Bryan Martin's recipe for the perfect cherry pie

And just like that, the first stone fruit arrives – the start of the new fruit season. It was the clapped had me pull over in a cloud of dust. This dust is the key to a good cherry season. If it was muddy I would have kept going as cherries are delicate when it comes to the weather.

Every farmer will have an opinion on the weather, it goes with the job – like being a politician and never answering a question. Once your season gets going you are forever poring over the Bureau of Meteorology's website, looking at what is coming and worrying if that coastal low will dump two inches of rain on your fruit.

The only time you'll see a farmer happy is when that last cherry, grape, grain of wheat or leaf of kale is harvested and in the shed. The question comes up a lot – why do you do it? It seems like some form of torture. However, it is all worth it when you get a cracker of a year. A year when it rains when you need it, it's not too hot, or cold.

Well – touch wood – that is this year for cherry growers. Without wanting to jinx them – as we are a superstitious lot too – the 2014 season has provided a bumper crop. The estimated national harvest is 18,000 tonnes. This record crop does pose some problems and, again, you may think are this lot ever happy? The large crop could see the price collapse. Maybe farmers are destined to never be

We have great access to cherries each year, being so close to the town of Young. Most of the fruit you'll see on roadsides and at the markets will come from the Young district. The cherry comes in many varieties and cultivars. A switched-on grower will have a range of these growing so you spread the season from the sweet, local cultivar, empress, in early November, right up to almost Christmas. This is when the dark, and sour, morello variety is ready. Sour cherries are the best for preserving, cooking and absolutely gorgeous if you are into Belgium's kriek lambics.

It is nice to be able to pick up little boxes from the markets, or that old ute, but picking the fruit from the tree itself is the ultimate paddock to plate experience. Eating them while they are still warm from the late spring sun, under the tree where they grew, well, it doesn't get any better than that.

In an attempt to connect with the people who grow the fruit, I contact my mate, Brian Mullany, and ask, what's the deal with cherries? Which are the best, thinking that he must live on them being from Young. "Ask me brother, Pete, he grows them." So I ring Pete and he replies: "Ask the missus, she makes a cracking pie." Bam! Peter and Cath Mullany have owned and operated Ballinaclash Orchard and Cellar Door for almost 50 years and it is named such after the family's dairy farm in Waterford, Ireland.

This is a pick-your-own orchard, where you can now grab a lug and head out and pick these early season sweet cherries. They also grow plums, apricots and nectarines, and operate a farm shop where you can buy fresh fruit, condiments and cherry pies.

Although, it's noted that you might want to pre-order these as they sell like hotcakes – I wonder if, at the Hotcake Shop, hotcakes are noted as selling like

There would be something quite splendid about sitting in an orchard and having a slice of home-made, buttery, finger-staining cherry pie with a big dollop of cream. The good news is, not only is all this within reach and just over an hour's drive, but you can learn how to make your own cherry pie. Cath Mullany is running a cherry pie cooking class at their orchard on December 13. Without wanting to give away Cath's secrets, which I imagine include a cracking shortcrust pastry and perfect, freshly picked cherries, I should give you a teaser in a version that I've been playing around with. Contact Ballinaclash Orchard for more details.

Even though cherries are native through Asia and Europe, cherry pie – both the dessert and the 90s song by Warrant – seems to be claimed by North America. Thomas Keller, of the French Laundry, in his Ad Hoc at Home cook book, makes a lovely cherry pie. Here is a version of this:

Cherry pie

1kg cherries, pitted
⅔ cup sugar – with extra as needed
1 vanilla pod, split lengthwise
2 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp water
Shortcrust pastry (see below)
1 egg yolk, beaten

Measure out 500g of the pitted cherries and puree these in a blender. Pour this into a clean pot and add the vanilla bean and sugar – the sweetness needs to be balanced, so use the minimum sugar, taste, and adjust accordingly.

Cook over a low heat – careful to not burn it – until it is reduced by a third.

Mix the cornflour and water to form a paste and pour this into the reduced cherry puree.

Cook this for a few minutes. Add the whole cherries and set aside to cool.

Roll out the chilled pastry into two rounds and line a greased, 20-centimetre, flan tin. Try to get these as thin as you can.

Fill the pastry with the cherry mixture, cover with the other sheet – here you can go for the lattice-look if you like.

Brush with the egg yolk and bake at 180C for 40 minutes. Serve with

Shortcrust pastry

150g plain flour
30g icing sugar
80g butter, diced and chilled
pinch salt
1 egg yolk

In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, butter and salt until you get that breadcrumb-like texture.

Add the egg yolk and pulse again to mix then add enough water to bring it together.

Turn this all out onto the bench – it will be still quite crumbly – and knead it into some semblance of dough.