When blackberries are at their best, try making this delicious Blackberry Pie. It has two layers of buttery crisp pastry with a generous helping of lightly sweetened blackberries in between. I love the look of this pie, with its bumpy circles of golden brown pastry that give you just a peek of the glistening fruit underneath. And while the blackberries keep their shape after baking, they are soft and tender with their garnet colored juices all thick and syrupy. Absolutely perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Pie makers tend to have definite opinions on what is the best type of pastry to use for making pies. My choice for fruit pies and tarts is always this Pate Brisee (a short crust pastry). I love its buttery flavor and crisp and crumbly texture. It is easily made in the food processor, just remember that the butter and the water need to be very cold. Once made, the pastry must be chilled until firm. The tricky part is rolling out the pastry. In order for it to roll out smoothly, without it sticking to the counter or tearing, it has to be at the right temperature. Too cold (it will tear), too warm (it will stick). This “feel” for the dough will come with practice, so don’t get discouraged if you have some trouble at first. If the rolled out pastry tears a little as you put it into the pie plate, just patch it. Now, for the top crust of this Blackberry Pie you simply cut the rolled out pastry into circles. This gives the pie a nice look but, more importantly, it serves the purpose of allowing the bubbling fruit juices underneath the crust to evaporate. This is particularly good when using a fruit like blackberries.

Lastly, this is your basic recipe for a fruit pie filling. It combines fresh berries (use could use a combination of blackberries and blueberries) with a little lemon juice to perk up the fruit’s flavor, some sugar for sweetness, a pinch of ground cinnamon for flavor, and cornstarch for thickening. The filling is placed in your pastry lined pie plate, dotted with butter, and topped with the circles of pastry. Final touch is to brush the pastry with cream and to sprinkle on a little sugar. Bake in a preheated oven until the pastry is golden brown and the fruit juices are bubbling. If you see the pastry browning a little too much, cover with a pie shield or aluminum foil.

Once the pie comes out of the oven there is always the temptation to cut into it right away. Resist if you can. Fruit pies need several hours to set so that when you cut into them the fruit is juicy but these juices do not run. Excellent plain but even better with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Click here for recipe.

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