Fermented Sour Cherry and Apple Pie
Warm spiced apples. Plump, tart cherries. A buttery almond crust that crackles under your fork. And tucked into every bite, billions of beneficial microbes that your gut will quietly thank you for, long after the last slice is gone.
And before you scroll past thinking "I can't ferment" — you absolutely can. I'll walk you through every step below.
Why this pie does more than taste good
Your immune system gets fed. Around 70 to 80% of your immune system lives in your gut. Every fermented food you eat delivers living beneficial bacteria that help train and resource that defence team.
The nutrients become more bioavailable. Fermentation pre-digests the fruit's sugars and unlocks vitamins, minerals, and enzymes your body can actually absorb.
Your microbiome gets more diverse. A diverse gut microbiome is one of the single strongest predictors of long-term health. Every fermented food is a small deposit into that diversity bank.
Everything you need to make this pie:
How the next few days look
Day 1. Start your Coconut Kefir. 5 minutes of work, then it sits on your bench for 24 to 48 hours.
Day 2 to 3. Use the kefir to ferment your apples and cherries. Another 5 minutes of work, then 12 to 36 hours on the bench.
Day 3 to 4. Bake the pie.
Step 1: Make your Coconut Kefir
- Add one sachet of Coconut Kefir Culture Starter to an airlock jar.
- Pour in 2 litres of coconut water.
- Leave the jar on the bench, out of direct sunlight, for 24 to 48 hours.
- Transfer to the fridge. You'll only need about 1 cup for the fruit, the rest is a delicious drink.
Step 2: Ferment your apples and cherries
You'll need
- 700g apples, cubed
- 350g sour cherries (fresh or frozen, pitted)
- Your fermented Coconut Kefir (about 1 cup)
- Filtered water to cover
- Optional: a cinnamon stick, vanilla bean, or clove pod
- A glass jar with an airlock or clip lock
Method
- Place the fruit in the jar with any spices you'd like to add.
- Pour in fermented kefir to cover roughly half the fruit.
- Top up with filtered water until the fruit is fully submerged.
- Weight the fruit down to keep it under the liquid.
- Seal the jar and leave on the bench 12 to 36 hours.
- Taste. When the fruit is pleasantly tart, move it to the fridge.
This is what your fermented cherries should look like, alive, glossy, and just about ready for the pie.
Step 3: Bake the pie
For the pastry
- 200g almond meal
- 60g Diversity Dough Culture Starter
- 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk
- 1 to 2 tbsp tapioca flour
- 1 tbsp sweetener
For the filling
- Your fermented apples and cherries
- 1 tbsp tapioca flour
- Seeds from 1 vanilla bean
- Sweetener to taste
- 1 to 2 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
- ¼ to ½ tsp nutmeg
- Butter or coconut oil for cooking
Method
- Mix all the pastry ingredients together until a dough forms. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours to firm up.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C.
- Strain the kefir from your fermented apples and sauté with cinnamon, nutmeg, sweetener, vanilla and a splash of the reserved kefir liquid. Thicken with tapioca flour.
- Roll out half the pastry and line a greased pie dish. Blind bake for 15 minutes.
- Fill with the apple mixture and nestle in the fermented cherries.
- Top with the second half of pastry, seal edges, brush with egg wash and bake 15 to 20 minutes until golden.
- Rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
Shop the recipe (again):
More gut-loving recipes to try next
Strawberry Pancake Muffins, soft and lunchbox-ready with fermented prebiotic fibre
Chocolate Hazelnut Brownie Cake, rich and fudgy with Diversity Dough
Sleep Tea Gummies, a calming bedtime ritual built on glycine and Sleep Tea
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