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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.