Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 190 g All purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ½ tablespoon Granulated sugar
- 113 g Unsalted butter (82% fat, very cold)
- 60 g Water (very cold)
- 15 g Apple Cider vinegar
Pastry Cream Filling
- 480 g Whole milk (3% fat)
- 100 g Granulated sugar
- 80 g Egg yolks (approx. yolk of 4-5 eggs)
- 20 g Corn starch
- 20 g All purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
- 55 g Unsalted butter (82% fat, room temperature)
Blueberry Filling
- 510 g Blueberries (fresh; if frozen, skip the water)
- 75 g Water
- 100 g Granulated sugar (adjust to sweetness of blueberries)
- 2 tablespoons Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- 2 tablespoons Corn starch
- 2 tablespoons Water (for cornstarch slurry)
Decoration
- 120 g Heavy cream (36% fat, very cold)
- 150 g Mascarpone (high fat, very cold)
- 30 g Powdered sugar (sifted)
Instructions
- Prepare the Pie Crust: Combine sifted flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and chill in the freezer for 5–10 minutes. Cut cold butter into small cubes and refrigerate with water and vinegar. Rub cold butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse sand with some butter pieces remaining. Gradually add cold water and vinegar, mixing until the dough just comes together, moist but not sticky. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Lamination (Optional for extra flakiness): Let chilled dough soften slightly but remain cold. Roll out into a rectangle and fold it in thirds, then fold in half again to create eight layers. Wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 more hours.
- Roll and Blind Bake: Roll the dough into a 10-inch circle and line a 9-inch pie dish. Refrigerate the unbaked shell for 30 minutes. Follow blind baking instructions to bake the crust until set, then cool to room temperature.
- Make Pastry Cream: Whisk egg yolks and sugar until fluffy. Add cornstarch, flour, and vanilla, whisk until smooth. Heat milk to simmer and slowly temper the yolk mixture with warm milk while whisking. Return to heat and cook, whisking continuously until thickened and glossy. Strain for smoothness if desired. Stir in softened butter until creamy. Pour into baked pie crust and cover surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours until set.
- Prepare Blueberry Filling: In a saucepan over medium heat, combine blueberries, water (omit if using frozen berries), sugar, and lemon juice. Cook for 8–9 minutes until berries soften and mixture bubbles. Mix cornstarch with water to make a slurry, temper with warm blueberry liquid, then stir back into pan. Cook for about 1 minute until thick and glossy. Cool completely to room temperature.
- Assemble Pie: Once pastry cream is set and blueberry filling cooled, spoon or pipe the blueberry filling evenly over the cream layer. Refrigerate for 1–2 hours to set.
- Prepare Decoration: Whip together very cold heavy cream, mascarpone, and powdered sugar until early stiff peaks form and the mixture is pipeable. Decorate the pie just before serving. Optionally, arrange fresh blueberries atop the whipped cream.
- Storage Instructions: Refrigerate the assembled pie up to 2 days. For best taste and texture, let sit at room temperature 20–30 minutes before serving. Do not freeze assembled pie due to cream separation risk, but the baked pie crust can be frozen up to 2 months if wrapped well. To refresh frozen crust, thaw fully then bake at 350°F (175°C) for 5–8 minutes before filling.
Notes
- Using cold butter and liquids is crucial for a flaky pie crust.
- Applying the lamination technique enhances crust flakiness but is optional.
- Tempering egg yolks with warm milk prevents curdling in pastry cream.
- Straining pastry cream ensures a silky smooth texture.
- Adjust sugar in blueberry filling to taste based on blueberry sweetness.
- Allow layered fillings to fully chill and set for best structure.
- Decorate pie right before serving to maintain whipped cream texture.
- The pie crust can be frozen before filling but not the finished pie.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes active + 4 hours inactive (chilling and resting time included)
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
