Forest fruit and custard pie

British Pie Week (2 – 8 March) is the perfect time to dust off your oven gloves and cook up something golden-crusted and delicious. The filling for this sweet pie couldn’t be simpler, using ready-made custard and frozen fruit. Blind-baking the case first, and brushing with egg, helps to seal the case to stop any leaks.

Ingredients

Serves: 6

Ready in: 1 hr (plus chilling)

For the shortcrust pasty:

• 225g plain flour
• 100g butter, cold and diced (alternatively use a 375g pack ready-rolled shortcrust pastry)

For the filling:

• 2 medium eggs, 1 separated and lightly beaten
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 200g ready-made custard
• ½ lemon, zested
• 150g frozen berries, defrosted, drained and patted dry
• 2 tsp demerara sugar

Method

1. To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour, or pulse in a food processor, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in a pinch of salt, then add 2-3 tbsp water, 1 tbsp at a time, mixing to bind the mixture together. Turn out and briefly knead until you have a dough. Shape into a disc and wrap in cling film, then chill for 20-30 mins or until ready to use.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Take about three quarters of the pastry (leave the rest in the fridge until needed) and roll it out to line a shallow 20cm pie dish or loose-bottomed tart tin. Trim around the edges leaving an overhang of pastry.
3. Chill for 15 mins, then line with baking paper and cover the base with baking beans (or uncooked rice) and bake for 10 mins. Take out the beans and bake for another 5-10 mins until the pastry is pale golden and sandy to the touch.
4. Meanwhile, roll out the remaining pastry to 3mm thickness and cut into even strips. Flour a large baking tray and lay the strips out on the tray to make a lattice design. Take the pastry case out of the oven and brush with the egg white while still warm to seal the pastry. Trim the edges of the case to neaten up.
5. Mix the whole egg and sugar together with the ready-made custard and lemon zest. Pour the mixture into the pastry case, then top with the defrosted berries. Brush the edges of the pastry with the egg white, then slide the lattice on top and press at the edges to seal. Trim and brush with egg yolk, sprinkle with demerara and bake for 35-40 mins, until the pastry is golden and the filling is just set with a slight wobble. Set aside to cool completely.