Fresh Blueberry Pie with a Lavender Crust

I can’t go too long without baking a pie.  It’s in my DNA!  And this summer has provided

the most amazing array of fruit to bake with.  I’ve made several strawberry rhubarb, a cherry, two types of peach, a couple of bumble berry, and now I made a blueberry pie.  This is one of Jim’s favourites of the berry pies.  And I think it will be one of yours soon too!

I love that this is basically a no-bake pie.  Fine, you do have to blind bake the crust first.  But in the big scheme of things, that’s pretty simple.  And since the shell will be holding a warmed stove top filling, I explain how to ensure that the crust doesn’t turn soggy.  A quick egg white wash added to the bottom and sides for the final minutes of baking will harden to create a barrier between the filling and the crust.

Stove Top Filling

The rest is done on the stovetop.  I discovered this recipe about eight years ago from a friend with whom I volunteer.  She brought in the most amazing pie that just sang of fresh blueberries, but wasn’t overly goopy or runny.  I just had to get the recipe from her.  So she came in the next week with a little scrap of paper with the recipe handwritten on it.  I was so happy!

And then just over a year ago, I was cooking out of Food52’s ‘Genius Recipes’.  What do you think I found in the dessert section??  Rose Levy Beranbaum’s ‘Fresh Blueberry Pie’!  I read through the ingredient list, and then the directions, and realized that I was baking HER pie!  It’s a brilliant recipe that’s been around for decades.  I of course have played with it, and it has now turned into what you have before you now.

The filling is basically blueberries and water, boiled till the berries burst and start to thicken.  You will help them along with a cornstarch slurry (you can substitute arrowroot if you wish) sugar, lemon juice and salt.  Then once the mixture has achieved a lovely glossy sheen, the remaining berries are added and coated well with the thickened mixture.  This then gets added to the shell.

The hardest part, after cooking part of the filling on the stove, and then adding the rest of the fresh berries and pouring them into the baked off crust, is waiting a good three hours, until it is set enough to cut into!!

I still use my Pie Crust recipe, since it just works for me so well.  Genius Recipes includes her pastry recipe, and it is good, but quite involved, and I’m just not that worried about taking on another pastry recipe (you do remember my rant on homemade puff pastry, right??)  I do add lavender to my recipe for this pie, since lavender and blueberries were just meant to be best friends!  Just remember, if you ever want to find my pie crust recipe, it’s in the Pantry section of the blog.

Topping with Pastry Cookies

Instead of leaving the top naked, and adding some whipped cream when serving, as Genius Recipes suggests, I make a double crust recipe, and turn part of the dough into ‘cookies’ to add on top of the blueberries.  As the berry filling sets, the cookies become one with the filling, and make a lovely top crust.  It’s a visual thing with me, but that’s all right, right?!  There are so many ways to do it.  Here’s another variation of the cookies over the filling style.

You will bake them separately from the pie shell, on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Cut out your favourite shapes, and cut out more than you need.  Some may end up browning too much for your liking, this way you will have backup options. See my Pie Crust link above for the details on baking the cut outs.

Final Thoughts

Once you’ve made this recipe once, you will surely add this to your pie repertoire.  It’s so easy to whip up.  And while blueberries are just busting up all over Ontario markets at the moment, blueberries can be found year round, so this pie truly knows no season.  Just serve with a generous scoop or two of vanilla ice cream.

This will keep in the fridge, covered for up to four days.  But will it really last that long??

Hope you like this pie as much as Jim does.  And as much as I do too!

Love Jen.

Print

Fresh Blueberry Pie with a Lavender Crust

A light, bright. fresh blueberry pie with a lavender scented crust.

