John and I just got back from a week at the beach on Cape Cod, and the first thing I wanted to do when I got home (after the twenty loads of laundry) was bake a Blueberry Crumb Pie.
We rented a cottage again this year, and really leaned in to the slow pace of cottage life, avoiding the overcrowded restaurants and cooking the majority of our meals at home. Most nights that meant stopping at the seafood market for the day’s fresh catch, and then a bakery for a slice of something to share for dessert. We’d fire up the grill, settle on the deck with a glass of wine, and wait for the moon to rise over the pond.
Every night the fresh fish was fantastic and the dessert was a disappointment. Not terrible (OK, one was terrible, a cheesecake-like mousse-y thing that looked beautiful but had a disgusting gelatinous texture). But never as good as homemade, and no one had blueberry pie. Mid-July in New England, and no blueberry pie. After a few days of this I was resolute – the first Saturday night after we got home I would make a blueberry pie. John requested a crumb pie, which he likes even better than the classic.
If you’ve ever made a crumb-topped fruit pie, you know that you can’t use the same filling as for a regular, dough-topped pie. Crumb topping is much sweeter than pie crust dough, so you have to cut down on the sugar in the filling. Cutting down on the sugar requires cutting down on the thickener (in this case, cornstarch). As I’ve mentioned in other recipes for fruit pies (like my classic blueberry and also this strawberry rhubarb one), using the correct amount of thickener is crucial for achieving the perfect juicy texture in the filling. For this blueberry crumb pie I’ve used the same quantity of berries as in the classic version, but reduced the cornstarch from five tablespoons to just two. It’s just enough to set the filling and save it from runniness.
A couple of additional notes about this beautiful pie before we get on to the recipe. First, about the butter. I used Kerry-Gold European-style butter for the topping – and the crust, too (see the FAQ on my About page for more info on why I choose European-style butter for baking). Kerry-Gold is made from milk from grass-fed cows and has a deep yellow color, which this gives the crumb topping a nice golden color as it browns in the oven. If you choose to use American-style butter, the top of your pie may be a slightly different color, more of a sandy brown rather than gold.
When you spoon the blueberry filling into the pie plate, it might seem like it’s not enough to fill the plate. But as it cooks, the crumb topping will puff up, and the filling will bubble up and spill out the edges. If you were to overfill the plate – as for, say, an apple pie – you’d end up with a real mess on your hands. As it is, I highly recommend placing a foil-lined baking sheet on the rack below the pie as it bakes, because it will drip.
Making Blueberry Crumb Pie ahead and what to do with leftovers:
- It’s best to let this pie cool completely before you try to slice it, due to the softness of the crumb topping and the extreme juiciness of the filling. So start the process at least 6 hours ahead of serving time (about 2 hours to assemble and bake and 4 hours to cool).
- Store leftovers covered, at very cool room temperature or in the fridge, for up to 2 days.
- Do not freeze.
Blueberry Crumb Pie
Ingredients
- One disk (half recipe) of pie crust dough
- 1 cup (120 grams/4 ¼ ounces) all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- Two pinches of kosher salt, divided
- 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (preferably European-style), cut into ½-inch cubes
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- Zest of one lemon
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 pints blueberries (about 5 cups)
Directions
- Step 1 Make the pie crust dough and let it chill for 30 minutes, or if you’ve made it more than a few hours ahead, take it out and let it rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. Arrange oven racks in the middle and lower positions, place a large baking sheet lined with heavy duty foil on the lower rack, and heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Step 2 In a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda and 1 pinch of kosher salt and pulse the machine a few times until the dry ingredients are well mixed. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is the size of peas. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and work it briefly with your fingers until the butter is well distributed throughout the flour mixture. Chill the crumb mixture while preparing the filling and crust.
- Step 3 In a large bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest and toss with your fingers until the lemon zest is well distributed throughout the sugar. Add the cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and remaining pinch of kosher salt and toss to combine. Add the blueberries. With your hands, squeeze about ¼ of the blueberries to crush them and release their juices, then toss until the sugar mixture has started to moisten and stick to the berries. Set aside.
- Step 4 Roll out the dough and transfer it to a pie plate, crimping the edge decoratively if desired. Spoon the blueberry filling into the crust, using a rubber spatula to scrape all the sugar and juices from the bowl. Top the berries with the crumb mixture, spreading the topping evenly all the way to the edges of the crust in a thick layer.
- Step 5 Place the pie in the oven on the middle rack. Bake 70 to 75 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling 3 inches in from the edges. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
