Triple Berry Summer Pie

What a busy few weeks it has been, and it is that time of year again... no not Christmas, but wedding season! We have had quite a few people we know get married over the last few weeks, including my sister in law. I don't blame anyone for wanting a wedding in the late spring and early summer, the weather is perfect and beautiful out. 

All this warmer weather is making me want all things summery! What I mean by summery, is anything with fresh fruit and berries in it and also anything that can be grilled on the barbecue. But what I love most about the warmer weather is finding any excuse to make pie!

How many of you just love pie? I know I love pie, I love it in any shape, size and flavour. I grew up eating pie often because my sweet Grandma always had a pie on the counter or a fresh one in the oven. She was the queen of pies, all I can hope is that I am half the pie maker that she is. 

This pie has an amazing flaky crust and  is filled with three different berries that are in abundance in the early summer/late spring. You can easily use fresh or frozen. You don't need to defrost and drain the frozen berries before using, they will have the same amount of juice in them as none frozen berries, so it really doesn't matter.

Triple Berry Summer Pie

Ingredients:

For the pie dough
2 1/4 cups of cake and pastry flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of butter, frozen
10 to 12 tablespoons of ice cold water

For the Pie
5 cups of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries (equally mixed), frozen or fresh (I did frozen)
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of flour
2 tablespoons of cornstarch

Directions:

In a bowl whisk together the flour and salt. Remove the frozen butter from the freezer. Using a cheese grater, grate the frozen butter into the flour. 

Toss the frozen butter into the flour to evenly coat it. Add 8 tablespoons of ice cold water to the flour and butter. With a fork gently stir, check to see if the dough comes together when squeezed together with your hand. If it is still quite dry add 2 more tablespoons, check again the wetness, and then add 1 tablespoon at a time until it no longer crumbles apart when squeezed together. You don't want it too wet but also don't want it dry.

Divide the dough into two discs and cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 2 to 4 hours before baking.

Preheat oven to 375F. In a large bowl add the frozen (or fresh) berries and the lemon juice and toss together. In a small bowl whisk together the sugar, flour and cornstarch. Pour the sugar mixture on top of the berries and toss them so that they all have an even coat of sugar, flour and cornstarch on them. Set aside while rolling the dough.

Lightly flour a clean counter top, place one disc of the dough on top and lightly flour the top of the disc as well. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough so it is a 1/8 inch thick circle. Place the rolled dough into a pie plate, trim the dough so you only have 1 inch hanging over the edge. Roll out the other disc of dough to a 1/8 inch thick circle.

Fill the dough lined pie plate with the berries, make sure all the sugar mixture makes it all in. Place the second dough disc on top and trim the edges so it has the same 1 inch hanging over to match the bottom. Slightly roll the edges of dough over, and with a lightly floured fork press down the edge to seal the dough together. 

With the left over dough, make a disc with it and roll it out to 1/8 inch thick. I used a medium sized flower cookie cutter to cut out 6 flowers, then I used some dough to form little dough balls. Take 2 egg yolks and whisk them together to make an egg wash. With a pastry brush, brush the top and edge of the pie with the egg wash. Place the flowers on top, brush them with egg wash and then place the balls in the center of the flowers and brush them with a bit of egg wash. Sprinkle the top of the pie with sugar, and in a few spots by the flowers with a sharp knife make 3 small inserts to let out steam.

Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, half way through the baking time if the crust is browning too quickly loosely cover the top with tin foil and continue to bake. Alternatively you can cover the pie for the first 30 minutes loosely with tin foil and then remove it for the remainder of the time. When the crust is a beautiful golden colour and has spots of a light brown then it is finished. 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before cutting and serving.
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This pie didn't last long and I was lucky to share it with a few people. I love my berry pies to not be too sweet, I love the tartness of raspberries and blackberries, plus it is a great way to balance it out with a scoop of ice cream. 

The pie can keep on the counter for 2 days, covered. If you wish you can refrigerate it fro 4 to 5 days. I highly doubt it will last that long though. This pie was the perfect start to the summer.

Happy Eating!
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