Sweet shortcrust pastry:
The golden rule for making shortcrust pastry is to keep the butter as cold as possible –  this means you need to combine the ingredients as quickly as you can and your ingredients, bowl and hands need to be as cool as possible. The easiest way to manage this is in a food processor!

Combine the flour, sugar, butter, and Holiday Spice in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and chilled water and pulse again until the pastry just comes together. Turn the pastry dough onto a lightly floured surface and quickly press it together into a smooth ball.

Divide the dough into 2 portions of approximately ⅔ and ⅓. Roll the larger piece of dough into a 30cm round, dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking, and ease the dough into a 22cm pie dish. Trim the dough to a 2cm overhang over the edge of the pie dish, and fold it under itself. Crimp the crust with your thumbs and forefingers, and prick the bottom all over with the tines of a fork. Chill until firm, (at least 30 minutes) or wrap and chill for up to 1 day.

On a floured surface, roll out the smaller piece of dough to a 22cm round, about 5mm thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes measuring about 5cm in diameter – we used stars for ours. Place the dough shapes on a small baking sheet lined with parchment paper and chill until firm (about 20 minutes).

Line the chilled pie crust with baking paper and fill with a layer of baking beans or dried beans. Blind bake the crust for 15-20 min at 180°C until baked through but not changed in colour.

Pie filling:
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 220ºC. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup, should the cherry juice mess.

Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, Ground Cinnamon, Cayenne Pepper and Sea Salt in a large bowl. Add the cherries and whisky, toss gently to combine, and let sit for 10-20 minutes to draw out the juices.

Spoon the fruit and juices into the blind-baked crust, smoothing it flat. Place the chilled dough shapes over the top of the fruit, overlapping them slightly and leaving lots of windows for the steam to escape. Brush the pastry with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Place the pie on the lined baking sheet and slide it into the oven. Bake at 220ºC for 15 minutes, then decrease the oven temperature to 190ºC and continue baking until the crust is golden and the fruit is bubbling thickly (35–50 more minutes – err on the side of overbaking so that you avoid a watery filling that doesn’t set).

Let the pie cool completely to set the fruit, (at least 2 hours) then cut into slices and serve at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

Tip: The pie is best enjoyed shortly after baking and will keep at room temperature for up to 1 day, or refrigerated for up to 3 days.