Shortcut Chocolate-Cherry Pie (Galette) is an easy, rustic summer fruit pie. I used fresh sweet cherries (Bing) and paired them with chocolate chunks. To gild the lily, drizzle chocolate over the top and serve with vanilla ice cream!
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Summer sweet cherries are on sale by the bagfuls! Make this simple dessert with dark red Bing cherries or the blush-colored Ranier cherries.
Want to know which cherries might be available in your area? Check out Spruce Eats excellent article on buying, storing, and pitting cherries.
How do I remove cherry pits?
- Don't wear a white shirt!
- Use an olive and cherry pitter or a sharp knife.
- Cherry juice tends to spatter so I pit them in my sink or deep bowl.
What you will need
- 1 refrigerated, rolled up pie crust
- 3 cups pitted fresh bing or Ranier cherries
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- One tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- One (4-ounce) bar bittersweet or semisweet chocolate bar or ½ cup chocolate chips
- Two tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons whipping cream [missing from pic]
- 1 tablespoon granulated or turbinado (raw) sugar
How to make this shortcut fruit pie
Prepare the crust
My favorite shortcut pie crust is a refrigerated, rolled up pie crust. It tastes so much better than a frozen, thawed pre-shaped pie crust.
In this case, it's a must because we are loosely pulling the pie crust up around the fruit to form a "galette" rather than form it in a pie shell. A galette is a fancy word for free-form, rustic pie. I call it SHORTCUT PIE!
Before unrolling the pie crust, let it stand at room temperature 10 to 15 minutes according to the package directions. (This is a good time to pit the cherries!)
Gently unroll the crust and use a rolling pin or a glass with straight sides to roll out any creases. Fold the crust in half and transfer it to a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Unfold the pie crust. Folding it in half keeps it from stretching while transferring.
Prepare the fresh cherries
Wash the cherries and pat them dry with a paper towel.
Using an olive and cherry pitter, remove the pits from all the cherries. I like to pit them in a sink or a deep bowl this way because as you press down on the cherry pitter, it tends to splatter a little. The Oxo cherry pitter is my favorite because it has a little splatter guard built in which reduces the amount of red juice that splatters.
You can also use a sharp knife to cut the cherry in half like a plum and remove the pit with the knife or your thumbnail. (I recommend wearing gloves if you pit them this way.)
Toss the pitted, whole cherries together with the lemon juice in a large bowl. Combine 1 tablespoon sugar and cornstarch in a tiny bowl. Sprinkle this mixture over the cherries and gently stir just until coated. Gently stir in half of the chopped chocolate.
Assemble the pie
Preheat oven to 400F. Pour out the coated cherries onto the center of the crust, leaving about 2 inches from the edges. Be sure the crust is already on the parchment paper on a baking sheet.
Carefully, lift a small section (about 3 inches) of the outer edge of the pie crust and lay it toward the cherries, leaving most of the cherries uncovered. Lift another small section, slightly overlapping the first section and lay it on the cherries. It will help to refer to the finished picture below. Continue lifting and overlapping until you've encased the cherry mixture and created an open-face pie (galette).
Brush whipping cream on pie crust. 
Sprinkle sugar on the crust. It will stick to the whipping cream.
Brush 2 teaspoons whipping cream (or milk) on the edges of the pie crust. Then, sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar on the brushed edges. The cream or milk will help the sugar stick to the crust and give the crust a golden brown color.
Ready? Bake!
Bake at 400F, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes or until the pie crust is golden brown and the cherry mixture is bubbly.
Let stand 10 minutes. 
Drizzle with melted chocolate in a zip top bag.
Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving to help set the filling.
Melt remaining half of chopped chocolate with remaining 2 tablespoons whipping cream. Combine them in a small glass bowl and microwave 30 seconds. Stir until melted.
You can drizzle the melted chocolate straight from the bowl with a spoon or fork. For more precise drizzling, put it in a snack size zip top bag and snip a tiny hole in one corner.
Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, if you like!
If you like Cherry Garcia-flavored ice cream, you will love this sweet cherry and chocolate pie.
Can I use canned cherries?
Yes. One 24-ounce jar or about 3 cups of canned sweet cherries in lite syrup can be substituted for fresh cherries.
- Be sure to drain them and pat them very dry with paper towels.
- Add an additional 1 teaspoon cornstarch to thicken the extra liquid that canned cherries will produce.
- If using canned sour cherries, add additional 2 tablespoons sugar to the filling.
Can I use cherry pie filling?
Yes. You can substitute one 21-ounce can of cherry pie filling for the fresh cherry mixture. The filling will be a little more skimpy than the fresh cherry mixture so bring the edges of the crust up toward the center a bit more.
Two cans of pie filling is too much and will over flow the sides of the crust.
Other fruit recipes you may love
Shortcut Caramel Apple Pie (Galette)
Homemade Black Raspberry (or Blackberry) Vinaigrette
Nectarine (or Peach) Cinnamon-Sugar Cobbler
No Cook Key Lime Pie Popsicles
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Shortcut Chocolate Cherry Pie (Galette)
SAVE THIS RECIPE
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 refrigerated, rolled up pie crust Half of a 15-oz box
- 3 cups pitted fresh bing or Ranier sweet cherries
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 4-ounce bar bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate or ½ cup chocolate chips, divided
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon granulated or turbiinado (raw) sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Before unrolling the pie crust, let it stand at room temperature 10 to 15 minutes according to the package directions. (This is a good time to pit the cherries!)
- While the pie crust rests on the counter, wash the cherries and pat them dry with a paper towel.
- Using an olive and cherry pitter, remove the pits from all the cherries. I like to pit them in a sink or a deep bowl this way because as you press down on the cherry pitter, it tends to splatter a little. The Oxo cherry pitteris my favorite because it has a little splatter guard built in which reduces the amount of red juice that splatters.
- Toss the pitted, whole cherries together with the lemon juice in a large bowl. Combine 1 tablespoon sugar and cornstarch in atiny bowl. Sprinkle this mixture over the cherries and gently stir just until coated. Gently stir in half of the chopped chocolate.
- Back to the pie crust: Gently unroll the crust and use a rolling pin or a glass with straight sides to roll out any creases. Fold the crust in half and transfer it to a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Unfold the piecrust. Folding it in half keeps it from stretching while transferring.
- Pour out the coated cherries onto the center of the crust, leaving about 2 inches from the edges. Be sure the crust is already on the parchment paper on a baking sheet.
- Carefully, lift a small section (about 3 inches wide) of the outer edge of the pie crust and lay it toward the cherries, leaving most of the center uncovered. Lift another small section, slightly overlapping the first section and lay it on the cherries.
- Brush 2 teaspoons whipping cream (or milk) on the edges of the pie crust. Then, sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar on the brushed edges. The creamor milk will help the sugar stick to the crust and give the crust a golden brown color.
- Bake at 400F, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes or until the pie crust is golden brown and the cherry mixture is bubbly. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving to help set the filling.
- Melt remaining half of chopped chocolate with remaining 2 tablespoons whipping cream. Combine them in a small glass bowl and microwave 30 seconds.Stir until melted.You can drizzle the melted chocolate straight from the bowl with a spoon or fork. For more precise drizzling, put it in a snack size zip top bag and snip a tiny hole in one corner.Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, if you like!
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