour cream: velvety and pourable.

Pan, assemble, bake

Heat the oven to 180°C. Grease your baking pan with the butter and dust it lightly with flour so the bake releases easily. Pour in half the batter. Scatter the cherries evenly over the surface without packing them too tightly. Pour the rest of the batter on top and smooth it out.

Bake for 35–40 minutes until the top is golden. Check doneness with a toothpick; it should come out dry or with a few crumbs, not streaks of wet batter. Let it cool in the pan for a short spell, then transfer to a plate. Serve warm or fully cooled — it works both ways, especially next to a cup of tea or a glass of milk.

How it turns out

Expect a soft, slightly moist crumb with crisp edges, and cherries bringing a bright tang that balances the sweetness. A light snowfall of powdered sugar on the warm cake is a classy move that pays off every time.

Pro tip

Too much moisture is the only thing that can sabotage the texture. Drain fresh cherries well after pitting, and thaw and blot frozen cherries thoroughly. For extra insurance against fruit sinking, toss the cherries with a little flour before they meet the batter. That keeps them floating more evenly through the bake.