Triple Berry Pie

Written by on in Pie

I love pie. I do not understand people who don’t like pie. If you are someone who belongs to those unfortunate souls who do not like pie, I have just two things to say to you:

  1. What are you doing on this post?
  2. You are wrong. Period.

Now admittedly this pie recipe did not turn out as well as expected. Don’t get me wrong, the flavor was phenomenal! Perfect balance of sweet and tart, buttery delicious crust…sorry, had to stop and clean up the drool.

The only problem with this recipe is that I have not yet perfected it. Then again, if I waited to perfect every recipe I post, this blog would be perpetually blank. So here is my advice to you: don’t let perfection get in the way of flavor. Do I know that it is possible for food to be both beautiful and delicious? Yes. Do I also know that as long as it tastes good your friends, family, and beloved pets who you like more than people will enjoy it? Without a single doubt in my mind.

If you are wondering where this recipe went wrong but delicious, the answer is cornstarch. I made the recipe on frozen berries and didn’t add extra cornstarch to account for the extra water. Oops.

Now without further blathering from me, here is my recipe for Triple Berry Pie.

Adapted from Tastes Better From Scratch and Smitten Kitchen

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All Butter pie Dough

  • 2 1/2 cups (315 grams) flour
  • 1 tablespoon (15 grams) sugar
  • 1 teaspoon (5 grams) table salt
  • 2 sticks (8 ounces, 225 grams tablespoons or 1 cup) unsalted butter, very cold
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Triple Berry Filling

  • 7 cups fresh or frozen raspberries, blueberries and blackberries about 2 1/3 cups of each type of berry
  • 1 cup granulated sugar (plus a little extra to sprinkle on top of the pie)
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 4 Tablespoons Cornstarch (6 if using frozen)
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 1 large egg white beaten with a fork
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Flaky pie dough

  • Fill a one cup liquid measuring cup with water, and drop in a few ice cubes; set it aside.
  • In a large bowl – big enough for you to get your hands in – whisk together 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt. Dice two sticks of very cold unsalted butter into 1/2-inch pieces. Bust out your pastry blender. Or ready your hands to do some serious squeazing and crumbling (food service gloves are your friends)
  • Sprinkle the butter cubes over the flour and begin working them in with the pastry blender, using it to scoop and redistribute the mixture as needed so all parts are worked evenly. When all of the butter pieces are the size of tiny peas stop. Don’t worry if it is uneven!
  • Start by drizzling 1/2 cup of the ice-cold water (but not the cubes!)) over the butter and flour mixture. Using a rubber or silicon spatula, gather the dough together. You’ll probably need an additional 1/4 cup of cold water to bring it together, but add it a tablespoon as a time. Once you’re pulling large clumps with the spatula, take it out and get your hands in there. Gather the disparate damp clumps together into one mound, kneading them gently together.
  • Divide the dough in half, form into a disk, and place each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. Let the dough chill in the fridge for one hour, but preferably at least two, before rolling it out.
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Triple berry filling

  • Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine berries, sugar and lemon juice in a large saucepan and simmer until warm and juicy (about 5-10 minutes), gently stirring occasionally.
  • Spoon out about 1/2 cup of the juice from the pan into a bowl. Stir cornstarch into the juice until smooth.
  • Slowly pour the cornstarch/juice slurry back into the pot of berries. Gently stir until mixture has thickened (about 2-5 minutes). Be careful not to mash the berries or else this will be less like pie filling and more like really good jam (not that there is anything wrong with that).
  • Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell (in a 9 in deep dish pan). Add lattice top or a whole top with holes pricked on top for steam to escape.
  • Pinch the edges of the top and bottom pie crusts together and crimp the edge, if you like. Brush a thin layer of beaten egg white over the top of the pie and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
  • Bake at 400 degrees F for 40-45 minutes. Check it after about 25 minutes and place a piece of tinfoil over it if the top crust is getting too brown.
  • Remove to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for several hours. Once cooled completely, you can cut into it or cover it and refrigerate it overnight to serve the next day.