Before we get into it, I need to get this out of the way. I am obsessed with Tik Tok. This week alone, I’ve reached Hamilton Tik Tok, praying mantis Tik Tok, pool cleaning Tik Tok- if this is not peak adult in a pandemic, I don’t know what is. A trend that keeps popping up is Cottagecore. For those sane readers that have no idea what I’m referring to, let me explain. Cottagecore is an aesthetic that essentially romanticizes a return to simpler life- foraging, baking, pottery. This is not to be confused with grandmacore, farmcore, goblincore or faeriecore; however, they all basically stem from the same place. I live for Cottagecore. I was born for Cottagecore. And what is a better way to celebrate my new way of life (I’m joking) than to bake a pie with fruit I fucking foraged from Trader Joe’s myself? Below is my favorite pie crust of all time. It’s so simple, you can make it in a food processor, and it yields a flaky crust every time. I decided to go with a combination of peaches, plummies (plum cherry hybrids) and blackberries but you can swap out with your own combination (throw in some raspberries or bluebs, get crazy)!
Summer Fruit Pie
For the pie crust:
12.5 ounces all purpose flour
25 grams sugar
5 grams salt
3 ounces cold vegetable shortening (I use Crisco)
7 ounces cold butter cut into small cubes
1.5 ounces ice cold water
1.5 ounces ice cold vodka
Directions: In a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar and salt. Add in the shortening and butter and pulse a few times until the dough begins to clump together. Dump dough into a bowl, pour cold water and vodka over dough. Using a rubber spatula, fold dough into itself until it becomes a slightly tacky ball of dough. If it is too sticky, add a little bit of flour. Cut the dough in half, form two balls, wrap in plastic wrap and store in fridge for at least two hours. This dough will keep in the fridge for a week and can be frozen for up to a month
For the filling:
2/12 pounds summer fruit of your choice (I used three large peaches, a pound of plummies chopped into bite sized pieces and a 1/2 pound blackberries)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and more for sprinkling (this should be adjusted depending on how sweet your fruit it)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Juice and zest of one large orange
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon cardamom (optional)
1-3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 egg + 1 tablespoon water for pie crust
Directions: bring a pot of water to boil. Add peaches and simmer until skins can be easily removed with a knife, about one minute. Remove peaches and submerge in cold water to stop the cooking. Skin the peaches and cut into 1/2 wedges. In a small sauce pan, combine sugar, cornstarch, orange juice and zest, butter and cardamom. Whisk mixture while it comes to a boil. Take about half of your plummies and add the the sugar mixture. Simmer for 5 minutes until the liquid begins to thicken. Combine with your chopped peaches, the remaining plummies, and blackberries. Depending on how juicy your fruit it, you may need to add 1-3 tablespoons of flour (see the pic below for reference)
Remove pie dough from fridge. Sprinkle flour on your worktop and roll out your first disc to about 11 inches. I like to use my rolling pin to roll the dough then unroll into the pie plate. Brush the top edges with egg wash. Pour your filling into the pie and set aside. Roll out the second disk of dough- you can get creative and do a lattice top or just place the sheet of dough on top of filling. I always cut out a fun shape with the scraps and place on top!
Now at this point, put the entire pie into the fridge to cool back down. You should always put cold dough into the oven. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. When the oven is preheated, take the pie out of the fridge, brush with the remaining egg wash and sprinkle sugar on top. Bake pie for 45 mins to an hour depending on your oven. If the edges of the pie crust starts to get too brown, cover just the sides with aluminum foil. Enjoy! 🙂
A Practical Mess 