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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
All brushed with egg so it gets nicely golden and ready for the oven!
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.
Vanilla ice cream is a must!
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- 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
- Heat oven to 400F.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Now take more dough and roll it out so you can do cutouts if you like. I did stars on mine.
- Place the cutouts over the berries.
- 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.
- NOW REDUCE TEMPERATURE TO 375F.
- Place the prepared pie into the oven and set your timer for 60 minutes, but check at 55 minutes to see how it looks.
- 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.
- Let it cool way before eating this, I suggest hours.
- I made mine in the morning and served it after dinner, it cut beautiful that way.
- It can stay out for 2 days un refrigerated with foil loosely covering it, after 2 days refrigerate, that is if you have leftovers.
- Serves 10- 12
- Serve with a scoop of ice cream, you won't regret it!
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
