Blueberry pie has always fascinated me, here in South Africa we tend to prefer savoury pies and you rarely see sweet fruit pies being made. So when I heard that it was blueberry pie day I absolutely had to try my hand at making my own. It was much simpler than I thought and the results were delicious. Here is how I made an easy blueberry pie… step by step.
Makes 1 large pie
Step 1: Gather your ingredients.
The ingredients used in this recipe are simple and easy to find in your local supermarket. You probably have most of these in your kitchen already. You will need:
- 350g blueberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 3 Tbsp corn flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 egg
- 1 roll of pre-made shortcrust pastry (if you have time you can make your own pastry but if you are in a hurry pre-made pastry will do fine)
- A pinch of flour for the pastry dish
Step 2: Prepare your pastry
You will need medium sized pastry dish. If you are using frozen pastry, make sure it is thawed completely but not warm. Use some butter or non-stick cooking spray to coat the inside of the pastry dish. Lightly dust some flour over the butter or spray so that it thinly coats the dish – this will help to prevent the pastry from sticking.
Roll enough pastry to cover the bottom and sides of the pastry dish and gently press it into the dish (make sure you leave enough pastry for the lattice pastry top)
Step 3: Blind bake the pastry
Blind baking a pie crust is required when it will be filled with an unbaked filling like our blueberries, in which case the crust must be at least partially baked. To blind bake your pie crust you will need some tinfoil or wax paper and either some raw hard beans or rice.
Pre-heat your oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Line the pastry with tinfoil or wax paper and fill the with beans or rice. When your oven is at the correct temperature place the dish in and bake for 10 minutes.
Step 4: Prepare the filling
Now we get to the filling of your easy blueberry pie. Place all of the blueberries into one bowl (if you are using frozen blueberries make sure they are thawed first.) Mix all the dry ingredients into another bowl and mix them together thoroughly. Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the blueberries and mix thoroughly so that the berries are completely coated.
Step 5: Place the blueberries into the pastry and add butter
Take the blueberry mixture and gently press it into the pastry. Take the butter and chop it into cubes and dot all over the top of the blueberry mixture.
Step 6: Prepare the lattice pastry top
Take the leftover pastry you set aside earlier and cut it into strips that are long enough to cover the length and breadth of your pastry dish. Cover the rim with pastry strips (you will require 2-3 and can cut off excess but retain trimmings). Place one pastry strip across the dish at one end of the dish, trim slightly to fit. Continue doing this and layer the strips in an over/under pattern while still leaving a gap between the strips so that the filling is visible. Beat the egg in a separate bowl and lightly brush the top of the crust with egg – this will help to achieve a gorgeous brown crust.
Step 7: Baking
Place in the centre of the pre-heated oven (220 degrees Celsius as above) and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Make sure that you allow the pie to cool completely before you attempt to remove it from the pie dish.
And there you have it, just seven steps to a perfect and easy blueberry pie. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream and enjoy.
