Amaaaaazing Red Berry Pie!
This is the best pie I've ever eaten. Ever!
It's also my second try at a Red Berry Pie. My first (last year) was a bit of a mess for many reasons. Version 2.0 worked like a charm, though. This red berry pie uses the vodka crust I complained about in my last post (still difficult to handle, but still tasty, flaky, and tender, so I'm torn) and the perfect mixture of bright, whole, succulent strawberries and tangy raspberries. I used America's Test Kitchen's trick for thickening blueberry pie filling with these red berries, and the resulting taste and texture were out of this world.
I served the pie with freshly whipped, lightly sweetened cream and a smile. Finally, a thick, tangy, sweet, luscious red berry filling.
Red Berry Pie
Recipe by: Adapted from America's Test Kitchen's Blueberry Pie
Yields: one 9-in, double-crust pie
Crust Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces (I use butter flavor)
1/4 cup vodka, cold
1/4 cup cold water
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water
Red Berry Filling Ingredients:
3 cups frozen raspberries*
3 cups frozen whole strawberries*
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated on large holes of box grater
2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
3/4 cup sugar (5 1/4 ounces)
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca, ground*
Pinch table salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
Directions:
1. For The Pie Dough: Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about two 1-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds; dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into 2 even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
3. Remove 1 disk of dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang on each side. Working around circumference, ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Leave dough that overhangs plate in place; refrigerate while preparing filling until dough is firm, about 30 minutes.
4. For The Filling: Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place 2 cups frozen whole strawberries and about 1 cup frozen raspberries in medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until many of the raspberries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 12-15 minutes. Let cool slightly.
5. Place grated apple in clean kitchen towel and wring dry. Transfer apple to large bowl. Add cooked berries, remaining 3 cups uncooked berries, lemon zest, juice, sugar, tapioca, and salt; toss to combine. Transfer mixture to dough-lined pie plate and scatter butter pieces over filling.
6. Roll out second disk of dough on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 11-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Using 1 1/4-inch round biscuit cutter, cut round from center of dough. Cut another 6 rounds from dough, 1 1/2 inches from edge of center hole and equally spaced around center hole. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll over pie, leaving at least 1/2-inch overhang on each side.
7. Using kitchen shears, trim bottom layer of overhanging dough, leaving 1/2-inch overhang. Fold dough under itself so that edge of fold is flush with outer rim of pie plate. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Brush top and edges of pie with egg mixture. If dough is very soft, chill in freezer for 10 minutes.
8. Place pie on heated baking sheet and bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer. Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. Cut into wedges and serve.
*I made this recipe using unthawed frozen berries, but fresh would probably work as well if the berries in step 4 were mashed and cooked only for 8 minutes. I used whole strawberries which made the pie so succulent! Grind the tapioca to a powder in a spice grinder or mini food processor. If using pearl tapioca, reduce the amount to 5 teaspoons. Vodka is essential to the texture of the crust and imparts no flavor; do not substitute.
To read the fairy tale I wrote about my pie, see more pie pictures, see photos of the FIRST (hideous, sad) Red Berry Pie, or peruse my critique of violence and sexism in classic bedtime stories, head over to my baking blog, Willow Bird Baking!
x-posted to bakebakebake, food_porn, and cooking
It's also my second try at a Red Berry Pie. My first (last year) was a bit of a mess for many reasons. Version 2.0 worked like a charm, though. This red berry pie uses the vodka crust I complained about in my last post (still difficult to handle, but still tasty, flaky, and tender, so I'm torn) and the perfect mixture of bright, whole, succulent strawberries and tangy raspberries. I used America's Test Kitchen's trick for thickening blueberry pie filling with these red berries, and the resulting taste and texture were out of this world.
I served the pie with freshly whipped, lightly sweetened cream and a smile. Finally, a thick, tangy, sweet, luscious red berry filling.
Red Berry Pie
Recipe by: Adapted from America's Test Kitchen's Blueberry Pie
Yields: one 9-in, double-crust pie
Crust Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces (I use butter flavor)
1/4 cup vodka, cold
1/4 cup cold water
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water
Red Berry Filling Ingredients:
3 cups frozen raspberries*
3 cups frozen whole strawberries*
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated on large holes of box grater
2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
3/4 cup sugar (5 1/4 ounces)
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca, ground*
Pinch table salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
Directions:
1. For The Pie Dough: Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about two 1-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds; dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into 2 even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
3. Remove 1 disk of dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang on each side. Working around circumference, ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Leave dough that overhangs plate in place; refrigerate while preparing filling until dough is firm, about 30 minutes.
4. For The Filling: Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place 2 cups frozen whole strawberries and about 1 cup frozen raspberries in medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until many of the raspberries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 12-15 minutes. Let cool slightly.
5. Place grated apple in clean kitchen towel and wring dry. Transfer apple to large bowl. Add cooked berries, remaining 3 cups uncooked berries, lemon zest, juice, sugar, tapioca, and salt; toss to combine. Transfer mixture to dough-lined pie plate and scatter butter pieces over filling.
6. Roll out second disk of dough on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 11-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Using 1 1/4-inch round biscuit cutter, cut round from center of dough. Cut another 6 rounds from dough, 1 1/2 inches from edge of center hole and equally spaced around center hole. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll over pie, leaving at least 1/2-inch overhang on each side.
7. Using kitchen shears, trim bottom layer of overhanging dough, leaving 1/2-inch overhang. Fold dough under itself so that edge of fold is flush with outer rim of pie plate. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Brush top and edges of pie with egg mixture. If dough is very soft, chill in freezer for 10 minutes.
8. Place pie on heated baking sheet and bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer. Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. Cut into wedges and serve.
*I made this recipe using unthawed frozen berries, but fresh would probably work as well if the berries in step 4 were mashed and cooked only for 8 minutes. I used whole strawberries which made the pie so succulent! Grind the tapioca to a powder in a spice grinder or mini food processor. If using pearl tapioca, reduce the amount to 5 teaspoons. Vodka is essential to the texture of the crust and imparts no flavor; do not substitute.
To read the fairy tale I wrote about my pie, see more pie pictures, see photos of the FIRST (hideous, sad) Red Berry Pie, or peruse my critique of violence and sexism in classic bedtime stories, head over to my baking blog, Willow Bird Baking!
x-posted to bakebakebake, food_porn, and cooking