Blueberry Cream Pie

MAKES

one 9 inch / 23 cm deep dish pie

This blueberry cream pie is a warm weather staple for me the last few years, and I’m thrilled to partner with my friends at Zulka to share it with you! This Blueberry Cream Pie is made by combining a small batch of homemade blueberry jam with a rich, tangy cream filling. The real key to it all? Taking the time to rub vanilla bean seeds into Zulka Pure Cane Sugar. The resulting sugar perfumes and flavors the whole filling, and brings out the blueberry’s flavor in the most complementary way (I swear, vanilla somehow makes blueberries taste even blueberrier).

INGREDIENTS

• one recipe Extra Flaky All Buttah Pie Dough, Blind-Baked + cooled completely
• Puree
• 99 g / 1⁄2 cup Zulka Pure Cane Sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, halved and seeds scraped
• 454 g / 1 pound fresh or frozen blueberries, preferably wild blueberries
• 2 g / 1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt Filling + Finishing
• 226 g / 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 99 g / 1⁄2 cup Zulka Pure Cane Sugar, divided (63 g / 1⁄3 cup and 36 g / 3 tablespoons)
• 470 g / 2 cups chilled heavy cream, divided
• 235 mL / 1 cup blueberry puree (above), cooled completely
• 5 g / 1 teaspoon vanilla extract fresh blueberries, for decorating (optional)

METHOD

1. Make room in your refrigerator for your pie pan to sit flat.
2. Make the puree: in a small bowl, use your hands to rub the vanilla bean seeds and Zulka Pure Cane Sugar together until the beans are distributed throughout.
3. In a medium pot, stir the blueberries, vanilla sugar, and salt and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the berries break down, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender or food processor (or use an immersion blender) to blend the mixture until very smooth.
4. Measure the puree – you should have about 235 mL / 1 cup puree. If you have less, your puree is too thick; add water 14 g / 1 tablespoon at a time until you have the correct amount. If you have more, your puree is too thin. Return it to the pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens to the appropriate consistency. Transfer the puree to a medium bowl, and cool completely (the puree can be made up to 2 days ahead and held in the refrigerator until ready to use).
5. Make the filling: in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whip the cream cheese and 63 g / 1⁄3 cup of the Zulka Pure Cane Sugar until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add 235 g / 1 cup of the heavy cream, and continue to whip to medium peaks, 2-3 minutes more.
6. Transfer this mixture to a medium bowl, and gently fold in the blueberry puree until the mixture is evenly incorporated. Spoon the blueberry filling inside the blind baked crust. Refrigerate the pie while you make the topping.
7. In the same bowl of the electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whip the remaining 235 g / 1 cup heavy cream with the remaining 36 g / 3 tablespoons of Zulka Pure Cane sugar and vanilla extract to medium peaks.
8. Spoon or pipe the whipped cream on top of the pie as desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve (up to 8 hours).