Blackberry Pie
Blackberry pie baked well is one of Britain’s classics. The most common problem is that the juice from the fruits runs from the pie, bubbles over the top or leaks so badly after the first slice is cut that the pastry is soggy and not pleasant. A slice of fruit pie should be full of fruit, not overly sweet, cuts well, no wet or soggy bottom and no leaking juices. Not as easy as it sounds and blackberries are probably the most difficult fruit to accomplish the perfect pie. Here is my recipe - perfect in every way.
Serves 8
Ingredients
You will need a 23cm pie tin lightly greased and two freezer bags slit bottom and one side.
For the pastry:
7oz Plain flour
1oz Icing sugar
Pinch salt
4oz chilled butter cut into dice
4 tbsp egg (1 egg and 1 egg yolk beaten together)
For the filling
400g fresh blackberries
2 tbsp semolina
20g grated white chocolate
1 tsp sugar
For washing the pastry
Left over egg white and 1-2 tsp granulated or demerera sugar
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Preparation
To make the pastry: In a food processor place the flour, salt, sugar and chilled butter and blitz until mixture resembles bread crumbs. With the motor running add the egg in a steady stream and allow the dough to form into a ball. Wrap in cling film and chill for minimum of half an hour.
Lay one sheet of plastic on the worktop, place half of the pastry in the centre, place the other sheet over the top then roll out the pastry. No extra flour required and no sticking to the surface. When the pastry is large enough to fit the tin, chill for a couple of minutes then remove one sheet of plastic, line the pastry tin and with the other plastic sheet uppermost, mould the pastry into the tin. Chill again for a few minutes before peeling off the second sheet. Trim the edges then repeat with the second piece of pastry – keep it in the plastic and pop into the fridge whilst you prepare the filling.
Take the pastry lined tin then sprinkle the semolina over the base then add the blackberries followed by the grated white chocolate and sugar. Dampen the edges of the pastry with water then take the pastry top, peel off one side then lay the pastry over the pie. Secure the edges, trim the pastry, crimp and then chill until the oven reaches temperature.
Heat the oven to 200 degrees fan with a baking sheet on the middle shelf. When the oven is at temperature, take your pie from the fridge and brush with the left over egg white then sprinkle with the sugar. Slide the pie onto the hot baking sheet.
Bake for 25 minutes until the pie is golden brown. Take from the oven and allow to cool down for at least 20 minutes before cutting. A slice of this pie is perfect with vanilla ice-cream, fresh cream or custard.
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