Berry pies all share one problem: juice. As it bakes, raspberry releases so much of it that the base turns into a soggy cushion and the filling spreads the moment you cut the pie.

The recipe was shared by the food title Kwestia Smaku.

The solution is simple and long known to pastry chefs: a layer of cooked custard goes between the pastry and the berries. The starch in it binds the juice released by the heat — and the pie holds its shape.

What you will need

  • 300 g of plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 120 g of sugar
  • 200 g of cold butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 packet of vanilla or cream custard + 500 ml of milk + 4 tablespoons of sugar
  • 500 g of raspberries
  • icing sugar for dusting

How to make it

  1. Mix the flour with the baking powder and sugar. Add the cold butter cut into pieces and rub it in with your fingers to fine crumbs.
  2. Crack in the egg and knead the dough into a smooth ball. Chill for about 30 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile cook the custard according to the packet — with sugar, bringing both the milk and the custard itself properly to the boil.
  4. Divide the dough in two, one part slightly larger. Leave the smaller part in the fridge; slice the larger one and line the base of a 20×30 cm tin lined with baking paper. Prick the base with a fork.
  5. Bake the base for 15 minutes at 180 degrees.
  6. Spread the custard over it — neither the base nor the custard needs cooling first.
  7. Scatter the raspberries on top, then grate the reserved dough over them.
  8. Bake for about another 45 minutes at the same temperature. Dust the finished pie with icing sugar.

The same principle works with any juicy berry — cherry, currant, plum. The pie is best cut once cooled: the custard layer sets fully by then, and the slice does not collapse on the plate.