If this pie doesn’t solicit lustful advances and unrequited love from your partner, then dump the good-for-nothing. Eat the rest. And toss clothing with saddle out the front door. Seriously, this is wild blackberry pie!

Blackberry Pie

There’s only two ingredients that really matter: the berries and the butter. Wild blackberries are mouth puckering tart and lip smacking sweet with less moisture content than store bought. And they are free, because you stop at the side of the road and pick them yourself or sneak into your neighbor’s back forty and harvest. (Don’t get caught.)

Homemade butter

Check out this butter that Farmer Kate made at Echo Valley farm! And the color! I have never tasted butter with such Incredible depth of flavor – not even in France. If homemade butter is not a possibility look for European styles like Plugra or Strauss.

Of course the flour matters too; I use organic when possible. We are not milling flour on the farm but Pie Ranch is down the road. And, by the way, they are hosting a farm to table dinner with a barn dance this Saturday. Lots of pie for dessert if you’re in town.

I adapted an old recipe from Bon Appetit for the pie crust. It’s the only one I know that is flaky, all butter, and does not get soggy with a juicy filling. This pie should be juicy. The coagulated cornstarch amorphous blackberry blob just doesn’t cut it.

Blackberry pie

Correction: I was forced to “adapt” the recipe due to the available selection.

Normally the crust is a combination of cake and all-purpose flour. But when I asked at the local store for cake flour the response was: “Honey, we just don’t get that specialized around here.” Jeez, was it my Lulu Lemon yoga outfit and freshly coiffed hair-do that misconstrued my normal free spirit for some snooty high falutin’ city girl? Honestly, I didn’t miss it. The crust was great.

I’ll leave you the unadapted pie crust recipe. Or you can do what I did and sub the cake flour for all-purpose – if you’re not feelin’ too specialized!


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Wild Blackberry Pie

Ingredients

  • Crust (Adapted from Bon Apetit, June 2002)
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup cake flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 5-6 tablespoons ice water
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • Filling
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 7 cups wild blackberries

Crust

Combine first 5 ingredients in processor; blend 5 seconds to evenly distribute ingredients. Add butter and blend, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 4 tablespoons water and 1 tablespoon vinegar. Using on/off turns, blend until moist clumps form, adding more water if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; divide in half. Shape each half into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Filling
Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk 3/4 cup sugar and cornstarch in large bowl to blend. Add berries and toss to coat. Let stand 20 minutes, tossing occasionally.

Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round; transfer to prepared pie dish. Spoon filling into dough-lined dish. Roll out second dough disk to 13-inch round. Drape dough over filling, and trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Press edges together to seal; fold overhang under and crimp decoratively. Cut several small slashes in top crust to vent. Sprinkle with additional sugar, if desired.

Bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, about 50 minutes; cool 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.