Flaky Vegan Blackberry Pie

Now that fall is upon us, I find myself reminiscing on all the great parts about the summertime. SIGH.

Ah, those long glorious days of sunshine, wearing little floral sundresses and flip flops, getting a nice, sun-kissed glow at the beach. And let’s not forget the very best part about summer: the delicious berries that come into season. Specifically, the endless supply of fresh blackberries, ready to pick, wherever you go.

Picking blackberries out in BC is huge for us because we wait for them all year.

When I stroll through the forest along my walks and see those beautiful soft pink blackberry flowers blooming, I get so excited. This year, the season came slightly early, around July, and I spent an entire day seeking blackberry brambles with a giant bucket in hand.

The highlight of this summer was definitely blackberry picking for me, and baking my first ever vegan blackberry pie with my lovely friend, Forrest. It turned out so incredibly well, and easily became my new summer dessert. A new tradition has begun!

Although I go crazy for a good strawberry rhubarb, it turns out that blackberry pie is actually my favourite of all the pies! Shocker eh?

There’s honestly something so rewarding about spending all day in the hot sun picking berries, and then taking them home to bake your very own pie from scratch, and then waiting anxiously for it to cool on the windowsill. It was a lot of work and took hours and hours of our day (we were baking until very late that night), but it was so very worth it when I had one bite of that fresh, warm pie.

The filling was absolutely wonderful (just the right amount of sweetness, with a tiny tartness from a cup of fresh blueberries we added into the mix), but the crust was the best part. It was flaky, buttery, and delicious – complementing the sweet filling perfectly. It was honestly hard to tell it was vegan! That’s when you know you’ve made a good pie. For the vegan butter, I used EarthBalance butter since the consistency is quite hard to begin with. I also used a bit of vegetable shortening, but this is optional. 

Now, how to get that flaky pie crust? My friend taught me that a homemade pie crust really is quite simple, so long as you follow these important steps:

1- Always keep your butter COLD. 
Your dough should have tiny bits of cold butter in it, that – when baked in the oven –  release steam and create little air pockets, resulting in that light, flaky, buttery crust we all love and cherish so much. If you let the butter melt in the dough while handling it and rolling it out, the crust becomes too soft, and you lose that flakiness.

2- Use ICE COLD water for the pie dough.
This step goes with the above rule about keeping your butter cold. You will want to put actual ice cubes in a small bowl of water to have ready to go when you make your pie dough. This will ensure that your butter and dough stay cold while you are handling/preparing it.

3- Use your time wisely. 
As soon as you prepare your dough, let it sit in the fridge as you prepare your pie filling. The oven should already be preset and ready to go by the time your filling is prepared and your dough is rolled out. Timing is everything! Make sure the dough stays cold throughout this process, and minimize the time it takes between leaving the fridge and entering the oven.

That’s it, folks! Hopefully it’s summer wherever you are, and you can bake some delicious pies with freshly picked blackberries. If not, feel free to use store-bought berries for this recipe. Although fresh berries are best, you could also use frozen (but I don’t recommend it as the consistency just won’t be the same). Happy pie baking! 🙂

Vegan Blackberry Pie

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Serves: 8 Prep Time: 1 Hour Cooking Time: 1 Hour

Ingredients

For the crust:
1 1/2  cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp. organic white sugar
Dash of cinnamon + nutmeg
1/2  tsp. salt
2/4 cup  cold, unsalted vegan butter, cut into cubes (or omit the shortening and use 3/4 cup butter)
1/4 cup cold vegan shortening, cut into cubes
1 small bowl of ice cold water

For the filling:
3 cups fresh blackberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup organic white sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Flaky Vegan Blackberry Pie was last modified: October 5th, 2019 by themindfulstrawberry

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. PREPARE THE PIE CRUST: Place the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar and salt in a food processor or hand mix in a bowl using a pastry cutter, or stand mixer. Mix just until combined.
3. Add the cold butter and pulse about 10-12 times, until the butter pieces are the size of little peas.
4. Add around 5 tablespoons of the ice cold water and pulse until the dough comes together into a rough ball. If needed, add more water, a teaspoon at a time, to help the dough come together.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and cut it in half. Form each half into a round ball. Refrigerate one ball of dough while working on the second one.
6. Use a rolling pin to roll out half the dough out into a circle that is around 12 inches in diameter. Turn the dough a quarter turn with each roll as you roll it out, forming a circle. Place dough circle into a 9×2-inch pie dish. (Gently wrap dough around the rolling pin to transfer it.) Gently smooth the dough out into the pie dish. Place in the refrigerator while you prepare the pie filling.
7. MAKE THE BLACKBERRY PIE FILLING: If using fresh blackberries, wash the blackberries and lay them out on a clean towel; gently pat dry. If using frozen blackberries, thaw the berries and drain them of any excess liquid.
8. Place blackberries in a large bowl. Add the sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and vanilla and stir until well combined. Transfer to the pie dish with the rolled out pie crust. Set aside.
9. ROLL OUT THE TOP PIE CRUST: Place the second dough disk onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll it out into a 12-inch diameter circle. Use a sharp knife, pizza cutter or pastry wheel to cut the dough circle into ½-inch strips. Using every other strip from the circle, arrange half of the dough strips going one direction across the top of the pie, leaving a little bit of space in between each strip. Weave the other half of the dough strips through the first set, over and under, pulling back the first set of strips as needed to weave.
10. Trim off excess dough around the edge of the pie. Fold the edge over, towards the inside, and crimp with your fingers or a fork. (If you do not wish to make a lattice-top pie, you can simply put the full second pie crust on top of the pie and then cut slits in the top for steam vents. Or cut the second pie crust into desired shapes using a cookie cutter and arrange the shapes on top of the pie filling.)
11. In a small bowl, beat the egg and the 1 tablespoon milk or water. Lightly brush the top pie crust with the egg mixture. (You won’t use all of the egg mixture.)
12. Bake pie for 50-60 minutes, until filling is bubbly and crust is light golden brown. Begin checking on the pie at 30 minutes and cover crust edges with pieces of foil as needed to prevent over-browning (you may use pie crust shields in place of the foil).
13. Let pie cool for at least 2 hours at room temperature before slicing and serving. Store leftover pie in the refrigerator, wrapped well, for up to 5 days.

Flaky Vegan Blackberry Pie was last modified: October 5th, 2019 by themindfulstrawberry