Description
This classic vegan blueberry pie with a flakey, buttery crust is foolproof, bursting with berries and fresh lemon! It’s a MUST MAKE for spring and summer.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the blueberry filling
- 350g of fresh / frozen blueberries
- 100g of caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons of corn starch / corn flour
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 1 lemon (zest only)
Ingredients for the pastry
- 310g of plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
- 50g of caster sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
- 1 lemon (zest only)
- 225g of dairy-free block butter*
- 60ml of ice water*
- Dairy-free milk (‘egg’ wash)
Instructions
Method (blueberry lemon filling)
- Add the blueberries into a medium-sized saucepan and sprinkle over the sugar, corn starch / corn flour, lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Place on top of the hob over a medium to high heat and bring to the boil. This will take around 5-8 minutes. Keep stirring with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon to prevent the mixture from sticking and burning. It will start to turn thick. Once thick, remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before using. As it cools, it will thicken up even more and turn into a jelly-like.
- Store in a sealed container in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. Alternatively, you can pour the filling directly into the pastry and bake.
Method (pastry)
- You will need a large pie dish. Lightly grease it with dairy-free block butter and a sprinkle of flour. (I used a 9-inch deep dish.) Alternatively, you can use a tart tin and grease it using the same method.
- In a medium sized bowl, sift in the flour, salt, sugar and lemon zest. Stir to combine, set aside.
- Cut the butter into small cubes and place into the freezer for approximately 5-8 minutes. It’s important the butter stays as cold as possible when making pastry dough!
- Add cubes of cold butter into the flour mixture, one at a time. Use a fork to break up the butter.
- Use your fingertips to gently rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles bread-crumbs.
- Add in the ice cold water a tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together. It’s important you don’t over-knead the dough as you will loosen the flakiness.
- Wrap the dough in greaseproof paper and place into the fridge for 40min – 1 hour. This makes it easier to roll out, less sticky to handle and also gives the dough time to chill again.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and allow to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.
- Slice the dough in half so you have 2 balls of dough. Wrap one ball of dough up and place back into the fridge for later (this will be for the lattice detail).
- Flour a clean work-surface and rolling pin. Roll out one of the dough portions into a 12 inch circle (around 1/8 inch thick), a few inches bigger than your pie dish / tin. Alternatively, you can roll the dough out between two pieces of greaseproof paper. Make sure the dough isn’t sticking to the work-surface or paper, add more flour if necessary.
- Check the size by inverting a pie dish over the top of the dough. Look for around a 1-inch edge around the pie dish. To transfer the dough to the dish, starting at one end, roll the dough around a floured rolling pin, then carefully unroll over the dish.
- Gently press the dough down into dish so that it lines the bottom and sides of the dish. (Being careful not to stretch the dough).
- Use a sharp knife to trim off any excess.
- Use your fingers to crimp the edges of the pastry (optional).
- Optional step: you can blind bake the pastry with baking beans if you fancy. I like to partially blind bake the crust for 8 minutes with baking beans, as this prevents a soggy bottom. To blind bake, line the dough with grease proof paper and pour in baking beans or rice. Pop the crust into the middle of a oven set to 170°C fan and bake for 8 minute. Remove from the oven and continue with the next step.
- Spoon the berry filling into the pie, enough to fill the pie dish 1/2 full. Set aside.
- Remove the second pastry ball from the fridge and allow to come down to room temperature for 5 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 170°C fan.
- Add the excess dough to the already chilled dough. Flour a clean worktop and rolling pin. Roll out the dough until 1/8 inch thick. Use a pizza roller, sharp knife or pastry cutter, slice the dough into even strips (depending on how thick you want the lattice). You can even braid the dough for a decorative detail.
- Gently pick up the strips and lay 5 vertically over the pie, making sure that they’re evenly spaced out.
- Carefully fold back the first, third and fifth strips towards you then lay a strip of dough perpendicular to other dough strips. Unfold the first, third and fifth strip over the new strip.
- Unfold second and fourth strips over the new strip. Repeat until you have a beautiful lattice detail.
- With any excess dough, cut out flowers, or any decorative shape you fancy using small cookie cutters. Using some dairy-free milk, stick them on-top of the pie.
- Brush the entire pastry with dairy-free milk and sprinkle over some more caster sugar. This will ensure that the pie gets a gorgeous golden colour once baked.
- Place the pie into the middle of the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until the berry filling is bubbling and the pastry is golden.
- Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool down. It will be extremely hot.
Slice with a sharp knife and serve.
Notes
To store: Store the pie in a sealed container in / out of the fridge. If in the fridge, allow to come to room temperature before serving. You can warm the chilled pie up in the oven.
What dairy-free butter to use? My favourites are Naturli Vegan Block and Flora Plant Butter. Place the butter into the fridge for at least 6 hours before use.
How to make ice water: Pour 60ml of water in a bowl and add in a couple of ice cubes. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before using.Serving options
This pie is even better with a scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice-cream, whipped dairy-free cream, or custard over the top!
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Tarts and pies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American