Summer berry pies like Raspberry Pie, are, in my view, a rite of summer. Here, in PEI, we follow the berry seasons religiously starting with the strawberries in late June/early July, followed by the raspberries in late July/early August, and the blueberries in August/September.
Today, I am sharing my recipe for an old-fashioned traditional double-crusted Raspberry Pie. The pie is not difficult to make and does not take any uncommon ingredients. Fresh raspberries are, obviously, the first and best choice when making this pie though frozen raspberries may be used provided they have not all frozen together with a lot of frost, and hence moisture, in them. If using frozen berries, a wee bit more thickener may be required, depending on the degree of moisture in the frozen berries.
Raspberry pies, like many berry pies, are notorious for bubbling out and sometimes being too juicy to the point that, when a slice is cut and removed from the pie, juice from the remaining pie flows out into the pie plate. That’s the kind of sloppy, soupy mess we want to avoid. The goal is to bake a pie that the slices come out of the pie plate perfectly intact with no juice oozing out all over the dessert plate and no juice flowing out of the remaining pie in the pie plate. The photo of the Raspberry Pie below shows a pie that is properly thickened.
The key is to use a good thickener but one that does not go to the other end of the spectrum and cause a pie to be pasty thick. I use cornstarch as the thickener in this pie as I find it results in a more translucent filling than does flour which can become pasty and cause certain pie fillings to have a cloudy appearance. I generally use 4½ tablespoons of cornstarch in the Raspberry Pie filling. This amount will allow the pie to still be moist and juicy but cut out and stay perfectly intact without the juice running all over the place leaving the bottom crust of the pie wet and soggy.
Four tablespoons of cornstarch will still give a good consistency but the filling will be a wee bit looser. I recommend, before placing it in the pie shell, letting the mixed filling (berries and dry ingredients) sit for about 5 minutes to give the sugar time to break down and blend well into the filling. After the filling has set for 5 minutes, gently stir it being careful not to break down the raspberries. This will ensure the dry ingredients are well blended and distributed throughout the filling.
This pie requires enough pastry for a double crust to fit a standard 9” pie plate. For my regular pastry recipe, and lots of hints for pastry making, click here. Pie pastry requires some chilling times so you will need to build that into the timeframe for making this pie. This Raspberry Pie lends itself well to either a full top crust or a lattice top, whichever you prefer. To make this pie gluten-free, click here for my gluten-free pastry recipe.
Make sure the oven rack is placed in the lower third of the oven. This helps the bottom crust to bake better and prevents the top crust from browning too quickly. If, however, the crust starts to brown too fast, simply tent tin foil loosely over the pie as it continues to bake. I highly recommend lining a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil and placing the pie on it in the oven as berry pies are known to sometimes bubble out during baking and, should the Raspberry Pie do so, it is much easier to toss out a piece of tin foil than labour over cleaning a burnt-on sugary mess in the oven.
Let the pie cool for several hours (at least four) to allow the filling to fully set and thicken. Serve the pie plain or add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of each slice.
[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Traditional Double-crusted Raspberry Pie
Ingredients:
Pastry for double-crust pie to fit 9” pie plate
1¼ lbs raspberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
¾ cup granulated sugar
4 – 4½ tbsp cornstarch
¼ tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
1 egg, beaten
1½ – 2 tsp cane sugar (optional for sprinkling on top of pie crust)
Method:
Prepare double crust pastry, according to pastry recipe directions, for 9” pie plate.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll one disk of pastry into a circle approximately 12” – 13” round and about 1/16″ – 1/8“ thick. Transfer pastry to a lightly greased 9” pie plate, fitting the dough over the bottom and sides of the plate, ensuring there are no air pockets. Trim pastry flush with edge of pie plate. Place pie shell in refrigerator for approximately 20 minutes to chill.
When pie shell is almost ready to be removed from refrigerator, place raspberries in large bowl. In separate bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the raspberries and toss very gently to coat the raspberries. Let stand for 5 minutes, then carefully stir mixture again to ensure all ingredients are incorporated and equally distributed. Be careful not to break down the raspberries causing them to start releasing their juices prematurely.
Roll out second disk of pastry for top crust to same thickness as was done for pastry for bottom crust.
Remove pie shell from refrigerator and brush the bottom crust in the pie plate with a light coating of the beaten egg to keep the crust from getting soggy. Reserve the remainder of the egg.
Transfer the raspberry filling to the prepared and chilled pie shell. Cut the butter into small pieces and distribute on top of the filling. Moisten edges of pastry with a small amount of water.
Place top pie crust pastry over raspberry filling. Trim excess pastry from the pie plate around the pie plate edge. Press the edge of the pastry all around the pie plate rim with tines of a fork to adhere the top crust to bottom crust. Cut a “X” (or 2-3 slits) about 2” long in center of top crust to allow steam to escape as the pie bakes. For additional venting, prick the pie in several places with the tines of the fork or make small “x” marks.
