Deep Dish Blueberry Pie
Submitted by madtld
Deep dish blueberry pie with a buttery egg yolk crust, rum-spiked filling, and eight cups of berries baked until bubbling. A top-crust-only pie loaded with fruit and lightly spiced with cinnamon.
YIELD
1 piePREP
90 minCOOK
75 minREADY
165 minEight full cups of blueberries piled into a gratin dish and topped with a rich, buttery crust that bakes to a deep golden brown. This is a top-crust-only pie, which means the filling ratio is wildly generous. Almost all fruit, almost all the time.
The filling gets a splash of rum that adds a warm, caramel-like sweetness you can’t get from vanilla. Combined with lemon juice and a touch of cinnamon, it transforms simple blueberries into something complex and layered. Cornstarch thickens the juices as the pie bakes so you get sliceable filling instead of berry soup.
The crust uses egg yolk instead of whole egg, which makes it richer, more tender, and less prone to getting tough.
Chef Tips
- Chill the dough for a full hour. This relaxes the gluten and firms the butter so the crust holds its shape and bakes flaky.
- Cut generous slits and holes in the top crust. Steam needs to escape or the crust gets soggy and the filling won’t thicken properly.
- Bake until you can see the filling actively bubbling through the vents. If the cornstarch hasn’t reached a full boil, the pie will be runny when sliced.
- Let the pie cool completely before cutting. Hot fruit pie filling is liquid; it sets as it cools.
Variations
- Use bourbon instead of rum for a deeper, oakier warmth in the filling.
- Mix in a cup of fresh raspberries with the blueberries for a more complex berry flavor.
- Skip the egg wash and dust the crust with raw turbinado sugar for extra crunch and sparkle.
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough: In a bowl stir together the flour, the sugar, and the salt.
Add the butter, and blend the mixture until it resembles coarse meal.
Add the yolk mixture, toss the mixture until the liquid is incorporated, and form the dough into a ball.
Dust the dough with flour and chill it, wrapped in plastic wrap, for 1 hour.
Make the filling: In a large bowl stir together the cornstarch, the rum, the lemon juice, the sugar, and the cinnamon.
Add the blueberries, and combine the mixture well.
Pour the filling into a 6- to 7-cup gratin dish or other shallow baking dish .
Roll out the dough slightly larger than the dish on a floured surface and drape it over the filling.
Fold the overhang under, pressing the dough to the edge of the dish, and crimp the edge decoratively.
Make slits and holes in the crust for air vents, brush the crust with the egg wash, and sprinkle it with the sugar.
Bake the pie on a baking sheet in the middle of a preheated 375 degree F oven for 1 hour to 1¼ hours, or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden.
Transfer the pie to a rack and let it cool.
The pie may be made 1 day in advance and kept at room temperature.
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