Blueberry plate pie

This is the perfect pie if you like lots of lovely fruit and juices. It doesn’t have a pastry base, so to serve it you simply cut the pastry top and spoon it out along with the fruit. Fresh or frozen berries both work well in this pie. Be sure to experiment with other berries, such as blackberries and raspberries – anything but strawberries will be delicious.

For 6–8 people

For the shortcrust pastry

250 g (9 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour

100 g (3½ oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar

pinch of sea salt

125 g (4½ oz) chilled butter, diced

1 egg

1 tbsp water

butter, for greasing

flour, for dusting

1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp milk, for egg wash

For the filling

650 g (1 lb 7 oz) blueberries

20 g (¾ oz) raw (demerara) sugar

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)

For a 22 cm (8½ inch) pie plate

Make the shortcrust pastry by combining the flour, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse for 8 seconds or until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg and water and pulse again until the dough forms a ball in the bowl. Remove from the bowl and knead briefly. Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F). Grease the pie plate.

For the filling, mix the blueberries, sugar, cinnamon and cornflour together in a bowl, then spoon into the pie plate.

Roll out the pastry until thin, then lay it over the berries and cut away the excess. Crimp the edge of the pie well with a fork or make a nice edge with your fingers. Make a cross or a hole in the middle of the pie so that the steam can escape. Decorate the top with the left-over pastry and brush with the egg wash.

Place the pie on a baking tray lined with baking paper to protect your oven from any leaks. Bake the pie in the middle of the oven for 40–45 minutes. Allow it to cool for 5 minutes before serving warm with vanilla ice cream, custard (see here) or clotted cream.