Old-fashioned cherry holds the office for presidential pie.

MCT

Cherry holds the office of presidential pie. Its crisp platform, sweet-tart convictions and old-fashioned charm consistently win high approval ratings. An impressive record, considering the pie has been serving for 219 years.

Cherry grew up in a rural setting and harbored no early political ambitions. Scandal forced the fruit into public life. Rumor has long circulated that red-headed young politico George Washington, in a moment of recklessness, felled a cherry tree. And yet, by coming clean, was absolved. Even held in esteem.

After that — and after the office of the chief executive was cooked up — cherry started looking presidential. Humble pie, with its pioneer background and can-do attitude, seemed the obvious running mate. Cherry pie won big. And kept on winning, even as modern media evolved. Its crowd-pleasing message has been reformatted for Popsicle, Pop-Tart and pop art.

Apple pie partisans remain opposed. The group even came up with a campaign slogan linking motherhood and patriotism to the candidate. Apple’s supporters note the pie’s deep roots, Johnny Appleseed background and cinnamon-flecked sincerity.

Indeed, apple pie regularly wins the popular vote. It ranks as the front-running pie among Americans of both major parties, as well as a significant portion of independents. Cherry comes in second.

But the pie most closely associated with the presidency, most commonly on special on Presidents’ Day weekend, and most frequently offered to presidential-library patrons remains cherry.

Which poses a problem: the season. Cherry is a late summer fruit. While presidential politics run year-round. In season, voters turn out for sweet cherry’s deep-dish, deep red dependability and sour cherry’s acerbic bite. Off-season, they suffer disappointment. Undocumented cherries from warmer climates sometimes fill in, sparking protest from the eat-local lobby. Frozen or dried write-ins win few votes.

Which is why bakers have cobbled together the off-season cherry pie. It’s made up of a bipartisan coalition of berries-blue and red. The juicy fruits caucus with cherry preserves sworn to uphold traditional values.

The unusual mix calls for a low-profile pie, one isolationists find suspiciously similar to the foreign tart. Fortunately, the lattice-top maintains the Americana look. It’s a compromise, but a delicious one. Just the sort of savvy move designed to keep a pie in office, through thick and thin.

SOUR-CREAM PIE PASTRY

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/3 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons cold water

Milk for dusting

Sugar for dusting

Blend: In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Tumble in butter, cut into small cubes. With quick fingers, work butter into flour until bits range in size from specks to peas. Set aside.

Stir together sour cream, lemon juice and cold water. Pour cream mixture over flour mixture. Toss with a fork to form lumps. If the pastry looks dry, drizzle on 1 to 2 tablespoons cold water. Turn out, knead once or twice. Divide pastry into 2 discs, 1 slightly larger than the other. Wrap and chill at least 1 hour.

Weave: Roll out the smaller round of chilled pastry into a 9-inch circle. Using a pastry wheel, slice into strips 3/4-inch wide. Line a baking pan with parchment or waxed paper. Calmly weave a lattice onto the paper. Brush with milk, sprinkle with sugar. Slide pan into the freezer for at least 15 minutes.

Roll: Roll out the larger round of pastry into an 11-inch circle. Fit into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Chill.

Provenance: I learned the prewoven lattice trick from The All-American Dessert Book by Nancy Baggett. The rest comes from off-season pie cravings.

PRESIDENTIAL PIE

Sour-cream pie pastry (recipe follows)

1 cup cherry preserves

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 pound blueberries

3/4 pound raspberries

2 teaspoons butter

Mix: Scrape preserves into a large bowl. Stir together sugar and cornstarch; sprinkle onto preserves; mix thoroughly. Roll in blueberries and raspberries. Add butter; cut into bits. Using a rubber spatula, mix gently.

Fill: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set chilled crust on top. Pile fruit mixture into the crust. Settle frozen lattice on top.

Bake: Slide into a 400-degree oven and bake until crust is light brown, 25 minutes. Cover loosely with foil and continue baking until the crust turns golden brown and the juices bubble, 20-25 minutes more. Cool on a rack completely before sliding off ring and slicing.

Serves 8