This is the most classic Billie dessert in existence. I have (probably) made this pie more times than I have made most other dishes over the years, and it never fails to go down a treat. I bake it for special occasions, dinner parties, or birthdays, and it never fails to bring joy!
At first glance, it seems simple enough: sweet, warm blueberries wrapped in buttery, crumbly homemade pastry and finished with cream (or custard, depending on your preference). But when these elements combine, they create a dessert that’s far greater than the sum of its parts.
Pastry Tips
A blueberry pie is a relatively straightforward bake once you have mastered the delicate art of making pastry. If time is short, shop-bought shortcrust pastry can certainly be used, but the finished pie will never quite match the flavour and texture of one made from scratch with care and patience.
Pastry can be surprisingly unforgiving. Overworking the dough can result in a tough, unpleasant texture, yet it still needs enough handling to come together properly. Striking this balance is crucial and serves as a wonderful reminder that successful baking often depends on patience, restraint, and a gentle touch.
It is also remarkably easy to add too much water to the mixture too quickly, a mistake I have made myself on more than one occasion when rushing and not paying enough attention. Adding the water gradually may seem tedious, but it will save a great deal of frustration and spare you from trying to rescue an overly wet dough.
Making pastry can also be a wonderfully messy process. From rubbing butter into flour with your fingertips to rolling out dough on a generously floured surface, there is often flour everywhere by the time the job is done. But, as we like to say in our kitchen, if there’s no mess, you’re probably not doing it right!
Blueberry Pie
Course: Billies Bakery8
servings300
kcalAn unbeatable dessert of warm blueberries in crumbly pastry… yum!
Ingredients
- Pastry
325 g plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp caster sugar
230 g butter (cold and cubed)
Up to 8 tbsp cold water
- Blueberry Filling
90g granulated sugar
15 g cornflour
2 lemons (zest only)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp salt
500 g frozen blueberries (defrosted) (note 1)
1/2 tbsp butter
1 egg (beaten)
Directions
- Pastry
- In a bowl, stir together the salt, sugar, and half of the flour. Rub the butter into the flour mix with your fingertips, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. You can also use a food processor to do this step.
- Stir the remaining flour into the mixture. Sprinkle 3 tbsp of the cold water over the mixture and press the dough into itself so that it comes together. If it falls apart, add a little more water until it comes together. Don’t add too much water too quickly!
- On a clean, lightly floured surface, divide the dough into halves, and shape each half into thick discs of dough. Wrap each disc in cling film and chill for an hour.
- Meanwhile, to make the filling, drain most of the excess liquid off the defrosted blueberries, and then mix with the sugar, cornflour, lemon zest and spices. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C and place an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Grease a pie dish with some butter.
- Remove the dough from the fridge. Roll out one disc on a lightly floured surface until it is slightly larger than the pie dish, leaving around 2 cm of overhang on all sides. Carefully roll the pastry around the rolling pin to lift it into the dish, then gently press it into the base and sides. Do not trim the edges off yet.
- Spoon the blueberry filling into the crust.
- Roll out the second pastry disc into a longer rectangle. Cut the dough into long strips (around 2cm wide). Use these strips to make a lattice crust on top of the pie: Take 3-4 strips and lay them down over the pie, parallel to one another and evenly spaced. Fold every other strip back on themselves, so they’re almost falling off the pie. Lay another strip perpendicularly on top. Unfold the strips back onto the pie, so they now lie on the new perpendicular strip. Now repeat, folding the other strips back and laying another perpendicular strip down. Repeat until complete.
- Where each strip reaches the edge of the base pie crust, carefully lift up the strip, and use a pastry brush to brush a little beaten egg across the base pie crust. Lightly press the strip into the egg. Repeat for all edges. This seals the pie crust, effectively gluing the lattice onto the base.
- Use the pastry brush to egg wash over the top of the lattice strips, and around the edge of the pie. Dot small bits of butter into the open areas of the lattice, where you can see the blueberry filling.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 170 °C, baking for a further 35-45 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the blueberry filling is bubbling.
- Cool for a short while, then serve while warm with double cream (or custard). It can also be enjoyed cold!
Notes
- Note 1: I find that frozen blueberries work better than fresh for this recipe – they bring a tartness unlike fresh blueberries, and are often cheaper in these quantities.
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