Purple berries make the sweetest pie

BLUEBERRY PIE

If you can’t get fresh berries, frozen ones are perfectly good for a pie. Just be sure to defrost them completely first. You can mix the berries with chopped Granny Smith apples to economise, but on their own they are a complete pie indulgence served with whipped cream or ice cream.

(Makes 1 large pie)

Ingredients Pastry

320g (2 ½ cup) cake wheat flour Pinch of salt

160g butter or baking margarine, cut into blocks

Cold water

Filling 6 cups of blueberries

130g sugar

30g (about ¼ cup) cornflour

30ml (2 tbsp) lemon juice plus some grated lemon rind if desired

A pinch of ground cinnamon

20ml (4 tsp) butter

Method

For the pastry sift the flour and salt then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add a tablespoon of chilled water and using a round-bladed knife bring the dough together. Knead for a minute, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Grease a 20cm metal pie dish or cake pan and line it with 2/3 of your pastry. Roll it fairly thinly to avoid a “soggy bottom”.

For the filling combine the blueberries, sugar, cornflour, lemon juice and cinnamon squashing a few berries to make it a little juicy as mixture should not be dry.

Fill the pie with the mixture and dot the butter over the berries.

Wet the edges of the pastry and top with the last piece of pastry rolled out to cover the top. Cut a few slits in the top to release the steam.

Bake in a preheated hot oven 200°C for 20 minutes, then lower to about 180°C for another 30 to 40 minutes. The filling should be bubbling through the slits when done. Serve cold at room temperature, not hot.

• If you love lemon, add a teaspoon of lemon zest to the mixture.