Fresh Berry Slab Pie

fresh berry slab pie

Fresh berry slab pie, I can’t think of a better dessert to serve up for all your upcoming summertime parties, especially with the fourth of July right around the corner.

Fresh berries are at their peak right now so it’s the perfect time to make this, you could use any combination of berries you like or even just one type, here I used mostly blueberries with an added pint of raspberries for a little pop of color.

I have to admit this is the first time I made a slab pie and now I don’t think I’ll ever use a round pie pan again.

fresh berry slab pie

A slab pie is made on a rimmed sheet pan, I used a quarter sized sheet pan, and I got twelve good size servings from it, although you can get adventurous and use a large half sized sheet pan for a really big crowd, probably doubling everything, you bakers would know how to do that correctly.

What I like about making a slab pie is that it’s easy to cut and serve, it’s not messy because you get nice square pieces and it travels well.

You can cover the top with a full crust or be a little creative with some cutouts to match the occasion, I used stars to celebrate the fourth of July.

berries and dough

I also used refrigerated pie dough, my favorite being from Trader Joe’s because why not? It tastes excellent and it makes this berry slab pie a breeze to put together, but in saying that I’m sure all you fabulous bakers out there can whip up an excellent pie dough in no time!

pie dough

Even though I use refrigerated pie dough I still gather up the dough, form it into a ball and roll it out myself, which you’ll need to do anyway for this because a nice rectangle size is required.

fresh berry slab pie

Just make sure you roll out enough dough to form a pretty crust all the way around. I bought two boxes just to make sure I would have enough for everything, including my stars because I didn’t know at the time how many I would need to cover the top.

star dough cutouts

It was fun and easy to do, I just used a cookie cutter which would make the possibilities endless to top it off with, or just go with a classic lattice crust as well, but I do think it looks really nice having the berries show through instead of covering the whole top with a crust.

fresh berry slab pie

All brushed with egg so it gets nicely golden and ready for the oven!

fresh berry slab pie

This was out of this world good, now I want to make a peach slab pie and of course an apple one in the fall.

fresh berry slab pie

Vanilla ice cream is a must!

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5.0 from 1 reviews
Fresh Berry Slab Pie
 
Filling recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
Author:
Ingredients
  • standard ¼ sized rimmed sheet pan for the slab pie but place it on a larger sheet pan to catch drips in the oven when baking.
  • 2 boxes of refrigerated dough, I used Trader Joe's. ( You might end up with a little extra) If frozen defrost according to package.
  • 8 cups of fresh berries, I used mostly blueberries with a pint of raspberries but you can add blackberries or just use one type, whatever you prefer.
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons corn starch
  • 1 Tablespoon of lemon zest
  • 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
  • 1 egg whisked with a bit of water to brush over the top and crust
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 400F.
  2. In a large bowl add the berries, zest, cornstarch, sugar, and lemon juice, toss gently to make sure everything is coated, set aside to form crust.
  3. Take one box of the dough, ball it together and roll it out into a rectangle making sure you have enough over hang to make a nice edge all the way around. I found I needed to use more dough so I opened the second box and pieced it together giving me more for my over hang which was really easy.
  4. Once the bottom crust is formed and edges nicely crimped, scoop out the berry filling into it, don't pour it because you don't need the excess juice that might be on the bottom of the bowl, so just scoop it out.
  5. Now take more dough and roll it out so you can do cutouts if you like. I did stars on mine.
  6. Place the cutouts over the berries.
  7. Use your egg wash and with a pastry brush cover the edge of the crust and the cutouts, this will ensure a nice golden color when finished.
  8. NOW REDUCE TEMPERATURE TO 375F.
  9. Place the prepared pie into the oven and set your timer for 60 minutes, but check at 55 minutes to see how it looks.
  10. I added 10 more minutes to mine to get the color I wanted, and you should be able to see the blueberries thickening and slightly bubbling, if it looks too runny put it in for a few minutes more.
  11. Let it cool way before eating this, I suggest hours.
  12. I made mine in the morning and served it after dinner, it cut beautiful that way.
  13. It can stay out for 2 days un refrigerated with foil loosely covering it, after 2 days refrigerate, that is if you have leftovers.
  14. Serves 10- 12
  15. Serve with a scoop of ice cream, you won't regret it!

 

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Fresh Strawberry Pie

fresh strawberry pie

It’s strawberry season, and one of my favorite ways to showcase them is in this fresh strawberry pie, it’s the perfect summer dessert!

fresh strawberry pie recipe card I have to admit I’ve been making this for years, it goes way back to the seventies, yes, the seventies’ when I was a young mother and wife. I would get so excited when I received my new batch of recipe cards from Betty Crocker, I would quickly file and categorize them into my lime green recipe box. Today that recipe card library is considered “vintage” or retro and I’ve even seen them show up on ebay every now and then.

When I look at those cards now I have to laugh at what use to be considered popular dishes back then, lots of saucy things, aspics, jello molds filled with everything under the sun even meat!

Times sure have changed but this recipe has always been a favorite, every time we had a summer cookout I would proudly serve this up for dessert and it was a hit each time, to this day I still make it at least a couple of times during the summer and you know what? It’s still a hit!

making fresh strawberry pie

The ingredients are classic and simple and still relevant for today,  fresh berries, a baked pie crust and a glaze made with the berries along with some sugar to sweeten and cornstarch to thicken it, that’s it!

fresh strawberry piefresh strawberry pie Serve it up nice and cold with fresh whipped cream floating on top, hello summertime!

fresh strawberry pie

You’ll be dreaming about this when there’s four feet on snow on the ground, I promise.

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5.0 from 2 reviews
Fresh Strawberry Pie
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 9" baked pie shell, either homemade or store-bought, cooled
  • 7- 8 cups of fresh strawberries, stems cut off
  • FOR GLAZE
  • ⅔ cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons of cornstarch
  • possible extra water
  • 2 drops of natural red food coloring, optional
  • whipped cream for serving
Instructions
  1. Blind bake your pie shell. prick it and place some parchment and pie weights on top so pastry doesn't shrink down on you, then set it aside to cool.
  2. Make your glaze by placing a heaping cup of strawberries into a small food processor or blender, process until it turns into a puree, then pour it into a measuring cup, it should measure 1¼ cups total, if not add some water.
  3. In a small sauce pan on medium heat add the sugar, cornstarch and berry puree and optional food coloring, stir until it thickens then let it bubble for 2 more minutes continuing to stir then take pan off the heat and let it cool down for 15 minutes.
  4. ASSEMBLY;
  5. Spread half of the glaze onto the bottom and sides of the cooked pie shell, then place fresh berries all around, cut side down filling the bottom, then take the rest and fill in the gaps on top of the berry base, piling them high, always cut side down for presentation.
  6. Spoon the remaining glaze all around and on top of the berries, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours so the glaze can set and it will be easier to cut.
  7. Be gentle when cutting it, then serve with fresh whipped cream.

 

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