Let’s bring a little comfort to the summer table shall we, using the most intensely coloured and flavoured of all the summer berries, the blackcurrant. The deepest of purples, with a sweet, tart flavour, not only are they east to grow here in the UK but it’s that tart, fruity flavour that make them perfect for sweeter treats like jams, cordials, puddings & pies.
I was lucky enough to inherit some rather bountiful blackcurrant shrubs with my garden, which have yet to let me down year upon year. Even with little care or attention, I’ve been rewarded every summer with the biggest & most plentiful supply, even after the birds have gorged on their fair share of them! Normally at their peak at mid-summer, when my neighbours must wonder what I’m up to as I nestle into the bushes & balance precariously on our wall to pick the biggest & juiciest fruit each July. Due to a rather dismal summer this year though, everything’s a little delayed out there, so I’m still enjoying the fruits of my death defying labour (it’s a pretty high wall!).
That being said, this summer has been less about sorbets & chilled cheesecakes & more about classic comfort food for us. So naturally, rather than turn my purple bounty into a gorgeous ice cream as I’d originally planned, I opted for a homely, deep filled pie. The rest are stowed away in the freezer though, just incase the sun returns for a summer encore. For added depth of flavour & aroma, I’ve added in a few bay leaves to the mix, mainly because I’ve got a ridiculous stash of them from the allotment to use up but it works & adds a little warmth to an already comforting treat. This blackcurrant & bay pie really is comfort at it’s finest, a sweet, tart, jammy filling meets a crumbly, buttery shortcrust pastry, if anything I guarantee that you’ll forget all about the lack of sun whilst you’re eating this. Serve it whilst still warm with a dollop of ice cream or a dribble of cream to take this to the next level.
BLACKCURRANT & BAY PIE
(makes one 21cm pie)
Ingredients:
For the shortcrust pastry case:
- 250g plain flour
- 50g icing sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 125g butter, cubed
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 – 2 tbsp cold water
For the shortcrust pastry lattice:
- 250g plain flour
- 50g icing sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 125g butter, cubed
- 3-4 tbsp cold water
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 1/2 tsp matcha
- 3 tbsp freeze dried raspberry powder
- ! egg, beaten to glaze
For the filling:
- 900g blackcurrants
- 300g granulated sugar
- 30g cornflour
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 bay leaves
Method:
To make the pastry case:
- Begin by sifting together the flour, salt & icing sugar into a large bowl
- Add the cubed butter to the bowl & using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
- Add the egg yolks to the bowl & stir through
- Next add in 1 tbsp of water & stir through, continue to add water sparingly, only adding 1 tbsp at a time, just enough until the mixture starts to clump together
- Use your hands to finish bringing the mixture together to form a dough
- Flatten the dough into a shallow disc shape, cover in a beeswax wrap or some cling film & chill in the fridge for at least an hour (you could even do this the day before)
- Once chilled, roll out the pastry into a round, to roughly the thickness of a £1 coin, one large enough to fill the tart tin
- Line the tart tin before trimming away any excess pastry, place the case back in the fridge to chill until needed
To make the pastry lattice:
- Begin by sifting together the flour, salt & icing sugar into a large bowl
- Add the cubed butter to the bowl & using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
- Next, devide the breadcrumb mixture up between 3 separate bowls
- In each bowl, add one of the colouring ingredients (turmeric in one, matcha in one & freeze dried raspberry in one)
- Now add in 1 tbsp of water at a time to each bowl & stir through, adding just enough water until the mixture starts to clump together
- Use your hands to finish bringing the mixture together to form three coloured doughs
- Flatten each of the dough into a shallow disc shape, cover separately in a beeswax wrap or some cling film & chill in the fridge for at least an hour (you could even do this the day before)
To assemble & bake the pie:
- Make the filling by simply combining all of the filling ingredients together in a large bowl
- Take the pastry case out of the fridge & pour in the filling mixture
- Remove the coloured pastry from the fridge & use a rolling pin to roll each one out into a rectangle as long as your pie, roughly to the thickness of a £1 coin
- Use a pastry cutter of a sharp knife to cut out 1 inch wide strips from each of the rectangles
- Now, carefully use the pastry strips to weave a lattice on top of the pie
- Use your fingers to press the edges of the pie together to secure
- Finally, brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg
- Bake the pie in the oven at 180C for 20 minutes
- After 20 minutes, cover the top of the pie with a sheet of foil, reduce the oven temperature to 160C & bake for a further 40 minutes
- Once baked, remove the blackcurrant & bay pie from the oven & set aside to cool in its tin
- Serve with a dollop of vanilla ice cream, thick greek yogurt or a dribble of double cream.
