By Erin Jeanne McDowell
- Total Time
- 1 hour 45 minutes, plus cooling and chilling
- Rating
- 4(213)
- Notes
- Read community notes
You can use three jammy berry fillings — strawberry, raspberry and blackberry — to create a beautiful, naturally colored ombré effect in a pie. Pre-cooking the fillings helps ensure that they’re thick enough to easily slice once they’re baked. You need to keep a close eye on the fruit here, so don’t be tempted to make more than one filling at a time. Berries can vary in juiciness, so it’s very important to make sure you have the right amount of each filling before assembling the pie (see the Note at the bottom of the recipe for how to adjust your filling if it’s too thin or too thick). The pie is best the day it’s baked, but the fillings can be made up to 2 days ahead; stir well before using.
Featured in: 8 Spectacular Pies That Taste as Good as They Look
Learn: How to Make a Pie Crust
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Ingredients
Yield:8 to 10 servings
- Perfect Pie Crust, prepared for a fruit pie and chilled
- Egg wash (1 large egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water)
- 14ounces/400 grams blackberries (about 3 cups)
- 5tablespoons/65 grams granulated sugar
- 3tablespoons cornstarch
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3tablespoons heavy cream
- 14ounces/400 grams raspberries (about 3 cups)
- 5tablespoons/65 grams granulated sugar
- 3tablespoons cornstarch
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3tablespoons heavy cream
- 14ounces/400 grams stemmed and quartered strawberries (about 3 cups)
- 5tablespoons/65 grams granulated sugar
- 2½tablespoons cornstarch
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4tablespoons heavy cream
For the Crust
For the Blackberry Filling
For the Raspberry Filling
For the Strawberry Filling
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
On a lightly floured surface and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out a disk of dough into a circle about ¼-inch thick. Starting at one end, gently roll up the dough onto the rolling pin. Unfurl the dough over a 9-inch pie plate, preferably ceramic, and press it in lightly, making sure it’s lining the plate.
Step
2
Trim so that there’s about ½ inch of excess dough hanging over the edge of the pie plate. (If the dough feels warm, refrigerate it for 15 minutes.) Tuck the excess dough under itself so it is flush with the edge of the pie plate; leave the pie like this for a straight-edge finish, or crimp as desired. Dock the base and sides all over with a fork and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, and up to 2 hours.
Step
3
Place a rack on the bottom shelf of the oven, and place a baking stone, if you have one, on the rack. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Use a small brush to evenly paint egg wash on the edge of the crust. Cut a square of parchment paper and use it to line the crust. Fill with pie weights (or dried beans) up to the top edge. Place the plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil.
Step
4
Transfer the baking sheet to the oven, placing it directly on the baking stone if using. Bake crust until the outer edge is just starting to turn golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and pie weights, and continue to bake until the base appears set, 2 to 4 minutes more. If the dough puffs up anywhere, you can puncture it with a fork. Cool the crust completely. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees.
Step
5
Make the blackberry filling: Mix the blackberries and 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries begin to break down, 8 to 10 minutes. Mash with a potato masher or large fork until the mixture resembles a coarse purée. You should have 1 ¾ cup (if you have more or less, see Note below). In a small bowl, whisk the remaining sugar and cornstarch to combine. Add to the pot and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. (The filling should be thick, like jam from a jar at room temperature; it will thicken slightly more when cooled, as will the two other berry fillings below.) Cool completely, then whisk in vanilla and cream. Set filling aside and rinse out the pot.
Step
6
Make the raspberry filling: Mix the raspberries and 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries begin to soften and break down, about 3 to 5 minutes. Mash until the mixture resembles a coarse purée. You should have 2 cups of purée (if you have more or less, see Note). In a small bowl, whisk the remaining sugar and cornstarch to combine. Add to the pot and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Cool completely, then whisk in vanilla and cream. Set filling aside and rinse out the pot.
Step
7
Make the strawberry filling: Mix the berries and 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries begin to soften and break down, 4 to 5 minutes. Mash until the mixture resembles a very coarse purée. You should have 1 ¾ cups of purée (if you have more or less, see Note). In a small bowl, whisk the remaining sugar and cornstarch to combine. Add to the pot and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Cool completely, then whisk in vanilla and cream.
Step
8
Working with one filling at a time, spoon each filling into the crust in thick stripes: Put the blackberry and strawberry fillings (the two sides) in first, using a little more than half of each. Then spoon the full amount of the raspberry filling into the center. After the raspberry is in, spoon the remaining blackberry and strawberry fillings on top on their respective sides. Take care to fill just to the inner edge of the crust (you may have leftover filling). The fillings should be thick enough that they stay where you put them, but a small amount of spreading is normal. Use the tip of a knife to swirl the fillings wherever they meet, then use a small offset spatula or a silicone spatula to spread them evenly flat.
