Berry Crumble Pie

Yields: 1 Pie

What better way to celebrate the beauty of summer fruits than in a pie. No wait a crumble. Or better still how about a crumble topped pie. This delicious pie can be made with any of your favourite seasonal fruits but the succulent berries that summer has to offer always seem to be a show stopper. Vibrant hues of red and purple are pleasing to the eye and the sweet tart flavours of the berries, paired with the comforting buttery tastes of the crumble and crust make it a winning combination. Serve with your favourite vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or just as it is for a tantalising summer dessert.

Crust

This makes a double crust so as its pie season reserve any unused pastry in the freezer for another day or make a second crust for another pie.

• 2 cups Anita's Organic 60/40 Bakers Blend (or 1 cup All Purpose White & 1 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour)

• 1/4 cup cane sugar

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 3/4 cup coconut oil, in solid form (or butter/shortening)

• 8 - 10 tbsp ice water

Filling

• 5 cups mixed berries, we used raspberries, blueberries, cherries and blackberries

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tbsp arrowroot powder

• 1 tsp tapioca starch

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Crumble Topping

• 1 /3 cup Anita's Organic Rolled Oats

• 1/3 cup Anita's Organic All-Purpose Flour

• 1/3 cup shredded coconut

• 2 tbsp cane sugar

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

• 2 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, melted or sunflower oil

For the Crust

1. Lightly grease an 8" pie dish and set aside.

2. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Cut the coconut oil (or butter/shortening) into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Using your finger tips or a pastry cutter rub the oil into the flour until it has almost disappeared and the mixture resembles wet sand. A few small pea size visible pieces are ok as this will add a little extra flakiness to the crust.

3. Drizzle the ice water, a tablespoon at a time, into the flour mixture and mix together with a spatula or wooden spoon. Keep adding the water until the mixture starts to hold together and forms a ball.

4. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and divide the pastry into 3 equal pieces. Set one piece aside and reform the other two pieces of pastry into a ball and roll out on the floured surface. Roll out to approx 2 inches bigger than the pie dish. Line the pie dish with the pastry and let sit for 10 minutes to allow the pastry to relax a little. There will be an overhang of pastry, don't be tempted to trim it until after the 10 minutes is up. When the 10 minutes have passed trim off any excess pastry to form a neat crust edge. Leave as it is or crimp the pastry to form a decorative edge if preferred. Place the crust in the fridge for one hour. Gather up the pastry trimmings and the reserved pastry, roll into a ball, wrap and freeze to use another day (or make a second crust with it).

5. Pre-heat the oven to 350F.

6. Once the crust has been in the fridge for 1 hour remove and gently fork the surface to prevent air bubbles, don't poke the fork all the way through. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill with baking beans. Bake the crust blind for 20 minutes then carefully remove the parchment and baking beans, and then bake the crust for a further 20 minutes, or until bottom is no longer soggy and crust is lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven while you prepare the rest of the pie.

For the Filling

1. In a large heavy based pan mix the berries and maple syrup together. Add the cinnamon and gently stir together. Over a low heat, gently cook the fruit until they are just cooked through and have released some of their juices.