Raspberry Pie

Makes one 22cm pie.

• Prep time: 30min + dough chilling time
• Cook time: 50min
• Total time: 1h 20min
• Difficulty: Intermediate

This stunning summer pie celebrates and highlights the beauty of raspberries. Because I like the tartness of raspberries, I didn’t add much sugar to the filling. Add more sugar if your raspberries are very tart or if you have a sweet tooth. You can also use a combination of raspberries and other summer berries instead of raspberries. Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche over a cup of coffee, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a decadent fancy dessert.

For the crust.

Ingredients:

• 250g all-purpose flour + more for dusting surfaces
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 160g cold butter, diced
• 70-85ml water, very cold
• 1 tablespoon milk (to brush the crust before baking)
• 1 tablespoon sugar + 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (to sprinkle over the crust)

Directions:

In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar until well combined. Pulse in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in the cold water gradually and pulse until the dough just comes together. First, add 75ml of water, and then add one tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface, divide it in half, and flatten each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for one hour or overnight.

For the raspberry filling.

Ingredients:

• 600g fresh raspberries
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 100g sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 heaped tablespoons cornstarch

Directions:

Toss the raspberries with the lemon zest and juice in a large mixing bowl. In a small mixing bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and cornstarch until evenly combined. Toss with raspberries to coat evenly, crushing and bruising them with the back of your spoon. If your raspberries are tart or you have a sweet tooth, add more sugar to the filling. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a 22cm pie or tart pan with butter. Roll out one half of the chilled dough into a 26cm circle. To prevent the dough from sticking, make sure your work surface is well floured. Place the rolled dough in the pie pan. The dough should be large enough to cling to the pan’s sides. Spoon the filling, including any accumulated juices, into the bottom pie dough in an even layer. Roll out the remaining dough to a 26cm circle and carefully place it over the filling. Trim the overhanging dough to the diameter of the pie dish’s rim. Press the bottom and top dough edges together lightly with your fingers, then crimp decoratively. Make several slits in the top layer of pie crust to allow any air inside the pie to escape while it bakes. Brush the top with milk and top with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake for 50 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. If the crust starts to brown too quickly, remove the pie from the oven, cover with tin foil, and re-bake. Allow to cool at room temperature for three hours before serving.

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Commentary.

Raspberries. Petite, ruby red, delicate and slightly tart. You gotta love them!

They can be a little hairy. And, yes, those tiny little seeds can get into the tiniest crack between your teeth and cause you to have a nervous breakdown. If you eat raspberry jam for breakfast, you might not be able to feel your tongue by lunchtime. But you know… There is no gain without pain. That’s all there is to it.

Raspberries are a fruit with a personality. Take care of it. Besides, it’s kind of nice to come across a lost seed hours after eating a delicious breakfast or dessert and remember how good it was. It’s a genuine Proustian experience.

You’ll forget about the annoying seeds, tongue numbness, and endless flossing once you start eating this raspberry pie. Those things will no longer be important to you. You’ll only want more pie.

When you find a seed somewhere in the back of your mouth hours later, you’ll be happy and thankful to be reminded that there’s more pie waiting for you in the kitchen.

Thank you!