Course Dessert

Cuisine North American

Keyword blueberries, lavender, pie, pie cut outs

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 1 double crust of my Perfect Pie Pastry, see the Pantry section for the recipe
• 1/2 tsp edible dried lavender, crushed or chopped, see Notes
• 1 egg, for egg wash
• 1 tbsp turbinado or demerara sugar, for dusting
• 1 tbsp egg white, lightly beaten
• 4 cups (590 g) blueberries, rinsed and dried
• 1/2 cup water, plus another 2 tbsp water, divided
• 2 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot starch,
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• pinch of kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice

Instructions

1. Prepare the crust as per my Perfect Pie Pastry recipe, adding the crushed lavender into the flour before adding the butter and shortening.

   Divide into two disks. Wrap both in cling wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes. If still too soft, chill for an hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 400F.

   Remove one disk from the fridge and let warm up slightly for rolling out.

   Roll on well floured counter to fit into a 9 inch pie plate.  Crimp as you desire.  Place it in the freezer for 10 minutes.  Remove the other disk from the fridge at this time.

3. Remove the chilled pie shell from the freezer and line it with parchment paper and fill it with beans or pie weights.  Place it on a baking sheet and bake in the lower third of the oven for 20 minutes.

   Remove it from the oven, and carefully remove the parchment and beans.  Prick the shell with a fork along the bottom and sides.  Return it the oven and bake it for another 5-8 minutes, this time in the centre of the oven, until just golden brown.  Check after 3 minutes to see if any bubbles are developing.  If so, prick these gently with a fork or push down with a tea towel.

   Brush the bottom and sides with an egg white whisked with a bit of water. Put the shell back into the oven for 2-3 minutes for the egg white coating to cook. It should be dry and shiny. Once cooled, this will create a barrier for any warm filling, so the crust won't turn soggy.

   Remove to cool.

4. In the meantime, during the initial 20 minutes of baking, roll out the smaller disk on a well floured surface to the same thickness of your pie shell.  I'm guessing around 1/6 of an inch or so- not too thick or thin.  Using your favourite cookie cutters, cut out shapes, enough to cover the top of a pie comfortably.  Place all of them onto a parchment lined baking sheet and put into the freezer for 5 minutes.  Remove, lightly brush with an egg wash (egg beaten with a touch of water)  Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.

5. Once the shell is out of the oven, drop the heat to 375F.  Bake the 'cookies' in the middle of the oven for until golden brown. This could take 12-18 minutes depending on your oven, but keep an eye on them and remove any that are turning brown earlier. Remove and cool on a rack.

6. Filling:

   Measure out 1 cup of the blueberries, choosing any that are soft or slightly bruised.  Put them into a sauce pan along with 1/2 cup (120 ml) of water.  Cover and bring to a boil.

7. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with the remaining 2 tbsp of water to create a smooth slurry.

8. When the blueberries and water have come to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, stirring constantly for 3-4 minutes, until the berries have started to burst and the juices are starting to thicken. Stirring constantly, add the cornstarch slurry, the sugar, lemon juice, salt cinnamon and allspice.  Simmer for a minute or two until the filling becomes translucent. 

9. Immediately remove from the heat and add the remaining 3 cups of berries.

   Pour this filling carefully into the cooled pie shell.  Smooth out the top.  Place your baked 'cookies' all over the filling to create a 'crust'.  Allow to sit at room temperature fro at least 3 hours.

10. When set, the berries will remain juicy, but will not flow out of the crust when you slice it.

    Serve with whipped cream or ice cream!

Recipe Notes

This pie will keep at room temperature for 2 days.  Or refrigerated for up to 5 days.  As if you need 5 days.

Adapted from Fresh Blueberry Pie by Rose Levy Beranbaum

As an alternative to using lavender, feel free to use chopped fresh basil, or thyme.

If not using the lavender, a great flavour to add to the filling is Chai Spices.   Just add 2-3 tsp of the blend found here, when folding in the berries.  Stir till blended in before adding to the cooled pie shell.  The spices add a lovely depth of flavour to the blueberries, which can often be a little flat despite being sweet.

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