I named this pie 'scratch berry' because it was the first pie I learned to make entirely from scratch, including the crust (Amish-style), for Eric, shortly after we were married. Fast forward twenty-some years, and I still make it, though I have made it with a store-bought crust when under a time-crunch and it comes out delicious that way too.
The crispy, almost dissolving, sugary crumble on top of the pie is my favorite, but it is also strewn across the crust on the bottom...if you think a bite of plain crust can't get better- it can. The body of the pie is a cooked custard of sorts, dotted heavily with your favorite (molten) berries. I love to use all blueberries, or a raspberry/blackberry/blueberry/strawberry mix. Anything you choose will work great. I've also applied the same method and used plums or peaches, again- so good.
This recipe never gets old and is super versatile.
"Make sure your pie crust is very-very cold, from the rolling to the pinching to just before it gets filled and shoved in the oven. I'll give it a cold-shot in the freezer for ten minutes if I sense the crust getting too warm."
Notes:
SCRATCH BERRY PIE
Ingredients: 3 cups berries (fresh or frozen, thawed and drained), 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/8 tsp. salt, 2 eggs-beaten, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 tbsp. heavy cream or half & half, 1 9-inch pie crust.
For the crumble: 3/4 cup flour, 3/4 cup light brown sugar, 6 tbsp. melted butter, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ground ginger.
Serves 6-8.
1. Preheat/prep: Preheat oven to 350*. Roll out homemade or store-bought pie crust. Place into pie dish and crimp edges with fingers or fork. Place into refrigerator.
2. Make the batter and crumble: In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, flour and salt. Add the beaten eggs and sour cream, mix until smooth. Prepare the crumble by forking together the flour, brown sugar, ginger and cinnamon. Add the melted butter slowly, mixing as you go- you might not need all of the butter to make the crumbs.
3. Assemble/bake: Remove the crust from the fridge and prick the bottom with a fork all over. Sprinkle over 2 tbsp. of crumble mixture. Tumble in the berries. Pour over the custard mixture until the liquid comes to 1/2 inch from the top of the pie dish- don't overfill. Brush the crust edge with heavy cream. Bake for 55-65 minutes, until the top is golden, and the center does not wobble. Remove to cool before cutting.
TIPS
Check your crust at 45 minutes. If it looks too brown, add pie guards or rounded pieces of foil to protect the crust while it cooks the rest of the way.
If you don't have heavy cream or half and half, you can brush the crust with beaten egg.
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