Spiced Blackberry and Pear Lattice Pie

This homemade spiced blackberry and pear lattice pie (with a hint of cinnamon) is both decorative and delicious.  

Easy to make and equally good served hot or cold with custard, cream or ice cream. 

Why this pie is so good

Firstly, I think the ratio of pastry to filling is just right. A double crust pie can have a bit too much pastry but a pie without a pastry top seems to lack something.

Secondly, the pie contains relatively little added sugar simply because it really doesn't call for it.  All of the fruit used in this pie (blackberries and pears), is the sort that can be eaten straight out of the fruit bowl and is therefore sweet enough.

So other than a little icing sugar used in the pastry and a sprinkling of caster (or granulated) sugar over the pastry lattice crust, no sugar is added to this naturally sweet pie.

For the Filling

• Pears - any dessert pear will work well.
• Blackberries -  Fresh or frozen.  If using frozen do not defrost first.
• Ground cinnamon - as with all spices this can lose its flavour over time, It should have a good aroma,  if your spices are old  you might want to buy some new. It is much better to buy small amounts often.
• Eggs - medium, preferably free range and separated.
• Ground almonds- these help soak up the juice from the fruit and prevent the pastry base having a soggy bottom.
• Sugar - caster or granulated to add a little sweet crunch to the pastry surface.

Special Equipment

I used a 18cm 7in loose bottomed tart case to make the pie, but you could also use a pie plate or even a shallow round cake tin.

How to serve

Serve hot or cold. This pie is equally good served with custard, cream or ice cream.

Storage /Leftovers

The pie will keep keep for up to 1 week if stored in an airtight container in a cool place.

Freezes well for up to 6 months.

Related

Lattice crust pies are really effective and happily don't take too long for the strips of pastry to be 'weaved' together.  If you've new to creating a lattice crust pie, do check out my Date Tart recipe where I share a video of how to easily create a pastry lattice crust.  Of course, though, if you're particularly pressed for time it would still look great if you were to simply lay the vertical strips directly over the horizontal strips. 

📖 Recipe

Spiced Blackberry and Pear Lattice Crust Pie

This homemade pie is decorative as well as delicious. Using lightly spiced seasonal fruits, this Blackberry & Pear Lattice Crust Pie is low in refined sugar, easy to make and equally good served with custard, cream or ice cream.

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Keyword baking, fruit tart, pie

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Plus Chilling 30 minutes mins

Servings 6

Author Jacqueline Bellefontaine

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Equipment

• 18cm (7in)Loose Bottomed Tart Case
• Rolling Pin

Ingredients

For the Pastry (Pate Sucree)

• 275 g (10oz) plain flour
• 100 g (3½oz) icing sugar
• 100 g (3½oz) butter chilled and cut into cubes
• 2 medium eggs lightly beaten

For the Filling

• 3 pears
• generous handful blackberries about 125g (4oz)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 medium egg seperated
• 2 tablespoon ground almonds
• 2 - 3 teaspoon sugar caster or granulated

Instructions

Make the pastry

• Place the 275g flour, 100 g icing sugar and 100g butter into a good-sized bowl. Rub the butter into the flour and icing sugar until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Add 2 beaten eggs and mix together to form a dough adding a little cold water or milk to fully bring the mixture together if needed.
• Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and lightly knead the dough. Shape the pastry into a ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap in cling film and place into the fridge for at least 15 minutes to chill.
• Remove the pastry from the fridge and divide in half. Re-wrap one of the halves and place back into the fridge. Roll the pastry out and use to line an 18cm (7in) flan case. Place into the fridge to chill for at least 10 - 15 minutes.

Prepare the filling

• Pre-heat the oven to 190°C (170℃ fan)/ 375℉ /Gas 5. Meanwhile, Peel, core and dice three pears into roughly equal-sized pieces. Place into a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and mix gently to distribute the spice. Add a handful of blackberries and mix again.
• Remove the tart case from the fridge. Brush the inside of the pastry case with a little beaten egg white. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons ground almonds liberally over the pastry base then spoon the prepared fruit over the top.

Top with the lattice crust

• Prepare the lattice crust. Remove the wrapped pastry from the fridge. Unwrap and place onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into an oblong about 3mm thick. Use a sharp knife to cut long strips of pastry roughly 1cm (½in) wide - though the aim is to keep all of the strips the same width.
• Use the pastry strips to weave a lattice over the top of the filling. Once you're happy with the positioning of the lattice, apply a little pressure to the strips of pastry at the edges to stick them to the pastry case. Use a sharp knife to trim away the excess pastry.
• Brush the lattice with a little beaten egg yolk then sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes, until golden brown and the pastry is cooked through. Remove from the oven and set aside on a cooling rack to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the tin
• Enjoy, served either warm or cold with custard, cream or ice cream.

Notes

Cook's Tips

• The pastry can be made a day or two before use.
• The lattice crust can be built on a piece of greaseproof paper or baking parchment and then transferred to the tart case.
• Alternatively for ease  simply lay the a few strips of pastry horizontally and some more vertically. over the top without weaving together.  
• Don't waste any leftover pastry trimming; use it to make a few jam tarts.

Store

• The tart can be kept for up to a week covered in the refrigerator.
• Freeze for up to 6 months.

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment or mention @OnlyCrumbsRemain or tag #OnlyCrumbsRemain!

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