Place pie in refrigerator for approximately 30 minutes (or in freezer for 15-20 minutes) to allow filling to settle and to chill pastry to reduce shrinkage while it bakes.
While pie is chilling, place oven rack in bottom third of oven. Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk ¾ teaspoon of water into remaining beaten egg. Remove pie from refrigerator (or freezer) and, using a pastry brush and a light touch, lightly brush egg wash over top crust of pie. If desired, sprinkle top of pie with 1½ – 2 teaspoons of cane sugar.
Place chilled pie on tinfoil-lined baking sheet to catch any drips should filling bubble out as pie bakes. Transfer pie to oven. Bake for 15 minutes at 425°F then reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Bake for about 45 minutes or until crust is baked and golden brown and pie shows signs that filling is bubbling. Check pie after it has been in the oven for about 30-35 minutes – if top crust is browning too quickly, loosely tent pie with tin foil.
Remove pie from the oven and transfer to wire rack to cool completely (minimum of 4 hours for the filling to set) before cutting and serving plain or with a scoop of fine vanilla ice cream.
Yield: 1 – 9” double-crusted pie
If you have made this recipe and enjoyed it and/or wish to share it with your friends and family, please do so on social media but be sure to share the direct link to this posting from my website.
Like pies? You may also enjoy these other delicious pie recipes from My Island Bistro Kitchen:
Springtime Pies
Rustic Rhubarb Pie
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Summer Pies
Glazed Strawberry Pie
Glazed Strawberry Pie for Two
Classic Peach Pie
Autumn and Winter Pies
Classic Pumpkin Pie
Rustic Apple Pie
Squash Pie
Mock Cherry Pie
Raisin Pie
Cream-style Pies
Coconut Cream Pie
Raspberry Cream Cheese Pie
Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie
Gluten-free Pie
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Traditional Double-crusted Raspberry Pie
Ingredients
- Pastry for double-crust pie to fit 9” pie plate
- 1¼ lbs raspberries
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 4 – 4½ tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1½ – 2 tsp cane sugar (optional for sprinkling on top of pie crust)
Instructions
- Prepare double crust pastry, according to pastry recipe directions, for 9” pie plate.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll one disk of pastry into a circle approximately 12” – 13” round and about 1/16" - 1/8“ thick. Transfer pastry to a lightly greased 9” pie plate, fitting the dough over the bottom and sides of the plate, ensuring there are no air pockets. Trim pastry flush with edge of pie plate. Place pie shell in refrigerator for approximately 20 minutes to chill.
When pie shell is almost ready to be removed from refrigerator, place raspberries in large bowl. In separate bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the raspberries and toss very gently to coat the raspberries. Let stand for 5 minutes, then carefully stir mixture again to ensure all ingredients are incorporated and equally distributed. Be careful not to break down the raspberries causing them to start releasing their juices prematurely.
- Roll out second disk of pastry for top crust to same thickness as was done for pastry for bottom crust.
- Remove pie shell from refrigerator and brush the bottom crust in the pie plate with a light coating of the beaten egg to keep the crust from getting soggy. Reserve the remainder of the egg.
Transfer the raspberry filling to the prepared pie shell. Cut the butter into small pieces and distribute on top of the filling. Moisten edges of pastry with a small amount of water.
- Place top pie crust pastry over raspberry filling. Trim excess pastry from the pie plate around the pie plate edge. Press the edge of the pastry all around the pie plate rim with tines of a fork to adhere the top crust to bottom crust. Cut a “X” (or 2-3 slits) about 2” long in center of top crust to allow steam to escape as the pie bakes. For additional venting, prick the pie in several places with the tines of the fork or make small “x” marks.
- Place pie in refrigerator for approximately 30 minutes (or in freezer for 15-20 minutes) to allow filling to settle and to chill pastry to reduce shrinkage while it bakes.
While pie is chilling, place oven rack in bottom third of oven. Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk ¾ teaspoon of water into remaining beaten egg. Remove pie from refrigerator (or freezer) and, using a pastry brush and a light touch, lightly brush egg wash over top crust of pie. If desired, sprinkle top of pie with 1½ – 2 teaspoons of cane sugar. Place chilled pie on tinfoil-lined baking sheet to catch any drips should filling bubble out as pie bakes. Transfer pie to oven. Bake for 15 minutes at 425°F then reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Bake for about 45 minutes or until crust is baked and golden brown and pie shows signs that filling is bubbling. Check pie after it has been in the oven for about 30-35 minutes – if top crust is browning too quickly, loosely tent pie with tin foil.
Remove pie from the oven and transfer to wire rack to cool completely (minimum of 4 hours for the filling to set) before cutting and serving plain or with a scoop of fine vanilla ice cream.
Recipe Notes
Yield: 1 – 9” double-crusted pie
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