Equipment
- 1 8" square pan
Ingredients
Blackberry filling
- 4 cups frozen blackberries about 600g, do not thaw
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 4 tbsp potato starch cornstarch is fine, but the filling will get cloudy when it cools – potato starch keeps it clear and shiny
- ¼ tsp fine salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp almond extract
Rough puff pie crust
- 390 g all-purpose flour about 3¼ cups
- 1¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 teaspoon sugar
- 294 g butter about 2½ sticks + 1 tbsp, very cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 78 g vodka ice cold, about ⅓ cup
- 78 g water ice cold, about ⅓ cup
Instructions
Make the pie crust
- In a small bowl, add some ice. Pour in vodka and water and mix until ice cold.78 g vodka, 78 g water
- Put the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor and pulse 2–3 times.390 g all-purpose flour, 4 teaspoon sugar, 1¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Add the cold butter and pulse about 6–8 short pulses. Stop when there are still plenty of butter pieces about the size of peas and almonds. For this crust, you actually want larger pieces left.294 g butter
- Remove ice cubes from the vodka-water mixture. Then drizzle in the vodka-water mixture while pulsing very briefly, about 1-second pulses. Stop as soon as the mixture looks shaggy and will hold together when you squeeze a handful. If it becomes a smooth dough inside the processor, you’ve gone too far, and you’ll lose some of the flaky layering.
- Dump everything onto the counter and press it together until there are no more crumbs. Shape into a rough rectangle.
- Cut the dough into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. The larger piece will be used as the bottom crust.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30-45 minutes.
Preheat
- Preheat the oven to 425℉.
Roll and shape the bottom crust
- Flour your work surface. Remove the bottom crust from the refrigerator and place it on the work surface. Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour.
- Roll into a rough square, about 14 x 14 inches or ¼ inch thick.
- Fold the top third down.
- Fold the bottom third up over it.
- Turn it over and rotate 90°. Roll into a rough square, about 14 x 14 inches or ¼ inch thick.
- Repeat once more.
- Place the dough in the bottom of your square pan and place in the freezer to chill while you prepare the filling and the top crust.
By freezing the bottom crust before baking, you're ensuring maximum flakiness.
Make the blackberry filling
- In a medium bowl, add sugar, potato starch, and salt. Mix together until combined and there are no clumps of starch.⅔ cup granulated sugar, 4 tbsp potato starch, ¼ tsp fine salt
- Add frozen blackberries, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Toss until every berry is coated. Set in the fridge to chill4 cups frozen blackberries, 1 tsp vanilla extract, ¼ tsp almond extract
Roll and shape top crust
- Flour your work surface. Remove the top crust from the refrigerator and place it on the work surface. Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour.
- Roll into a rough square, about 14 x 14 inches or ¼ inch thick.
- Fold the top third down.
- Fold the bottom third up over it.
- Turn it over and rotate 90°. Roll into a rough square, about 14 x 14 inches or ¼ inch thick.
- Repeat once more.
The steps for the top crust are the same as the bottom crust.
Assemble
- Remove the pie pan with the crust from the freezer. Place the berry filling into bottom.
- Lay the top crust over the top, stretch over the corners, and press to seal.
- Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Cut 4 slits in the top so the steam can escape.
Bake
- Bake at 425℉ for 20 minutes, uncovered.
- Reduce the heat to 375℉ and cook for 45 minutes. Cover loosely with aluminum foil if the top crust is getting too dark.
- Temp the center of the pie in the filling. You are looking for 200℉. Cook in intervals of 5 minutes, checking the temperature each time until it reaches 200℉. This can take up to an extra 20 minutes in my experience.
- Once the probe says 200℉, remove from the oven and set on the counter to cool for 3-4 hours.
- Once cool, serve with a scoop of vanilla cream.
Why check for 200℉ and not time? I prefer using temperature rather than relying only on whether you can see bubbling through the crust. For potato starch specifically, unlike some pie thickeners, prolonged high-temperature cooking isn't beneficial and can eventually reduce potato starch's thickening ability.
Nutrition
Calories: 582kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 79mg | Sodium: 677mg | Potassium: 219mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 1072IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 3mg
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