Makes one 9-inch pie
Pie shell and shapes (recipe follows)
2 cups whole raspberries
2 cups sliced strawberries
1½ cups whole blackberries
1½ cups whole blueberries
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1-2 tablespoons sanding sugar (or granulated sugar)
1. Macerate: Heap berries in a large bowl. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and salt and mix gently with a flexible spatula. Let rest at room temperature, 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Berries will release some of their juices.
2. Thicken: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Set a colander over a wide saucepan. Slide berries into the colander and let the juices drip into the saucepan. Return berries to their bowl along with the lemon zest. Dissolve cornstarch in a spoonful of water, then whisk this slurry into the berry juice. Set saucepan over medium heat and cook, whisking, until juice snaps from cloudy and thin to brilliant and thick, about 2 minutes. Scrape thickened juice over berries. Mix gently.
3. Fill: Scrape berries and juices into the pie shell. Cover the top of the pie with cut-out shapes, overlapping. Brush with a little water or milk. Sprinkle with sanding sugar.
4. Bake: Set pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden, 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake until crust is golden brown and juices bubble thick and purple, about 30–35 minutes. If the perimeter browns too quickly, shield with a pie halo or a hoop of crumpled foil. Cool completely. Enjoy.
Parbaked Pie Shell (adapted from Bravetart: Iconic American Desserts by Stella Parks)
1½ cups / 211 grams all-purpose flour such as Gold Medal, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons / 17 grams corn flour
1 tablespoon / 16 grams granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons Crystal Diamond kosher salt
14 tablespoons / 199 grams cold unsalted butter cut into ½-inch cubes
½ cup ice-cold water
1. Smash: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt. Drop in butter cubes and toss to coat. With a strong thumb, mash each cube flat against the bowl. Drizzle in water and fold with a soft spatula, bringing pastry together in a big, ugly clump.
2. Fold: Flour a work surface. Settle on pastry clump on it and pat into a square. Dust with flour. Roll out to a big rectangle positioned vertically. Using a bench scraper or metal spatula to lift pastry, fold the top edge down and bottom edge up to meet in the center. Fold left edge to meet right, as though closing a book. Fold top down to meet bottom. Cut pastry in two, one “half” larger than the other.
3. Punch: On a floured work surface, roll out the smaller portion of dough and, using cookie cutters, punch out large and small stars, circles or other shapes. Set shapes on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze. You’ll cobble these together to form the top pie crust.
4. Roll: On a floured work surface, roll out the larger portion and trim to a 13-inch circle. Fit into a 9½-inch pie plate. Trim (no folding or crimping), leaving ½-inch overhang. With one set of knuckles inside and the other outside, press edge into a soft zig-zag. Freeze 2 or more hours.
5. Bake: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line frozen pastry with parchment (crumple it first to make it pliable), then foil. Fill with sugar, uncooked rice, dried beans or other pie weights. Bake 50 minutes. Lift out parchment, foil, and weights. Continue baking until barely golden, another 5-7 minutes.