Mulberry Pie

This Mulberry Pie Recipe delivers a rustic dessert that captures the sweetness of fresh mulberries and memories of days gone by.

Mulberries hold a special place in many hearts. Make this Mulberry Pie and serve it with ice cream or custard and mulberries will win even more hearts.

From nursery rhymes to childhood tree climbing adventures to eating the berries straight from the tree, this fast-growing tree which bears an abundance of fruit through spring and summer is loved through the world.

Mulberries in Australia

Mulberries don’t keep well after picking and are hard to find in stores.

But people have always got around that problem by planting a tree in their own backyard! And in Australia, mulberry trees grow well.

I love this little story about a mulberry tree that was published in Sydney’s ‘The Sun’ newspaper in 1945.

And a mulberry tree planted in 1836 in Australia during the first official European settlement of South Australia still stands tall today and is thought to be the oldest surviving fruit tree in the state.

The mulberry tree actually goes way, way back to ancient times, and is even mentioned in the Bible while the leaves were famously used in the Orient to fatten silkworms for the silk trade.

In fact, the leaves of the mulberry tree are the sole food of silkworms! And the popularity of the tree throughout the world goes hand in hand with the popularity of silk.

But, enough history, you’re here for pie!

Mulberry Pie ingredients

To make mulberry pie, the first thing you’ll need is fresh mulberries – 4 cups worth, ideally straight from the tree.

You can, however, store your mulberries in the fridge for up to two days before using them in cooking.

For best results, line a plate with paper towel before placing the mulberries (unwashed) on the plate and covering with plastic food wrap.

When you are ready to make the pie, wash the mulberries in cold water and pinch off any remaining green stalks with your fingers.

You’ll also need:

• butter
• sugar
• egg
• lemon juice
• plain flour
• cornflour.

How to make Mulberry Pie

Start by making the pastry.

Sure, you could skip this step and use frozen sweet shortcrust pastry.

But if you have time to make the pastry the pie will be even better.

So, let’s make pastry for our pie.

Making the pastry

Take the butter from fridge and allow to sit for about 30 minutes.

Chop the butter into cubes and beat in a stand mixer on med-high for 1-2 minutes.

Add the icing sugar and mix on low speed until combined.

Turn speed to med-high and beat again for 1-2 minutes or until mixture turns a pale colour.

Add egg yolk and lemon juice and combine with a spatula.

Fold through the sifted flour and salt.

The mixture should all be a pale yellow colour with no dry of floury parts. If it seems too dry, add a little more lemon juice.

Turn out the mixture onto bench and knead lightly to form two equal balls.

Wrap each ball in baking paper and place into the fridge for at least one hour.

Making the mulberry filling

Many of the modern recipes for mulberry pie involve simply placing the whole fruit into the pastry shell along with some sugar, flour and other ingredients and then baking.

The older recipes, however, involve stewing the fruit beforehand.

My Nan Mac (Nana Ling‘s daughter) made a wonderful Mulberry Pie and mum remembered her stewing some of the fruit and thickening with cornflour. I’ve used these memories to come up with this best Mulberry Pie recipe.

Okay, let’s make this mulberry filling.

Oh, and it’s a good time now to start pre-heating your oven to 180 degrees celsius (fan-forced).

Place about 2/3 of the mulberries, 2 tablespoons water and sugar in a saucepan.

Gently heat to dissolve sugar and then bring to the boil before simmering for 10 minutes.

Mix the cornflour with a little water.

Take saucepan off the heat and add cornflour mixture. Stir well to combine.

Return to heat and stir until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and set aside along with remaining whole mulberries.

Baking Mulberry Pie

Remove the pastry dough from fridge and roll out first ball on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about 3mm.

Roll the pastry back onto the floured rolling pin and use a spatula to lift the rest of the pastry form the bench.

Place in greased pie dish and gently press into dish, trimming sides to fit. Prick the base with a fork about 7 times.

Pour mulberry mixture onto top of pastry and then place whole mulberries on top.

Roll out second pastry ball on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about 3mm and use a spatula to lift the rest of the pastry form the bench. Place on top of pie and trim edges.

Next, use the side of your thumb to press indents into the crust, placing your thumb diagonally and pressing at intervals of around 3cm.

Use a sharp knife to insert about 4 small (2cm) vents into the top of the pie.

Before popping your pie into the oven, whisk the egg white and brush over the top of the pie.

Bake the pie at 180 degrees celsius (fan-forced) for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

If the crust starts to turn too brown during cooking, remove from the oven and carefully place alfoil over crusts to prevent further browning.

Allow the pie to cool to warm before serving.

Serve warm with ice cream or custard.

Some other pie recipes you might like to try

Pies make the perfect dessert. Check out these other lovely pie recipes:

• Banoffee Pie
• Key Lime Pie
• Vanilla Slice Pie.