My first blog post for this class is overdue by far, but as the title suggests, at least I’m getting to it before the second week begins. The first week was a little hectic, seeing as I got to Williams slightly after midnight on Wednesday. But even so, I got to work right away the next day making crusts with my fantastic partner Katie Shao (who you would never know hadn’t made more than one pie before this class–she is seriously talented). We decided to make Sour Cream-Blackberry and Pecan-Butterscotch-Custard Pies. That day marked my first time making a pie crust by hand (previously I have always used a food processor), but it turned out to be much easier than expected. Not only that, there is something very satisfying about working the dough with your hands and getting to feel the butter and shortening congeal around the flour. Here is the dough when actually put into the pie dish the next day (apologies for the sideways orientation):
Making the filling was pretty simple, it just involved whisking together all the ingredients except for the blackberries. The slightly more challenging part was making the streusel, but this was only because I needed more than double the amount of butter than the recipe called for. Other than that, this recipe was fairly simple. Here is the pie immediately prior to baking:
Baking went off without a hitch, despite the temperature fluctuating fairly significantly in the oven that was used. Here is the finished pie immediately after being taken out of the oven:
The edges of the crust got a little darker than I would have wanted but I imagine that could have been rectified with some edge protectors. I will make a note to try that out next time.
Well that’s all for this week. Next week: savory pies!
Sour Cream-Blackberry Pie
Ingredients:
- Filling:
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups full fat sour cream, room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp grated orange zest
- big pinch of salt
- 3 cups blackberries
- Streusel:
- 3 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
- 2-3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (modified from original recipe)
Directions:
- If you haven’t already prepare the pie dough and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
- Roll out the pie dough and invert it into a 9-inch pie pan. Place it in the freezer for 15 minutes, then partially prebake it (400 degrees F for 15 minutes, then reduce to 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes) and let it cool. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- Whisk the eggs in a large bowl just until frothy. Add the sour cream, granulated sugar, flour, vanilla, orange zest, and salt, whisking again until evenly blended. Spread the berries evenly in the cooled pie shell, then ladle the sour cream mixture over them.
- To make the streusel, combine the flour and brown sugar in a small bowl and mix with your fingers. Add the butter, stirring it with a fork. Switch to your fingers and gently rub the topping until it is crumbly. Add a bit more brown sugar or granulated sugar if the mixture is too clumpy. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the sour cream filling.
- Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake until the filling is set, about 35 minutes. When done, the filling will likely have puffed slightly and will no longer seem liquid-loose.
- Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool thoroughly. Serve at room temperature, or cover with loosely tented aluminum foil and refrigerate before serving.
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