Guest Post: Mixed Berry Slab Pie by Blahnik Baker

My guest poster today is Zainab of Blahnik Baker. Although she has never baked a cake before February or 2012, her creations will make you think otherwise. I’ve been baking for years and my layer cakes never come out as pretty as hers do. Just look at her colossal six-layer cake, and her rose frosted cake. By the way she rocks the cupcakes and makes perfect macarons too. Is there any baking challenge she cannot conquer? She definitely has had far more baking successes than failures (if any), and today she is sharing a yummy slab pie! I’ve never made one but from the looks of it I am missing out.

One year ago: Roasted Cherry Brownie Cheesecake

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Hello guys!!! I am Zainab from Blahnik Baker and I am very happy to be guest posting for Erin today. While she is busy finishing up her PhD and all that stressful writing, we don’t want her stressing about her blog too. So I am here to share an easy recipe with you!

Like Erin, I am PhD student starting my 5^th year and I’m about a year and a half from where she is today. I understand her troubles just so well. Unlike her, I am new to baking and food blogging. To counteract all that science in my brain, I started baking and decorating cakes as a creative outlet about a year ago and I chronicle my modest self-taught kitchen adventures on my blog.

As a newbie baker, one of the things outside of my comfort zone has always pie. Who doesn’t love a good slice of pie?? I know I do, especially summer pies! But bad luck and terrible dough escapades kept me from attempting homemade pies in the past. So it’s been my goal this summer to make delicious homemade pies. This mixed berry slab pie is exactly that!

This slab pie is easy to make and perfect for the upcoming Labor Day weekend.  A cream cheese dough is filled with the best of summer’s berries.  I used a mix of raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. But of course feel free to make your own mix. Either way, this pie is a glorious combination of flaky buttery crust and juicy filling of berries. It’s a win-win my friends!

Mixed Berry Slab Pie

Ingredients:

Cream cheese pie dough:

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes and kept cold

¼ cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, cut into cubes and kept cold

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons ice cold water

Berry filling:

2 cups mixed berries (blackberries, raspberry, strawberries or blueberries)

½ cup sugar

1 tablespoon tapioca starch

½ teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

1 lemon, zested and juiced

2-3 tablespoons white chocolate chips (optional)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon sanding sugar

 Directions:

1. To make dough: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour, baking powder and salt until combine, a few pulses. Add the butter and cream cheese slowly and pulse until a fine meal forms. While pulsing, add the cider vinegar and water and continue pulsing until the dough forms. Move the dough to a clean surface and form into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. In the meantime, prepare the filling by combining all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Toss together.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Lightly flour a clean surface and roll out dough. Roll into a 12” x 12” square and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle one half of dough with white chocolate chip. Spoon the filling on top of the chocolate chips making sure to leave a ½ inch border around the edge. Brush the edges lightly with egg wash and fold over the unfilled side. Crimp the edges together with a fork and cut a few holes on top of pie to allow steam to escape during baking. Brush top with egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar.
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Let pie cool for 20-30 minutes before cutting and serving. (You need to or else it will be runny!)

**Note: Use tapioca starch instead of instant tapioca pudding. Didn’t work well for me as the filling was a bit runny. **

Adapted from: http://www.myhabitfix.com/blog/detail/how-to-entertain-for-outdoor-parties-spoon-fork-bacons-blueberry-slab-pie