This is the perfect time of year to make my apple-blackberry pie. I won second place in a pie bake-off with this recipe, so you know it’s good!
This fall I tried something new: I entered a pie-baking contest. The contest was at my local farmers’ market and was designed to showcase the bounty of the market. Pies were judged on looks, taste and creative use of farmers market ingredients. It being early September, there was a lot of beautiful fruit to choose from. I ended up combining two early fall favorites: apples and blackberries
I bought as many of the ingredients for the pie as I could at the farmers market, including the fruit (obviously), the flour, the butter, and even some local honey, which I thought would pair well with the apples and blackberries. I decided to make a lattice-crust pie because I think they are the prettiest, with the colorful filling peeking through the woven strips. I also didn’t want the pie filling to be too liquid. The openings in the lattice allow for more evaporation than a closed crust that has only a few holes for venting.
I was a little, shall we say, intense in how I approached the contest. I practiced the pie three times in the week before, which may have been overkill. Then, for the contest itself, I made two pies – even though I could only enter one – because I thought having a back-up pie was a good idea. (Did everyone else do that? I’m not sure. But it just seemed obvious to me.)
I won’t lie: I really, really wanted to win. You may have figured that out. I am a competitive person by nature and, on top of that, I think I am a dab hand at making pies. Also, I was pretty sure that I was the only food blogger and cookbook author in the contest. How would it look if I lost? I’m supposed to be good at cooking and baking.
In the end, I am proud to say that I came in second and even walked away with a handsome trophy. Was I sad not to come in first? Maybe a little. But I was relieved to have won something. And this way, I can try again! I am already thinking about ideas for next year’s pie.
After the contest, my husband and I dug into the back-up pie – the one pictured here – and I could not find any obvious flaws. First, my pie looked beautiful – it was by far the most elaborate design in the contest. The crust was flaky and the filling flavorful and not at all soupy. The bottom was even well-baked and browned, which is hard to achieve in a disposable pie pan, like the ones we had to use. (More on that below.) I’m honestly not sure what I could have done better. Maybe that 1st place pie was just phenomenol.
I’ve written about making pies quite a bit on this site. I have imparted lots of tips and tricks that I have picked up along the way – like adding vinegar to an all-butter crust to act as a tenderizer. One important tip: I always recommend making the dough the day before and chilling it to allow the gluten to relax. That also breaks up the work over two days. Here are a few extra tricks that can set your pie apart.
- Brush the bottom of the pie plate with some softened or melted butter before putting in the bottom crust. It will help the bottom of the pie brown.
- After you combine the fruit, sugar and other ingredients for the filling, let it sit for up to 30 minutes. Then, use a slotted spoon to move the filling into the pie pan, leaving any accumulated liquid behind.
- Before pouring in the filling, however, sprinkle a mix of flour and granulated sugar inside the bottom crust to act a barrier between any liquid and the bottom crust. Hoosier Mama Pie Company – a local pie shop – calls this “Crust Dust.”
- Another Hoosier Mama trick: right before baking, brush the crust with a mixture of milk and cream, then sprinkle with a coarse sugar like Demerera for a golden brown, glossy finish.
- Chill the pie for 30 minutes before baking.
- Baking a pie in a disposable, aluminium pie pan was new for me. My friend Kate McDermott, America’s pie expert, gave me some great advice. Place a baking rack low down in the oven. When preheating the oven, place a dark cookie sheet in the oven and allow that to get hot. Then, put the pie on the hot cookie sheet when baking. This will help the bottom crust brown nicely. This trick really works!
What about you? Have you entered a pie-baking contest? How did you fare?
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted European-style butter (at least 82% butterfat)
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 TB sugar
- 1 (or 2) tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup ice water
- 1 TB red wine vinegar
- 4 TB butter, divided
- 1 tsp flour
- 4 good baking apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
- 12 oz blackberries
- 1/3 cup sugar plus 1 TB
- 2 TB honey
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- Pinch nutmeg (preferably freshly grated)
- Zest and juice of one lemon
- 2 TB cornstarch
- 1 tsp tapioca starch
- Pinch kosher salt
- 1 TB cream
- 1 TB whole milk
- Demerara or Turbinado sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Combine the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Combine the ice water and vinegar and add eight tablespoons of the liquid to the ingredients in the food processor. Pulse several times until combined. Pinch a bit of the dough to see if it holds together. If it is still too dry, add more of the liquid, one tablespoon at a time.
- Remove the dough to a bowl or a well-floured board. Knead the dough until it forms a ball. Divide the dough into two and wrap each half well in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least a half-hour but preferably overnight.
- Begin by rolling out the bottom crust: remove one of the balls of dough from the refrigerator. If the dough was chilled for longer than thirty minutes, allow to soften for ten to fifteen minutes before rolling it out. Prior to rolling out the dough, strike it with your rolling pin to flatten.
- Melt 2 TB of the butter. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate with melted butter.
- Liberally dust a pastry board or mat and a rolling pin with flour. Roll the dough out, rotating it and turning it frequently and adding more flour as necessary to keep it from sticking, until it is larger than the pie plate and between ¼ and ⅛ of an inch thick.
- Carefully center the pie dough in the plate and press it into the bottom and sides. Trim or fold over any excess dough around the edges.
- Mix together 1 TB sugar and 1 tsp flour. Sprinkle mixture over bottom crust to prevent it from getting too soggy. Place pie pan in refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
- To prepare the filling, combine the apples, blackberries, 1/3 cup sugar, honey, cinnamon, allspice, and lemon zest and juice in a large bowl. Taste and adjust sweetener or seasoning as necessary.
- Mix together the cornstarch, tapioca and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle it over the fruit and toss to combine. Allow filling to sit for up to 30 minutes.
- Place the fruit filling in the pie pan, leaving behind any liquid that has accumulated. Dot the top of the filling with the remaining butter and refrigerate while you prepare the top crust.
- Roll out the second ball of dough in the same manner as the first. Place top crust on the pie and crimp the edges to seal.
- Alternatively, to create a lattice top, cut even strips of dough about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick using a paring knife or fluted pastry wheel. Lay out strips of dough horizontally, using the shorter strips on the edges and the longest strips for the middle.
- Fold back every other strip and lay down one vertical strip of dough in the middle. Unfold the strips of dough. (The one vertical strip should be woven over and under the horizontal strips.)
- Fold back the strips you did not fold back the first time and lay down a second vertical strip of dough. Unfold. Repeat with remaining strips of dough working from the center of the pie out to create a woven lattice.
- Trim any excess that hangs over the edge and then crimp together the edges of the bottom and top crusts.
- Preheat oven to 425 and refrigerate pie for at least 30 minutes while oven preheats.
- Mix together the cream and milk. Brush top crust with the cream mixture and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Bake pie at 425 for 15-20 minutes, then reduce heat to 400 and bake for an additional 40-50 minutes until crust is golden brown and the filling bubbling. Keep an eye on the edge and cover it with foil or a pie shield if it is starting to darken or scorch.
- Allow pie to cool completely before slicing.
