Blackberry Pie

Crust:

• 2 cups of flour
• 90 gr cold butter 
• 10 tbsp cold water
• pinch of salt

Mix the flour, the salt, and the butter, until the butter is crumbled into small pieces. Then, slowly add the cold water, and mix until you make a dough. If it seems too crumbly add more water, until everything is well combined.

Divide the dough into two pieces, and it's important to make one of the pieces a little bigger - because you'll need more dough for the bottom crust to be thicker. Wrap them with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge until you prepare the apple filling. ( It's best to keep the dough in the fridge for over an hour, but if you're not patient 30-40 minutes will do. )

Filling:

• 500 gr blackberries
• 150 gr sugar
• 20 gr butter
• 3 tsp vanilla sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch ( if you're using frozen berries, you might need more because they're gonna release lots of liquid )
• orange or lemon peel 
• 1/2 tsp ginger

Additional ingredients:

• egg
• bread crumbs

Melt the butter in a bigger sauce pan ( medium heat ) and add the sugar and the vanilla. After a few minutes, when the sugar starts to melt add the blackberries, the orange/lemon peel and the ginger. Cook for 5 minutes and then add the cornstarch. Cook for another 10-15 minutes, until it starts to bubble, because the liquid needs to evaporate. Let it cool for about an hour, because the filling needs to be cold when you start filling the pie.

Roll out the first piece of dough and put it in a previously buttered dish.

The dimensions of this crust should be as big as your dish, and the ends of the crust need to reach the edges of the dish.

Sprinkle a little bit of bread crumbs on top of it, then add the filling and then put the top crust on top. You can do whatever you want with the top crust, you can add a whole layer, or you can make lattice crust, like me.

Whisk the egg, and then brush the egg wash all over the pie.

Bake for 10-15 minutes in a preheated oven at 200'C, and then lower the temperature on 180'C and bake for another 30-40 minutes, or until the crust gets golden brown.

You should have in mind that every oven is different, so your pie may take less or more time to bake.

Let it cool and then serve it with sweetened whipped cream or ice cream, or sprinkle some powdered sugar on top of it because the blackberries have a tendency to be quite sour.

Enjoy!

© Donna October