Creamy, sweet, and oh so fragrant pear fig cardamon pie. Definitely one of the best pie combos ever!
Prep Time35 minutesmins
Cook Time50 minutesmins
Resting Time1 hourhr
Total Time2 hourshrs25 minutesmins
Servings 6
Calories:
Equipment & Tools
Food processor
9in pie dish
INGREDIENTS
Pie crust
300gpastry flour(Note 1)
1tspsalt
10gpowdered sugar
210gbutter(Kerrygold)
80gwater(nonchlorinated, ice-cold)
½cupice cubes
Pie filling
400gpears(cleaned, cut into bite-size pieces)
170gfigs(Mission)
1lemon(zest)
1lemon(juice)
30gsugar(unrefined)
1tspvanilla paste(Nielsen-Massey)
1tspcardamon(freshly ground)
1tspcornstarch
1tbspbutter(small cubes)
Egg wash
1egg yolk
1tspheavy cream
Other
1tbspsugar(unrefined)
INSTRUCTIONS
Gather all the ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 195°C.
Prepare the filling
In a mixing bowl add lemon zest and the juice.
Wash the pears, peel them, cut out the core and slice into wedges, and then into bite-size pieces.Add to the bowl with lemon juice.
Wash the figs quarter them lengthwise and cut into in half.Add to the bowl with the pears.
Mix well so that all the pears are nicely coated with lemon to prevent browning.
Add sugars, cardamon, vanilla paste, butter, and cornstarch to the mixing bowl. Mix well to incorporate all the ingredients.Cover with a clean cloth and set aside.
Prepare the pie crust
Measure out the flour, salt, and powdered sugar. Add all to a mixing bowl.Place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Measure the butter and cut into 3cm rectangles.Place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Add ice cubes and water in a bowl. Place in the fridge.
After all the ingredients are chilled mix the dry ingredients in the food processor by pulsing a couple of times. (Note 2)
Add all the butter and pulse several times or until the butter is coarsely broken into the flour.
Add 55g of ice water and mix the dough. If it is still dry and does not come together if squeezed add a bit more water. (Note 3)There should be some dry pieces of dough on the bottom of the food processor bowl.
Once the majority of the dough does come together take the dough out and onto a clean work surface.Gently gather the dough and the dry pieces and knead just enough for the dough not to have and dry pieces.Roll the dough into a cylinder and cut in half.Make a disc out of the two halves and place them in a zip lock bag.Let the dough rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour. (Note 4)
Assemble the pie
Take out one piece of pie dough from the fridge and place it on the working surface.Dust it lightly with flour.Roll out the dough, always from the middle outwards, until it is around 3mm thick. (Note 5)
Place the rolled out pie crust on the pie dish.Gently tap the dough to even the bottom out, especially around the edges. There should not be any gaps on the bottom part of the dough. Set aside.
Similarly, roll the top part of the dough.Using a small flower cookie cutter cut out, randomly some flowers.Set aside the cut out flowers.
Add pie filling to the pie dish.Level the filling, but be careful not to push into the pie dough.
Place the top pie crust.Roll in the edges, cutting out if there is too much crust or it is uneven.
Make the egg wash by mixing the egg yolk and the heavy cream.Brush the pie with the egg wash and arrange the cutout flowers on top of the pie so that they stick on the egg wash.Sprinkle with sugar.
Bake the pie for 30 minutes on 196°C and then the remaining 20 minutes on 185°C.
Let the pie cool to room temperature before serving.
NOTES
Pastry flour has less gluten than all-purpose flour which makes for a flakier pie crust.
This will ensure the proper distribution of salt and sugar.
The amount of water needed depends on how fine or coarse the butter is mixed with the flour. The finer it is mixed less water will be needed for the dough to come together.
The pie dough can remain in the fridge for 3 days. You can also place the dough in the freezer and use it after the 3 day period. When needed thaw the pie dough in the fridge the night before you are planning to use it.
If the dough is too cold and it is hard to roll the dough let it sit on the counter a bit. Applying pressure on the very cold dough will result in dough cracking. Always apply slight pressure when rolling out the dough.
* Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.