Step
9
Place the pie plate on a parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet and transfer it to the 400-degree oven, placing directly on top of the baking stone if using. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling appears evenly set on the surface, 35 to 40 minutes; start checking the pie after 30 minutes of baking to be sure it doesn’t bubble over. When ready, the surface will form a skin and look set, but it will move slightly when the pie is wiggled. If the crust or the surface of the berries begin to look too dark, tent the pie with foil in the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking.
Step
10
Let pie cool completely on a rack, at least 5 hours, before serving. The pie is best the day it is baked; store leftovers at room temperature, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.
Tip
- If you get less berry purée mixture than you should have, your mixture is too thick: Add an additional ¼ to ⅓ cup fresh berries off the heat, stir to combine, then mash into the purée. If you get more mixture than specified, your mixture is too thin: Return the pot to medium-low heat and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens more.
Ratings
4
out of 5
213
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Cooking Notes
Madeline
Put the flavors in concentric rings, instead of side by side. I decided that as soon as I saw it.
Jamie
if you made all of the individual pieces and then assembled & baked the day of you'd be fine. I just wouldn't try to fill it and then put it in the fridge overnight because your crust WILL be incredibly soggy.
jennysorel
I think this is an odd choice for Thanksgiving seeing as berries are not in season. This would be a great summer pie. I try to buy local and what’s in season, and, seeing as I live in the Mid-Atlantic, berries do not fit the bill! #tryingtocutdownoncarbonfootprint
lbswink
I just think you have to eat more pie! LOL
Korynn
Some folks have plenty of local frozen berries picked from the summer in my freezer. I think it's a great TG pie!
Amber
Doesn't taste good enough to be worth the trouble it takes, particularly on a busy Thanksgiving day
Marqua1
I made the blackberry filling as a test before working the whole pie. Frankly, I found the flavor to be disappointing and bland. The berries were flavorful and fresh and I measured everything carefully. So I'm not inclined to make the "investment" of time and hope in the whole recipe.I would be curious to know what others thought of the taste - not the look. Thanks.
Rich
When I first met this pie I wish thought using rings would be best, and I believe this was a mistake. It was not nearly as visually appealing, and trying to have all three berries in one piece is also overrated. No matter what, it is a delicious, dessert and everyone raves about it, both ways.
Ingrid
why not just use good quality jarred jam or fruit spread and doctor it if necessary, add the cream and vanilla too?
Allison Bret
I had an easy fix to the stripes- combined half the fillings together and made the bottom layer with the triple-berry jam. Striped it on the top and it came out clear as day! Tasty with berry flavor in every bite!
Leanah
Is it possible to use frozen fruits for this pie or no?
bluetomatoes
Watch the cooking time. I found that 20 minutes was sufficient and 30+ minutes created a darker color to the filling than was visually appealing. On a different note, also tried sprinkling matchstick sized apple slices on top as a decoration experiment. Ok.
Amber
Doesn't taste good enough to be worth the trouble it takes, particularly on a busy Thanksgiving day
Maria Bowman
I made this for Thanksgiving - a big hit- with Red raspberry and Strawberry - as I could not find black raspberries. I think a bit more (1/2 T) cornstarch per berry would help it set up firmer. It made quite a bit more filling, but was wonderful in crepes the next morning.
Rachel
Instead of making the 3 types of berry fillings, I tripled the ingredients for the raspberry filling to make an all raspberry pie. It came out well, but I had lots of extra filling. Next time, either make 2 crusts or double instead of tripling the filling.I put the extra filling into ramekins without crust and plan to whip up the remaining heavy cream to put in top,
Martha Claus
What does it mean to "line the crust" with a piece of parchment? Step 3: "cut a square of parchment paper and use it to line the crust."
Joe
You need parchment paper to prevent the pie weights from sticking to the crust during blind baking.
Joe
I noticed the berry seeds might not be so advantageous to the texture of the pie. Would it be okay to put it through a fine mesh sieve?
Dawdlin Mama
What @Madeline said. Why go to all this trouble if you're not getting all three tastes in one slice? Doing stripes is basically like making three separate pies. I haven't made this yet, but definitely going to try rings or a spiral pattern.
Ellen Oliver
“Dock the base and sides with a fork...”, does that mean poke holes in the dough w/a fork? I’ve never seen that expression before.
EG
Will using a "Checkerboard Cake Ring" for a 9-inch pan give you equal divisions for each filling?
Lucy
You would need to construct sections in each ring of the checkerboard divider, otherwise you'll just end up with a bullseye pattern with the outermost ring having the largest quantity of that flavor of filling. I think you could chill the fillings to stiffen them and then pipe them into a spiral but I'm not sure there would be a really visible difference in the colors. I'd love to try lemon filling spiraled with raspberry, though!
Amanda
Could I substitute blueberries for blackberries? I am allergic to blackberries.
jennysorel
I think this is an odd choice for Thanksgiving seeing as berries are not in season. This would be a great summer pie. I try to buy local and what’s in season, and, seeing as I live in the Mid-Atlantic, berries do not fit the bill! #tryingtocutdownoncarbonfootprint
Korynn
Some folks have plenty of local frozen berries picked from the summer in my freezer. I think it's a great TG pie!
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