Pot Pie with Drunken Cherries and Chocolate

Ingredients:

• 600 g of ready-made frozen shortcrust pastry for pie (dough for making tart)
• Flour for dusting
• 1,350 g pitted cherries, halved
• 3/4 cup turbinado sugar (partially refined raw sugar), plus extra for sprinkling
• 1/2 cup light rum (silver or white)
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp grated orange zest
• Fine salt
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• Special spray for lubrication
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 40 g semi-sweet chocolate with 60% cocoa content (1/4 cup)
• Heavy cream for greasing
• Vanilla ice cream for serving

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, rum, vanilla extract, orange zest, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. The sugar should dissolve completely. Add the cherries and cornstarch and stir. Let sit for 30 minutes until the cherries release their juices.
2. Cover a baking sheet with foil and grease with cooking spray. Place six 13-15 cm ceramic tart pans on the prepared baking sheet. Using a slotted spoon, spoon 3/4 cup of berries into each pan, top with 1 tablespoon (15 g) of butter and 2 teaspoons of chocolate.
3. Place the remaining berry mixture in a saucepan, add 1/2 cup water, and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes until thickened. Divide the mixture among the molds. Let cool completely.
4. Dust the surface with flour. Using a knife, cut out 6 circles from the dough. Each circle should be 1.2 cm larger than the diameter of the ceramic molds (use one mold as a template). Place the dough circles on another baking sheet and freeze until ready to use.
5. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius (375 degrees Fahrenheit). Use the bottom rack for baking. Cover each pan with a circle of dough, pressing it tightly against the edges of the pan. Make several slits with a knife.
   
   Bake for 45 minutes, then brush each pie with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown. Serve with ice cream.