This is it folks, my final seasonal fruit recipe of the summer. (probably) I thought I was done last week, but then I visited family in Washington and we picked loads of blackberries and I couldn’t possibly not throw them into a pie right? My sister in law makes blackberry pies every year from the crop they pick near their house, and I was excited to be in on the tradition.I love most fruit pies- Strawberry Rhubarb , Caramel Apple etc, but this may just be my favorite flavor of pie ever. The filling was thick and totally void of the watery mess that often comes with berry pies. Our berries were the juiciest thing in the planet so even with the thick filling- we still got that juicy burst when we cut in, (which was perfect for our homemade vanilla bean ice cream!)
I loved using tapioca flour in the past, but I have to say that instant tapioca is the way to go when you’re using berries. The filling was so thick and the lack of a runny watery mess amazed me. I took these photos when the pie had been cooling for about two hours, but when we ate the rest later in the day- the slices were solid, so easy to cut and looked just perfect! The slight tartness of the berries with the flaky , all-butter crust and vanilla bean ice cream were summer dessert perfection. Even though blackberries are traditionally a summer fruit, I’m planning on using frozen berries to make this in the fall and winter too- it’s just that good!
- 1 recipe Pie Crust
- 6 cups blackberries
- 6 tablespoons instant tapioca
- ½-1 cup of sugar (depending on the sweetness of your berries)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg, beaten
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- Roll out one of the pie crust rounds so that about 2 inches will hang over the edge of your pie dish. Transfer it to the pie dish and then set it in the fridge until you're ready to assemble the top and filling.
- In a large bowl- combine the berries, tapioca, sugar, juice, zest and extract. Gently toss to combine.
- Brush the bottom of the crust with the beaten egg and pour the filling into the prepared crust and roll out the top layer, either doing a double crust or a lattice if you like. Brush the top of the crust with the remaining egg and sprinkle with sugar if desired.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 425 F and then reduce the oven to 375 F and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden. If at any point your crust seems to be getting golden too quickly- cover it with foil while the filling continues to bake.
- Cool for at least an hour or two before cutting and serving with vanilla ice cream.
Elisa @ Insalata di Sillabe says
I’m happy lo learn that instant tapioca helps avoiding the watery mess which is always present in my pies – and which I hate! Plus, blackberry pie has to be my favorite of all! Yours look like perfection in pie form ;)
xo, Elisa
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugark says
This definitely looks like the perfect pie. I need more blackberries in my life!
DessertForTwo says
It looks so perfect! And delicious! :)
Jennie @themessybakerblog says
I’ll have to get some instant tapioca. Your pie looks delicious. Who could resist putting blackberries in a pie?
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) says
That is seriously seriously sooo stunning. I have no words right now wow!
Julia Perrier says
This was the best blackberry pie I’ve had yet! Been making blackberry pies every summer since moving to the North West but the instant tapioca made all the difference. It was also way more fun picking berries with you Audra!
Audra says
Julie I LOVED baking with you :) Thanks for taking me blackberry picking- the fresh berries made all the difference!
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
Such a gorgeous pie!! You’ve got me wanting to make a lattice pie now.
Laura Dembowski says
Blackberries are one of my favorite fruits! This pie looks wonderful and like a perfect celebration of summer.
Zainab @ Blahnik Baker says
What a beautiful pie!! I love blackberries but I don’t think I’ve had a blackberry pie before.
Becca from Cookie Jar Treats says
Woah! This really does look so juicy! I bet several mouths were stained purple after eating this :P Great looking pie!
Tracey says
What a gorgeous pie, Audra! I’m not big into blackberries as is, but I love them baked into other things. I’ve never made a blackberry pie though, I need to change that :)
Emily @ Life on Food says
Oh blackberries! I don’t like pie too much but blackberries will get me every time. This looks so amazing! Perfect way to end the fruit season.
Kate | Food Babbles says
Talk about perfect!! Honestly, that’s the most perfect looking pie I’ve ever seen. Lovely! And it sounds so fresh and tasty too. Yum!
Joanne says
This pie is exactly what summer is all about!!! And I cannot believe it is you last fruit recipe of the summer! SO sad.
[email protected] says
What a gorgeous pie! Perfect use for all the blackberries that are in season!
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking says
Audra, this pie is so summery, beautiful and perfect! Love how it’s just bursting with berries. Great photos, too!
Ray says
This recipe showed up on page 2 or 3 on google search, so I’m glad I sifted through the search results to find it. The best and most practical of all the recipes I went through. It was delicious.
Soozcat says
Hubby and I just picked a whole lotta blackberries today, and this looks fantastic — I’m keen to use the tapioca to sop up the juiciness that blackberries are particularly prone to giving off during baking. Thanks so much!
Alissa says
Just made this tonight…fantastic! Thanks for the recipe :)
Karen says
Is Instant tapioca the pearls or the ground tapioca flour? I’m making this today! Yay!
Audra says
Hi Karen! You want instant tapioca which is the pearls ground up. If you can’t find it you can actually grind up the whole pearls a bit in a food processor!
Karen says
I had no idea what minute tapioca was! Thank you. It made more sense when I opened the box:) and how that would work. I just moved and haven’t cooked a hot meal for my family all week. We took a break from unpacking yesterday and picked blackberries. So this pie christened my new home and the kitchen. It’s cooling right now! Breakfast will be so special tomorrow. Thank you!
Roberta says
Can you use frozen berries? Should you thaw and drain them first or leave them from. Will I use the same amount of ingredients and baking time?
Audra says
Yes you can- no changes and you don’t need to thaw them!
Tracy says
I thought for sure I’d somehow mess it up and it would be runny filling, but nope!! Absolutely perfect! I’m so happy to have stumbled upon your recipe, thank you! I’m a huge fan of lavender and added a tsp of fresh lavender buds to the recipe. Everyone raves how good it was?