A tale of two pies…

In summertime, our family stocks up on the bounty of berries that grow at our local Pick Your Own places. Because we know that when the air grows chill and the snowflakes begin to drift lazily downwards, we’ll be craving the tantalizing tangy tastes of summer!

Peeking into the freezer this fall, I saw that we certainly had plenty of raspberries. Normally I make them into smoothies or mix them with blueberries, but this year I wanted to try something out that would let that brash bold flavor shine.

And since my eye’s been set on pies…

I ended up making two pies, each of which was quite delicious! Both recipes came from my King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion cookbook (available on Amazon).

Pie number 1: The classic Raspberry Pie

For the first pie, I used the pie crust recipe and technique from the Sue Reid video I mentioned in my last post. It came out great, beautiful and flaky. I put sparkling sugar on top as well, just to give it that extra pizzazz!

Here’s a shot of it in its native habitat, nestled in amongst generous mounds of vanilla fro-yo:

Gorgeous and delicious! Thumbs up all around the table, both daughters (6 and 2 yrs old) in full agreement.

Pie #2: Raspberry Cream Pie

This pie was more of an experiment, for me. Pie in my family has almost always been the standard, two-crust, fruit pie. Oh, we might add a smidge of cinnamon, or do a combo like strawberry-rhubarb, but the formula was set. We didn’t really *do* cream pies…I didn’t know what to expect.

Now I know — expect a lovely smooth blend of creamy custard with a tart layer of berries floating on top! Something a little like this:

My oldest daughter and I worked together on this one, and used the Tender Pie Crust recipe from the cookbook, using the same methods as the video. It’s amazing what a difference just using those techniques and being more laid back has made in my pie-making! I still can’t get the crusts to roll out in a circle to save my life but it doesn’t matter — it’s all going to get covered with the filling anyway, so who cares?

Here is the recipe we followed for Raspberry Cream Pie. Use any single crust recipe you like, or even a store-bought crust if you have to, though why not give scratch baking a try for fun?

Raspberry Cream Pie

Ingredients

• One 9-inch single piecrust
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 cups raspberries

Directions
Roll out the piecrust and fit into a 9-inch pie pan. Trim edges, and crimp your crust. Or…get out your store-bought crust. Preheat the oven to 425° F.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the buttermilk and eggs. Beat in the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Pour the fruit into the crust first, then pour the milk mixture over top (strangely, even though the fruit goes in on the bottom, it ends up on the top when it’s baked!).

Bake the pie on the bottom rack of the oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350° F and bake an additional 35-50 minutes, until the crust is golden and the filling is set 2 inches from the edge. It’s okay if the middle is wobbly, it’ll firm up. Since we used frozen berries, we baked the longer amount of time and it came out great.

When it’s done, put it on a wire rack to cool. Once it’s cooled completely, refrigerate until ready to serve.

Share and enjoy! What have you been baking or cooking, now that winter is upon us?

Tags: pie, raspberries