Swedish Blackberry Pie (Björnbärspaj)
This Swedish style 'smulpaj' makes the most of any dark berries, baked into buttery pastry with a crunchy almond crumble on top.
September is the prime season for soft, dark berries and most Swedes will get outdoors to seize the harvest. Using a mixture of blackberries, brambles or wild blueberries (also known as bilberries), many Swedes will enjoy some berry-charged baking and this pie is the perfect sink. A Swedish fruit pie is generally called ‘smulpaj’, or ‘crumb pie’, and tends to be made similar to the ‘Dutch’ style, that is, a crumble top rather than a pastry top. What makes the Swedish style stand out is the crumble is intensely almondy, loaded with roughly chopped nuts for added crunch. The crumble is less fine, and more like biscuity, crunchy dumplings. It makes a welcome addition to any fruit pie, apple pies, rhubarb pies and especially berry pies. A great thing about this recipe is the pastry is actually made with melted butter. Combined with the flour, the pastry dough is simply pressed into the pie tin like play dough. There’s no blind baking either, in fact the pastry cooks to a crisp in the same time the berries cook to a gleaming, lacquered gel. Talk about Scandinavian efficiency. Let’s go!
INGREDIENTS (makes 1x 9-inch pie - serves 6-8x)
SWEET PASTRY
120 g unsalted butter
180 g plain flour
1 tablespoon of ground almonds
100 g caster sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
BERRY FILLING
500 g fresh blackberries/brambles/blueberries
140 g caster sugar
2 tsps lemon juice
3 tablespoons cornflour
ALMOND CRUMBLE
75 g butter, diced
75 g plain flour
50 g caster sugar
50 g ground almonds
40 g whole almonds, chopped
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp salt
WALKTHROUGH
First, preheat the oven to 200 °C/400F. Lightly grease a 9-inch round tart tin with butter and set it aside.
Now let’s make the pastry. Melt the 120g of butter in a saucepan or in the microwave until just melted. Allow it to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the 180g plain flour, 1 tablespoon ground almonds, 100g sugar, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix until well combined.
Once cool, add the 120g melted butter to the dry mixture. Mix using a blunt knife until the smooth, crumbly dough forms.
Place the dough into your buttered pie dish. Using your knuckles, press the dough across the base of the pie dish and up the sides.
Now we’ll prepare the berry filing. In a small bowl, toss together the 500g blackberries, 140g sugar and 3 tablespoons of cornflour. Set the berries aside while we make the crumble.
To make the crumble, combine the 75g cubed butter, 75g flour, 50g sugar, 50g ground almonds, 40g chopped almonds, 1/2 tsp almond extract and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix with your fingertips, rubbing everything together until you get a dense, crumbly dough.
Pour the coated berries into the pie and distribute them evenly with a spoon. Crumble over the almond crumble as small pieces, leaving some gaps for the berries to poke through.
Now we’re ready to bake. Place the tart on a baking tray and set it onto the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes at 200C/400F , then reduce the temperature to 180C/350F and bake for a further 20-25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the berry filling is bubbling up in the centre, if visible. Allow the pie to cool for 30 minutes before eating.
Serve the pie in slices with ice cream, custard or whipped cream. It’s honestly just as good whether you eat it hot or cold - enjoy!
