everyone loves pie!

This is the final recipe from the grand lobster bake I hosted a week and a half ago.

First off, a few disclaimers. The photo above and 2 more in the body of the recipe (you will easily spot them!) is not my own but from an article in Fine Cooking. This recipe is inspired by the recipe in that article, created by the renowned baker and cookbook author, Rose Levy Beranbaum.  The reason for the snatched photos – yeah, I didn’t take enough while assembling the pie and when I served it at the lobster bake, I was in such a rush, I didn’t get a quality photo of a sliced piece either. No matter, this is one incredible pie~

Lattice-Topped Blueberry Pie

Dough
1  1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cold cream cheese, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Filling
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt
4 cups fresh blueberries (2 1/2 dry pints), stemmed, rinsed, and dried
Glaze
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Dough: Place the all-purpose flour, cake flour, salt, and baking powder in a food processor and process for a few seconds to combine.

Add the cold cream cheese to the flour mixture. Process for 20 seconds. Add the butter and pulse until none of the butter pieces is larger than a pea, about five 3-second pulses.

Add the cream and vinegar and pulse in short bursts until the dough just starts to come together; the dough will still look crumbly but if you press it between your fingers, it should easily come together. Turn it out onto a clean work surface. Gather and press the dough together.

Cut the dough in half and put each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. Loosely cover the dough with the plastic. Using the wrap as an aid, shape one half of the dough into a flat disk and the other into a flat rectangle. Wrap each tightly in the plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Remove the flat disk of dough from the fridge, and keep the rectangle refrigerated.  Set the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap sprinkled lightly with flour. Roll it out to a 13-inch round, occasionally loosening and reapplying the plastic wrap.

Remove one piece of plastic and flip the dough into a standard metal 9-inch pie pan (it should hold 4 cups of liquid). Fit the dough into the pan and carefully peel off the plastic. Trim the dough so there’s a 3/4-inch overhang. Fold the overhang underneath itself to create an edge that extends about 1/4 inch beyond the rim of the pie pan. Cover the dough-lined pie plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Filling: In a medium bowl, stir the sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt. Add the blueberries and toss to coat.

Top Crust: Remove the rectangle of dough from the refrigerator and set the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap sprinkled lightly with flour. Roll the dough into an 11 x 14-inch or larger rectangle; it should be no more than 1/8 inch thick.

Cut ten 3/4-inch-wide strips lengthwise down the rectangle, using a ruler to measure and mark 3/4-inch intervals and to cut a straight edge. If you want a crimped edge on the strips, use a fluted pastry wheel.

Stir the fruit filling a few times and scrape it into the pie shell. Arrange five strips of dough evenly over the filling, starting with a long strip for the center. Gently fold back every other strip (the second and the fourth) to a little past the center. Choose another long strip of dough, hold it perpendicular to the other strips, and set it across the center of the pie.

Unfold the two folded strips so they lie flat on top of the newly placed center strip. Now fold back the strips that weren’t folded back last time (the first, third, and fifth ones).

Lay a second perpendicular strip of dough about 3/4 inch away from the last one.  Unfold the three folded strips. Fold back the original two strips, set a third perpendicular strip of dough 3/4 inch from the last one, and unfold the two strips.

Repeat on the other side with the two remaining strips: fold back alternating strips, lay a strip of dough on top, and unfold.

Remember to alternate the strips that are folded back to create a woven effect.

Trim the strips to a 1/2-inch overhang. Moisten the underside of each one with water and tuck it under the bottom crust, pressing to make it adhere. Crimp or flute the edges, if you like.

Lightly cover the assembled pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. After 30 minutes of chilling, set an oven rack on the lowest rung and put a foil-lined baking stone or baking sheet on it. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Glaze: When the pie has chilled for 1 hour, brush the lattice with the milk and sprinkle on the sugar.

Set the pie directly on the baking stone or sheet. Bake until the juices are bubbling all over, 40 to 55 minutes. After the first 15 minutes, cover the rim with foil or a pie shield.  If the lattice starts to darken too much in the last 10 minutes of baking, cover it loosely with a piece of foil that has a vent hole poked in the center.

Let the pie cool on a rack until the juices have thickened, 4 hours.

Serves 8  (revised recipe inspired by a recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum)