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Pie - Blog Posts
This argument with my friends started just because i simply asked what their favourite triangular foods are…smh
I wanted to show you all this pie I made from scratch today :,)
Heartlands Rose Apple and Blackberry Pie
“As the story goes, a hungry halfling returned from her hillside stroll with a heavy basket of crisp rose apples and plump blackberries. In typical indecisive halfling fashion, she couldn’t decide which to fill her pie with… so she chose both, and thus this legendary dessert was born.” - Heroes’ Feast, p. 139
As mentioned in a previous post, pie, the better version of cake, can take on many forms. With fall having wrapped up and given way to winter, it’s time to start scheduling Christmas parties and spending time with each other during the Holidays. So, why not dazzle partygoers by bringing in a slice (pun intended) of autumn with this apple and blackberry pie from Heroes’ Feast!
Although the original recipe is a little rough in construction, after some discussion for suggested changes, it holds together amazingly and makes sure that each bite, from the sweetness of the apples to the tartness of the blackberries, is worth the effort. This pie is also super great because it’s not overly sugary like most you’ll find at the store; using just enough while allowing the fruitiness of the filling to shine!
In this post, I’ll be breaking down the steps that were taken, for filling and crust, that help ensure that you end up with a stable pie instead of pie soup. In a rush? No worries, all changes are also summarized in the results section.
See below for my notes on the results and for some helpful tips and tricks when making this yourself! Get Heroes’ Feast here: https://dnd.wizards.com/heroes-feast
Prep: 15 mins* Cook: 5 hours** Overall: 5 hours 15 mins
* Can take longer if making your own crust.
** Can vary based on your experience making pie, this is the high-end estimate with plenty of leeway time. To save time on the day of, make the apples and pie crust a day ahead and store them in the fridge. If not possible, try to make the pie crust a day ahead and cook the apples while the crust chills in the fridge in the pie plate (see recipe steps).
Ingredients*:
⅔ cup + 1 tbsp. (155 g) sugar
½ tsp. (3 g) cinnamon
3 tbsp. + 2 tsp. (23 g + 5 g) cornstarch**
kosher salt
3 ½ pounds (1,575 g) [about 6] baking apples, peeled, quartered, cored, and cut lengthwise into ¼-inch slices***
Pastry for 2 double-crust pies
12 ounces (340 g) blackberries, rinsed
1 tbsp. (5 ml) fresh lemon juice
1 ½ tbsp. (21 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
Lightly sweetened whipped cream for serving (optional)
* Makes one 9-inch deep-dish pie. Here’s the pie dish I use.
** Because there’s a lot of liquid in the filling, I took A Finnicky Guide’s suggestion and added a little more cornstarch. I split the extra 2 tsps. (5 g) between the apples and blackberries.
*** For pies, you need to be careful with the apples you select. When choosing your apples, especially for a liquidy pie, it’s important to consider the amount of pectin (a natural “glue”) present in the apple. For the reasons listed in the linked article, I chose Granny Smith apples instead of those listed in Heroes’ Feast.
The first change to make is with how the apple filling is prepared. Cooking the apples on the stove, instead of in the microwave, will allow the juices released from the apples to have a caramel-like consistency instead of staying super watery. I adapted the method from King Arthur.
First, in a large pot, whisk together 1⁄3 cup of the sugar, the cinnamon, 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. cornstarch, and ¼ tsp. salt. Add the apples and gently mix to combine.
Turn the heat to medium-low and allow the apples to warm up, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, allow them to cook for an additional 10 minutes, stirring occasionally (top-left picture).
You’ll know they’re done when you can bend the slices without them breaking (top-right).
TIP: To get the apples all to a uniform size, I recommend using an apple corer. Here’s the one I use.
The second change to construction is with the pie crust. In order to prevent the liquid in the pie from infusing with the uncooked dough and turning it mushy, we’re going to firm up the bottom crust by blind-baking (partially cooking) it before adding the filling. To blind-bake, I’ve condensed the method from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
On a floured work surface, roll out the pie dough into a 12-inch (~30 cm) circle. Transfer it to a deep-dish pie plate and fit it in gently by lifting the edges of the dough as you gently press it into the bottom and sides of the pie dish. Leave ~1-inch overhang around the rim and trim the extra (picture 1) ). Do not dock (prick holes in) the bottom crust yet. Set it in the fridge to chill for 30 mins. Preheat the oven to 375℉ (190℃).
Next, crinkle up a piece of parchment paper large enough to cover the pie dough. Place it in the baking dish and weigh it down using ceramic pie beads, dried lentils, or dried beans. I used pinto beans. This will allow the crust to cook without bubbling at the bottom or shrinking too much away from the edges (picture 2) ).
Place the pie plate onto a baking sheet and put it in the preheated oven to cook for 15-16 minutes. Take it out and carefully remove the parchment paper with the weights. Dock the bottom crust with a fork and return it to the preheated oven, without the weights, until the crust begins to turn a golden brown, another 7-8 minutes. Remove again from oven and set aside (picture 3) ). Preheat the oven again - this time to 425℉ (218℃).
TIP: You can reuse your blind-baked beans/lentils for future pies! So feel free to store them in their own labeled container for use at another time.
While the bottom crust chills, whisk together ⅓ cup of the sugar, the remaining cornstarch, and a pinch of salt in a medium-sized bowl.
Add the blackberries and gently toss to coat. Then, add the lemon juice and gently fold until the sugar mixture is moistened and syrupy.
Since the blackberries will release their juice as they break down, to reduce the liquid content, remove 1 tbsp. of the syrup and discard.
For attaching the top crust to the partially-baked bottom crust, I followed Food52’s method.
To assemble the pie, start by spreading the blackberry mixture evenly over the bottom crust and scatter the butter pieces overtop (picture 1) ).
Strain the apples through a colander, catching the liquid in a bowl, and spoon them on top of the blackberries. Pour half of the reserved apple syrup over the apples (picture 2) - I added the apple syrup, I just took the picture too soon rip)
On a floured work surface, roll out dough into a 12-inch (~30 cm) circle and place it over the apple mixture. To seal the edges, start by folding the top crust under the overhanging bottom crust as much as possible without breaking the bottom crust. Then, use a fork to crimp the top and bottom layers together (picture 3) ).
Beat the egg with 1 tbsp. water and brush it over the top of the pie crust - including the edges. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tbsp. sugar evenly over the top. Place the pie into the oven preheated to 425℉ (218℃) (picture 4) ).
Bake the pie at 425℉ (218℃) until the top is light golden brown, about 25 minutes. Then adjust the heat to 375℉ (190℃), rotate the baking sheet 180 degrees, and continue baking until the crust is golden brown 25 to 30 minutes.
NOTE: I found my crust turned golden brown after 25 mins at 425℉ (218℃). I still adjusted the heat to 375℉ (190℃) and let it cook for the remaining time. However, I kept an eye on it to make sure it didn’t burn (it didn’t).
Remove pie from oven and baking sheet and allow to cool to room temperature on a wire rack, about 2 hours.
From the pictures above, you can see how changing up the steps in the construction helped with the structural integrity of the pie:
Using extra cornstarch allowed both fillings to thicken more while cooking, helping to create a distinct layer for the blackberry mixture (top-right);
Using Granny Smith apples allowed for the extra pectin in the apples to thicken the liquid on the stove and keep additional juices trapped inside the slices as they baked in the oven (also keeping the apples from drying out in the oven);
Cooking the apples on the stove gave the apple syrup a more caramel-consistency instead of staying watery;
Not only did blind-baking the bottom crust keep the vast majority of the liquid inside the pie as it cooked (top-left), but having an extra-crispy bottom crust allowed any pie kept as leftovers to have a distinct bottom crust instead of it becoming soggy;
Removing a little bit of the syrup from the blackberry mixture allowed the blackberry syrup to become less soupy and thicken into its own distinct layer (top-right).
Tl;dr: to recap what improved the construction of the pie:
Use a little extra cornstarch. Not much, just an extra tsp. (3 g) per filling will do.
Choose the right apples for the job. You want to make sure the ones you choose have enough pectin to keep in most of their juices. Solution: use Granny Smith.
Cook the apples on the stovetop. Using the stovetop allows for the juices released from the apples to have a caramel consistency instead of staying watery.
Blind bake the bottom crust. To keep the liquids from infusing with the bottom crust, partially bake the bottom crust using the listed method.
Remove 1 tbsp. of liquid from the blackberries. They have plenty of liquids to start and will produce more when they start to break down.
Overall, I would give this pie a 5/5 after the modifications to construction. The sweetness from the apples and the tartness from the blackberries really work to bring this together in the best way.
As mentioned in the intro, I really appreciate the fact that there is very little sugar added. Not only does it let the filling stand out on it’s own, but it also makes the pie enjoyable to those who don’t have as much of a sweet tooth.
