My Blueberry Pie

It was last summer that I discovered my love for blueberries. I hadn’t realized before that it even existed, but somehow these little berries kept turning up in my life, in a way that I had never experienced it before.

My first encounter was at the beginning of the summer when I went on a walking tour with my friend. She is a true lover of blueberries and immediately spotted the little berries, even though it was very early in the season and only a few of them could be found on the bushes. Nevertheless, we started to pick and eat them, all the while chatting away about them. In the end, my friend made it clear that blueberries are her favourite fruits. And I have to say, I quite like them, too.

(source photo: Shutterstock)

My second “blueberry encounter” took place in the woods again. This time I was on my own, but mainly because I was to meet my husband and my younger son, who were on a mountain bike tour. And just as I was walking along the path I happened to see some blueberry bushes. And then more and more and more. It seemed as if the whole forest was full of them. Again I started to pick them, and again there were only a few. But this time the reason was that it was the end of the season and there were only a few left. Anyway, I started thinking what I would do if I had a full basket of these delicious little blue balls. I came up with a few ideas, the favourite being a blueberry pie. I also have to mention that at that time I had already decided to start a food blog. I just hadn’t found a good name yet. So there it was, My Blueberry Basket. I had a name for my blog and something to do for the next day, baking a pie.

I must say, it was a lovely and successful blueberry summer. 😉

Some weeks ago I read a book called “My Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Café”. This is a lovely novel, just perfect for the summer. There’s a bit of a love story (well, actually it’s mainly a love story), but there’s also a parallel story line in which the main character tries to find out some details about her grandmother’s childhood, inspired by her granny’s last wish before she died. Of course, this investigation spurs the love story, but I won’t tell any more, in case you want to read the book. But let me say this far: there is one passage in which the main character describes how she used to bake pies with her granny.

“I was nine the year she taught me how to make that pie. I remember her putting on Rosemary Clooney music and demonstrating each step of the recipe as I followed along beside her, the ingredients on the counter in front of us. We blended the flour, butter, a pinch of salt, and egg to make the dough and then formed it into balls and chilled it in the refrigerator. When it was ready, we rolled it into circles for the crusts. I always rolled my dough too thin and Gran would have to help me patch the holes. You’ve got to be quick, she would say as she showed me how to dab small pieces of dough into the gaps, her fingers moving like a magician’s. Otherwise, the heat from your fingertips will melt the butter and the dough will just stick to your hands. We mixed the rhubarb and the strawberries with sugar and lemon, a little cinnamon, a bit of vanilla, some tapioca and flour, and a couple of other things I don’t remember, then poured the filling into the crusts. We covered the pies with the top crusts, crimping the edges with our fingers and pricking the crusts with a fork to make tiny escape holes for the steam. While the pies baked, Gran and I danced around the kitchen to Sinatra and Shirley Horn and I peeked in the oven a million times. And, after dinner, when we finally got to taste the pie, it was sheer heaven. A little tart, a little sweet, the crust light and buttery.” (Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Café)

But now, here’s my recipe for my blueberry pie. Of course, the best way is to use a double-crust pastry. Actually it’s very easy and quick to make, it looks lovely and tastes delicious. You only have to keep in mind that the butter must be very cold and so must be the water. You receive best results if you use ice water. First you mix the flour and the salt and add the butter, which you cut into little cubes. Then rub the flour and the butter until you get fine crumbs. Of course, this is most quickly done in a food processor or mixer. Then I mix the water and the egg and add it to the flour-butter-mixture. Mix quickly to combine, and knead the dough only shortly, as you want to get a flaky pastry.

My Blueberry Pie – Recipe

Double Crust Pastry:

370 g plain flour plus extra for rolling
200 g cold unsalted butter
a pinch of salt
1 egg
6 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:

1 kg blueberries (fresh)
200 g sugar
7 tablespoons cornstarch (use only 4 tablespoons if you have defrosted and drained blueberries)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cardamom
½ teaspoon lemon zest

1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons of butter

Put the flour and the salt into a bowl. Add the cubed butter and use your fingers or a food processor to make tiny crumbs. The largest bits should not be bigger than a pea. Whisk the water and the egg in a separate bowl and then add to the flour-butter mixture. Use a spatula or your hands to make a dough. Of course you can also use a food processor or mixer. Don’t knead the dough too much as you want to get a flaky pastry in the end. Cut the dough into two pieces, form two balls and then squash them into two discs. Wrap them with cling foil and refrigerate them for at least half an hour.

You can leave the pastry in the fridge for up to two days. But don’t forget to take it out about half an hour before rolling it out.

Roll out one disk on a slightly floured surface. The size of the rolled out dough should be a bit larger in diameter than your pie dish. Sprinkle the dough when rolling it out and make sure it doen’t stick to the surface. If it does, use a knife to lift it up again and sprinkle more flour onto the surface. Then transfer the rolled out dough to your buttered and floured pie dish by using your rolling pin, just roll it up carefully and the un-roll it over the pie dish. Gently press the dough into the dish, but leave some dough to hang over the edge of your pie dish.

Now prepare the filling. Combine the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, cardamom and lemon zest and put the mixture on the blueberries. Use a wooden spoon to blend the mixture with the berries. If you use frozen blueberries, make sure that they are defrosted and drained before combining them with the sugar-spices-mixture. Put the blueberries into the pie dish.

Roll out the second disk in as much the same way as the first one. Cut it into 10 equal strips. Put 5 strips on the blueberries and then lift the ends of strip number 2 and four. Place the 6th strip at right angles onto the pie. Put the ends back and lift strips number 1, 3 and 5. Again, place another strip onto the blueberries (at right angles). Continue placing the remaining strips as described before.

Trim excess dough with a knife or kitchen shears and fold in or crimp the edges. the In the end, put little pieces of butter onto the berries between the pastry-strips. Make an egg wash by whisking 1 egg yolk and some milk or water. Coat the pastry with the egg wash and sprinkle some caster sugar over it.

Bake in the preheated oven at 160°C for about 50 minutes. The pastry should be golden and crunchy and the blueberries should be bubbling away.

It’s best to let the pie cool for about 2-3 hours before cutting. Otherwise the filling might still be running out.

This pie is perfect with a lovely cup of tea, served optionally with some ice cream or double cream.

Here is the recipe for printing: