Blueberry Cream Pie with Gingersnap Crust
This Blueberry Cream Pie with Gingersnap Crust was loosely inspired by the famous wild blueberry cream pie served at Helen’s Restaurant in Machias, Maine.
Blueberry Cream Pie with Gingersnap Crust
Photo Credit : Styled and photographed by Liz NeilyThis Blueberry Cream Pie with Gingersnap Crust was loosely inspired by the famous wild blueberry cream pie served at Helen’s Restaurant in Machias, Maine, which is made only during the few weeks when lowbush berries are in season. That pie is a simple combination of fresh berries bound with a bit of gel and topped with whipped cream. Here, I wanted a firm, glossy base of fully cooked fruit, with some cloves, cinnamon, and lemon for flavor—tapioca made the perfect thickener. For the topping, I wanted a cream that could hold up in the refrigerator for a while, so I fortified it with cream cheese (save that tip for future use!). A gingersnap crust is a delicious accompaniment, but feel free to use a store-bought deep-dish graham cracker crust if that makes life easier.
Yield:
8 slicesFor the crust
Ingredients
36 gingersnap cookies
6 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F and set a rack to the middle position. Put the cookies in the bowl of a food processor or blender, and pulse into crumbs. Add the butter and brown sugar and pulse until mixture is evenly combined. Press the cookie mixture into a deep-dish pie pan (with sides around 2 inches high). Bake for 15 minutes. If you notice any puffing of the crust or if it shrinks down from the edge of the pie plate, use the back of a spoon to gently press it back in place while it’s still hot.
For the pie
Ingredients
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ cup minute tapioca
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¹⁄8 teaspoon table salt
1½ pounds (about 4½ cups) fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
In a 4- or 5-quart pot, whisk together the brown sugar, tapioca, cloves, cinnamon, and salt. Add the berries and lemon juice and set the pot over medium-high heat. Cover and cook, lifting the lid to stir regularly, until the berries split their skins and release their juices, about 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, lifting the lid to stir regularly, until the mixture thickens and the tapioca is soft and translucent, 10 more minutes. Remove from heat.
Pour the filling into the pie shell. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to overnight.
When the filling has chilled, make the cream (below).
Scoop about 1½ tablespoons of the blueberry filling into a small bowl and set aside. Spread the cream over the top of the pie. Swirl the reserved blueberry filling through the cream to give it some color. Serve immediately or chill, covered, for up to 1 day before serving.
For the cream
Ingredients
½ cup cream cheese
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
In a large bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer, cream the cream cheese and sugar together for 1 minute, scraping the sides of the bowl halfway through. Pour in 1/3 cup heavy cream and beat with a whisk attachment until blended. Add the remaining cream and beat until the mixture is fluffy and forms firm peaks.
Amy Traverso
Amy Traverso is the senior food editor at Yankee magazine and co-host of the public television series Weekends with Yankee, a coproduction with WGBH. Previously, she was food editor at Boston magazine and an associate food editor at Sunset magazine. Her work has also been published in The Boston Globe, Saveur, and Travel & Leisure, and she has appeared on Hallmark Home & Family, The Martha Stewart Show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Amy is the author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, which was a finalist for the Julia Child Award for best first-time author and won an IACP Cookbook Award in the “American” category.
More by Amy Traverso