Super Flaky All-Butter Pie Crust
No matter the filling you use, the backbone of any good pie is the light, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth crust. As such an important part of the pie experience, it can seem very daunting to make it yourself: you need to keep the dough cold, not overwork it, and why does every recipe want lard or shortening?!
Luckily, after much time searching, I have found the most amazing recipe combo that has all of the buttery-flakiness you expect from a pie crust with minimal effort!
In addition to wanting to learn how to make pie crust, I decided to give it a go because Heroes’ Feast calls for a lot of “sheets of pie crust” and no matter how hard I searched my grocery stores, I could never find it. So, I hope that all of you in a similar situation can use this for your pies! You’ll find that going back to store-bought will never be the same.
See below for my tips and tricks for making your own buttery, super flaky crust at home!
(This recipe is both inspired by and a modification of Katy Perry’s pie crust (here) and a food processor method I found (here))
Prep: ~5 mins Cook time: ~1h 15 mins Overall: ~1h 20 mins
For the ingredients:
2 ½ cups (313 g) all-purpose flour
20 tbsp. (284 g) salted butter
½ cup (118 ml) ice-cold water
TIP: If you don’t have salted butter, use 20 tbsp. unsalted butter and add ½ tsp. + ⅛ tsp. of kosher salt.
If using salted butter, add 1 ½ cups (188 g) of flour to the food processor.
If using unsalted butter, combine 1 ½ cups (188 g) of flour and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine (4-5 pulses).
Scatter butter cubes over the flour mixture and process until dough or paste begins to form (above-left). This should take ~15 secs and there should be no uncoated flour.
Next, redistribute the flour-butter mixture in the food processor (above-right).
Add the remaining 1 cup (125 g) of flour and pulse until the flour is properly distributed and becomes crumbly. This usually takes me ~7-8 pulses.
Transfer dough to a medium-sized mixing bowl. To help keep the dough cool, I put the bowl in the fridge when I start preparing the ingredients.
Sprinkle 4 tbsp. of ice-cold water over the dough. Use a rubber spatula to press the dough pieces together until they start to form larger clumps.
To test if it’s ready, take a piece of dough and pinch it between your fingers (above-left). If it holds together, you’re good to go. If it crumbles, add 2-4 more tbsp. and keep combining.
Once the dough is ready keep the dough in the bowl or transfer it to a clean surface and work it just enough so that it forms a ball.
NOTE: I would definitely advise starting with 4 tbsp. of ice-cold water. I thought I had added enough after 2 tbsp. (directed in Katy Perry’s recipe) but the dough kept breaking when I took it out of the fridge to roll out. This isn’t as much of an issue when using 4 tbsp.
Cut your dough ball into two halves and press them into discs. Wrap each half in cling wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least an hour or up to 2 days before rolling it out (it should feel super hard).
If you’re pre-making your dough, it can stay in the freezer for up to 3 months! Just remember to thaw it out in the fridge overnight before using.
Personally, I would rate this pie crust recipe a 5/5. As long as you take care to not let the dough get too warm, your pie crust will be as buttery, light, and flaky as can be!
The pies shown in this post are the Elven Maruths on p. 64. Get the book here!: https://dnd.wizards.com/heroes-feast
Carrot Pecan Crunch Pie - Pecan Pie Similar to a traditional pumpkin pie, but made with pureed carrots. After baking, the custard is topped with pecans and poured into a pie crust. Serve with candied ginger-flavored whipped cream.
Desserts - No-Bake Pie - Creamy Chocolate Mousse Pie The light-as-air mousse in this pie gets its sweetness from melted marshmallows and milk chocolate. Use your favorite pie crust recipe or a store-bought graham cracker crust.
Draw an apple pie, please? :)
Funfact: I've never had pie before
Happy Thanksgiving everyone who celebrates! I want to share the things I made this year for thanksgiving.
I made homemade eggnog, eggnog pie with the homemade eggnog, and a lime pie!
The eggnog pie is the top right and the lime pie is the bottom one.
Custom character for my sister who’s @/CrownofJade on Artfight! :>
My beautiful son
It’s the middle of the night why am I making pie children???
Bitches put whip cream over the entire pumpkin pie slice.
It’s me I’m bitches.
Honey Peach Pie - Desserts You can start baking the pie later by making a fresh peach pie filling with peach schnapps for flavor. The crusts create a lovely lattice top when refrigerated.
