Happy Pi Day! 🥧
To celebrate 3.14159…, I baked a little mathematical tribute — an apple and blueberry pie with a golden lattice crust and the symbol for π right in the center, with the digits marching around the edge. It’s a sweet reminder that math can be beautiful… and even more beautiful when it’s wrapped in buttery pie crust.
Because on March 14th, the only thing better than solving for π… is eating it. 😄
Apple Blueberry Pi Pie
Ingredients
Crust
2 1/2 cu All Purpose Flour
12 tbl Cold Unsalted Butter, cut into small cubes
6 oz Cream Cheese, torn into small pieces
Mini Crust for Numbers
1/2 cu All Purpose Flour
5 tbl Cold Unsalted Butter, cut into small cubes
1 oz Cream Cheese, torn into small pieces
Filling
2 lb Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1⁄4-inch slices
1/2 lb Fresh Blueberries, about 1 pint
1/2 cu Granulated Sugar
2 tbl Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
3 tbl All-Purpose Flour
2 tbl Cornstarch
1 tbl, Lemon Zest
pinch of salt
1 tbl Unsalted Butter, cut into small cubes
1 lg Egg, beaten
Buttercream
1 tbl Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
1/2 cu Confectioners’ Sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 tsp Milk
Method
Make the crust by putting the flour, butter, and cream cheese in a food processor. Process until the dough starts to ball up. Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead into a ball. Divide the ball into two portions and flatten each to about a 7″ disk. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate for an hour.
Mix together 1/4 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons of flour, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1 tablespoon of lemon zest, and a pinch of salt in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.
Rinse blueberries. While they still have a bit of moisture on them, pour 1/4 cup of sugar on top and let them rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
When you slice the apples, toss them with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in a large bowl. Mix in the blueberries and sugar mixture. Set aside.
Roll out one disk of dough and press it into the bottom of your pie pan, creating about an inch of overhang. Place the apple mixture into the pie pan, breaking apple pieces to get everything tightly compressed into the pan. Dot the top with 1 tablespoon of diced butter. Set aside.
Roll out the other dough disk. Make uniform strips using a knife or pastry cutter. Layer the strips in a lattice work pattern on top. Crimp and seal the top and bottom crusts together and trim off and excess beyond 1″. Make flutes around the pie using your thumb and forefinger on one hand and your forefinger on the other. Flatten the flutes on half of the pie so numbers will sit more flat on the pie.
Roll out scraps of dough to cut a Pi shape to put on top. Brush beaten egg on the lattice work top. Place the Pi shape in the center of the pie and brush with egg wash. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of granulated sugar on top.
Place the pie on a baking sheet and loosely tent with aluminum foil. Bake at 350˚F for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
Separately, roll out mini dough until very thin, about 1/8″ thick. Cut out as many numbers as you can. Place the numbers on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and brush with egg wash. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Once out of the oven, immediately dust the numbers with confectioners’ sugar. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Once fully cool, liberally dust with more confectioners’ sugar.
Make buttercream by combining all the ingredients listed above. Transfer the buttercream to a small piping bag or disposable bag with a small hole cut in the corner. Pipe a bit of buttercream on the back of each number and “glue” them to the cake in a rather haphazard fashion, starting above the Pi symbol and following the right edge of the pie. Serve at room temperature.