Before the weather outside makes it uncomfortable to have the oven turned on inside the house, now is an excellent time to bake some homemade pies — to eat now or to freeze for use at a later time.
The fruits for this week’s recipes are readily available. The recipes come from my favourite baking cookbook, A World of Baking.
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Blackberry Pie
- pastry for a 2-crust, 9 inch pie
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 1/2 tbsps. quick-cooking tapioca
- or 1/4-1/2 cup flour
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 4 cups ripe blackberries
- 2 tbsps. butter
Prepare pastry.
Combine sugar and tapioca or flour. Stir well. Add lemon juice and cinnamon and the blackberries. Stir gently but well.
Pour into the pastry-lined pie pan. Dot with butter. Arrange top crust over filling. Flute and seal the edges. Cut vents in top crust. Brush top crust lightly with some milk and sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar, or just sprinkle with sugar and omit the milk.
Bake at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake 40-45 minutes longer. Cool then slice and serve with ice cream.
Note: raspberries may be substituted.
• • •
Green Grape Pie
- 9 inch pie shell, unbaked
- pastry for a lattice top
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 5 cups seedless green grapes
- 2 tbsps. butter
Combine sugar, flour and tapioca and stir to blend. Add cinnamon and grapes. Stir gently.
Turn out into the pastry-lined pie plate. Smooth then dot with butter. Arrange lattice strips over the filling.
Bake at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes then reduce to 350 degrees F and bake 30 minutes longer.
Note: red seedless grapes may be substituted, or a mixture of red and green may be used.
• • •
European Raisin Pie
- pastry for a 2-crust, 9-inch pie
- 2 cups seedless raisins
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup beer
- 1 tsp. grated lemon rind
- 2 tbsps. lemon juice
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 tbsps. cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 2 tbsps. butter
Combine raisins, water, beer, lemon rind and juice in a saucepan. Heat until mixture is hot then simmer for 5 minutes.
Combine sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon and blend well. Stir into the raisin mixture and simmer, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the butter and combine. Remove from heat and let cool.
Pour the cooled mixture into the pastry-lined pie plate. Arrange the top crust, seal and flute the edges. Cut vents and sprinkle lightly with a cinnamon sugar.
Bake at 425 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
