This system of slightly cooking the berries in sugar and water and then spreading them over a sour cream custard—which will remind you of cheesecake—works equally well with pitted cherries.
Makes one 9-inch pie
Basic All-American Pie Dough (page 20) or Crumb Crust for a 9-inch pie shell, made with graham crackers or gingersnaps (page 32)
SOUR CREAM CUSTARD LAYER
1½ cups sour cream
½ cup sugar
3 eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
BLACKBERRY LAYER
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries, about 12 ounces (it is not necessary to thaw frozen berries)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
If you are using pie dough, preheat the oven to 425°F. Roll out the dough and fit it into a 9-inch pie pan, then trim and flute the edges. Bake the pie shell fully, following the instructions on page 22. If you are using a crumb crust, form and bake the crust as directed in the recipe. Cool either crust completely before filling.
To make the sour cream custard, preheat the oven to 325°F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Pour into the cooled pie shell and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the custard is set and doesn’t have a liquidy jiggle when the pan is moved. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. If you want, refrigerate the pie for several hours at this point, before spreading the berries over the custard.
To prepare the berries, in a medium-sized saucepan, combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to low and add the berries. Cook gently for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the berries soften and exude some juice. In a small cup or bowl, stir the cornstarch and water together until smooth, then add to the simmering berry mixture and boil gently for about 1 minute, until slightly thickened. Set aside to cool for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Spoon the berries over the custard, spreading them all the way to the edge. Refrigerate for about 2 hours, or overnight if you wish, before serving.