As much as I complain about the Embassy’s cafeteria food, there is one thing I have to consistently hold myself back from eating everyday…
Dessert!
I have such a ferocious sweet tooth, and the Nepalese cooks always lure me with some sort of cobbler or chocolate pudding cake kept at a toasty temperature. Perfect for these chilly Baghdad nights, and even more perfect for topping with vanilla frozen yogurt.
But, alas. I miss my own homemade desserts, like this one.
Pies always seemed to me like they need to serve a purpose. A dessert to celebrate over, to cut up and dole out to a group of people, among a display of a variety of other pies and baked goods.
This pie didn’t quite fit that mindset though. I had no group of people to satisfy, no holidays to celebrate, but I did have several types of berries in paltry quantities that needed to be (quickly) used up. I also had several similarly small amounts of frozen berries sitting in my freezer (in the deep, frost-bitten corner) from when I went on my Magic Bullet frozen smoothie kick a few months before.
I had no choice but to throw them all together to make a pie. I mean, what else could I really do with maybe seven ripe raspberries? A palm-full of blackberries? A half-cup of “frozen berry medley”?
Kirstin, seriously? There’s tons of yummy things you could make with those…
Well…I was feeling ambitious too. This was at the height of my Food Network addiction, and I’m sure I had just finished watching some sort of pie-baking competition marathon. And besides, I so badly wanted to make a cute lattice top! It’s what all the prize-winning pies have.
And gosh darn, I just wanted to make a cute, first-prize (looking) pie!
Mmm…rustic
The recipe is simple. Make a double batch of your favorite pie crust. I’m still stuck on one I found on the Purple Foodie when I made pop-tarts. Divide the dough into two rounds, wrap in plastic and let rest in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
Here’s where it gets fuzzy. This was an improvised dish that I whipped up several months ago, so the exact memory of the recipe is a bit hazy. I’d estimate that I had about 2 cups of frozen and fresh berries of all kinds. I put them all in a big bowl (big berries were sliced to manageable sizes, fresh berries were rinsed and patted dry), coated with (let’s say) 1/4 cup of sugar, and let them hang out for (maybe) an hour (at least).
I do remember that the frozen berries needed time to melt, which mingled with the fresh berries and the sugar to create some lovely juice. A 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract could have been added at this point.
From there, roll out your dough discs and place one in the bottom of your pie plate, trimming the sides and such. Dump your berry mixture in there, maybe reserve some of the liquid so that it’s not too soggy.
Now, you can either top that with your other pie disc, or do something cute and creative. Brush the crust with an egg wash and sprinkle with some sugar crystals before popping it in your 375 F degree oven for about 35-45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.
And then, guess what? A whole pie to enjoy by yourself! Or, invite some friends over and share the goodness. Who can ever turn down free pie?
Looking to make a lattice crust? Stay tuned for step-by-step instructions, with photos!