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Blackberry Lime Pie with Orchidea

Blackberry Lime Pie with Orchidea

Renée Robinson

You Don’t Have to Add the Orchidea Spice Blend, but it Adds a Beautiful Nuanced Flavor Element.

Baking a pie is one of my favorite ways to spend some time in the kitchen. Pie baking requires patience and forces you to slow down. And I’ve yet to meet the person who isn’t thrilled when presented with a piece of freshly baked pie. Blackberries looked good at the market, so I had some fun with this and added a couple of unusual ingredients.

Milk Street’s No Shrink Pie Dough is my go to crust. I’ve included a link to the pie crust recipe. If you are new to making your own pie crust, and freaked out over the prospect, I can’t recommend this recipe more highly. It removes all the guess work and angst. Simply follow the directions and you will have a successful pie crust. In this case I was using a 9 inch deep dish pie pan, so I made a double batch, adding an extra 2 T. flour, as Milk Street recommends when doubling the recipe. When shaping the dough into discs for chilling, I kept one a little bigger than the other and let them chill overnight. I used a 9 inch deep dish glass pie dish for this recipe.

As you’ll notice in the recipe, I used King Arthur’s Pie Filling Enhancer for my thickening agent. I’ve been using it for awhile now and like it a lot for my fruit pies. It remains clear and doesn’t conflict with the flavor. It also contains some sugar and acid. You could substitute 1/4 cup cornstarch. Now, here is where it gets interesting. I rarely buy spice blends, preferring to make my own, but I do buy a few from La Boîte in New York. I’m on my second jar of one called Orchidea. Here is how it is described on their website. “A deep floral blend of orchid root, Sichuan pepper, and lime.” I’m crazy about it and have never tasted anything like it. I decided to add 2 heaping teaspoons to the blackberry filling.

It is most discernible in the floral aroma of the pie. Otherwise, it adds a subtle complexity of flavor that’s hard to describe. It enhances the floral aspect of the berry flavor, while adding a touch of deep warm spice. And it’s balanced by the brightness of the lime. The pie would still be delicious without it, but my family has declared this the best berry pie I’ve ever made. I concur. I chose to garnish it with dried edible rose petals because they seemed to carry through the floral aspect of the flavor. And also because I have a bag of them which I doubt will ever be fully used in my lifetime.

Here is a link to the pie crust recipe: https://www.williams-sonoma.com/…/christopher-kimballs… .

Blackberry Lime Pie with Orchidea

Recipe by Renée Robinson
Servings

8 - 10

servings

This beautiful blackberry lattice pie is flavored with fresh lime zest, lime juice, and Orchidea, a spice blend from La Boîte. It will still be delicious if you don't happen to have Orchidea. Baked in an all butter pie crust, what more could you want?

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Ingredients

  • 1 batch My Double Crust Pie Dough

  • 6 6 oz. cartons blackberries/1077 grams

  • 1 1/4 cups sugar

  • 2 tablespoons finely grated lime zest

  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

  • kosher salt

  • 1/4 cup King Arthur Pie Filling Enhancer or 1/4 cup cornstarch

  • 2 heaping teaspoons *Optional - Orchidea spice blend from La Boîte

  • 2 tablespoons salted butter, sliced into bits

  • Finishing sugar/Coarse sugar of any type

  • *Optional - Edible dried rose petals

Directions

  • Make a double batch of the pie dough recipe, adding an additional 2 tablespoons flour. Divide into 2 discs, making one slightly larger than the other. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour or two. I always make mine the day before.
  • Roll out the smaller disc on a lightly floured surface into a circle an inch larger in diameter than your pie dish. Detailed instructions for making and rolling the pie dough are included in the link I provided for the pie crust recipe. I used a 9 inch deep dish glass pie dish for this recipe. Cut the dough into lattice strips. You can cut them into any width you'd like. I chose to cut two 1 1/2 inch wide strips and the rest into 1/2 inch wide strips. Place the strips on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let them chill in the refrigerator until you're ready to top your pie.
  • Roll out the remaining disc of pie dough and place into a 9 inch deep dish pie dish. Refrigerate while making the filling.
  • Place racks in the middle and lower portions of your oven and preheat to 425 degrees.
  • In a large bowl, stir together the berries, sugar, lime zest, lime juice, pinch of salt, Pie Filling Enhancer or cornstarch, and Orchidea. Let sit for 15 minutes, stirring a couple of times.
  • Remove chilled pie crust from the refrigerator and fill it with the berry mixture. Dot the top with the bits of butter. Evenly space half the lattice strips on top of the pie. While folding back every other strip, lay the remaining strips on top, one at a time, creating a woven pattern, until the strips are used. Trim the edges of the crust 1/2 inch larger than the edge of the pie dish. Fold under the edge and crimp. Place the pie in the freezer for 20 minutes.
  • Remove the pie from the freezer and lightly spray the top with water. I use a simple spray bottle when doing this. Sprinkle the top with as much finishing sugar as you'd like. I use about 2 tablespoons.
  • You may wish to place a piece of foil on the bottom of your oven in order to catch any berry juices that may seep out of the pie as it bakes. Place the pie on the lower oven rack and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 400 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes.
  • Move the pie to the middle oven rack and continue to bake for and additional 20 minutes or until the juices are bubbling in the middle of the pie and the crust is fully browned. Remove and let fully cool on a rack before slicing. Yes, it is hard to resist cutting into this pie, but it won't have time to fully set if it isn't cooled to room temperature. Garnish with edible dried rose petals. Enjoy!

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