Blackcurrant Pies are the perfect marriage of a sweet, tart & jammy homemade blackcurrant filling paired with crisp, golden homemade pastry. My pies are deep filled for an extra bite of fruitiness. Eat them on their own - warm or cold - or elevate them into dessert status by serving with cream, custard or ice cream. Blackcurrant pie is sweet comfort food at its best.
A drink made with blackcurrant cordial would be ideal with these pies.
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When it comes to baking a pie, I often prefer to stick to the classics, since I find simple fruit pies homely and comforting. These deep-filled blackcurrant pies are fine examples of the type of pie I'm likely to bake.
Fruit pies and the little black dress have a lot in common. Both are timeless, often making appearances in restaurants or cosy suppers with friends and they can re-invent themselves so many times that they will never go out of fashion.
I'm talking about lightly, crisp, homemade pastry sweetened with just a little touch of sugar and then filled with a sweet, tart, deep purple blackcurrant compote. That's the right way to make a blackcurrant pie.
Pie lovers shouldn't miss my apple and blackberry crumble pie or my vegan apple pie. Both are guaranteed crowd-pleasers.
Where can I find blackcurrants?
Blackcurrants in the UK are synonymous with summer. And it is a flavour British people are more than familiar with. Over my blogging years though, I've noticed that Americans have rarely heard of them. So I decided to delve into why.
I have a bit of bad news for my US readers. Blackcurrants are not widely available in America at present. They were farmed in the US until the early 1900s. At this point, blackcurrants were considered a threat to the U.S. logging industry, so a ban on growing them was imposed.
They are no longer considered a threat but the federal ban that curtailed currant production nationally for nearly a century has left a lasting mark. Blackcurrants remain largely unknown in the United States.
I do have a tiny bit of good news thought. The federal ban was lifted in New York State in 2003 and currant growing is making a comeback in New York, Vermont, Connecticut and Oregon - look out for these classic beauties if you are in the area.
In the UK blackcurrants are widely available through the summer months. Find them at Pick Your Own Farms, farm shops and supermarkets. And in the cooler months try the freezer department, especially in farm shops. They are a great fallback when a craving for apple and blackcurrant crumble hits in the dead of winter.
Step by step instructions
Prepare the Blackcurrants
The first stage in making blackcurrant pie is to prepare the jammy blackcurrant filling:
- Put the fruit, sugar and cornflour into a saucepan and cook over a moderate heat for 5-10 minutes
- As they cook, squish the blackcurrants a little with the back of the spoon
- When the sugar has dissolved and the fruit has turned into a thick jammy consistency it's ready
Some people fuss about topping and tailing blackcurrants before cooking with them. Honestly, I think life is too short.
Whenever I make blackcurrant jam or these individual pies I just give them a rinse and quickly remove any green stems. Then I get on with the cooking. I've had no complaints yet.
Make the Pastry
The next stage is the pastry making. I use a simple shortcrust pastry here and sweeten it with a little bit of sugar. There are just 4 steps to follow:
- Cube the butter and drop it into the bowl. Use your fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
- Add 4 tablespoon iced water and mix with a blunt knife. Add a little more water if the dough feels too dry
- Use your hands to bring the mixture together and knead briefly and gently until the dough is smooth
- Flatten the pastry, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge
Once the pastry has chilled it can be rolled out and cut into circles to fit your tin.
Since I'm verging on greedy, I make these individual pies in a muffin tin so that I can pile a large amount of that luscious jammy blackcurrant filling into each pie.
And I really don't worry if a little of that filling oozes out of a few pies. I think a little mess adds to the homemade charm of these blackcurrant pies.
Frequently asked questions
Of course, the recipe can also make one large blackcurrant pie rather than individual pies. Use a 20cm pie tin for this.
Yes, you can. This recipe can be made with fresh or frozen blackcurrants.
Enjoy these blackcurrant pies just as they are or serve them with cream, ice cream or custard to turn them into a comforting full-blown dessert.
For the ultimate indulgent treat a scoop of clotted cream works wonders. This rich cream cuts through the acidity and sweetness of the blackcurrant pie filling superbly.
There is nothing to stop you using store-bought blackcurrant pie filling, however, the fruit content is likely to be much lower than if you follow the recipe here. The tinned pie filling may also be much funnier as a result.
These deep filled individual blackcurrant pies are straightforward, honest home baking at it's best.
Are you looking for more blackcurrant recipes?
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📖 Recipe
Deep-Filled Blackcurrant Pies
Equipment
- 12 Hole Cupcake Tin
Ingredients
Blackcurrant Pie Filling
- 350 g/ 12 ½ oz Blackcurrants (fresh or frozen - thawed)
- 175 g/ ⅞ cup/ 6oz White sugar
- 3 ½ teaspoon Cornflour/ cornstarch (rounded)
Pastry
- 400 g/ 3 ¼ cups/ 14 oz Plain (all purpose) flour
- Large pinch salt
- 4 tablespoon Caster sugar (plus a little extra for dusting)
- 200 g/ ⅞ cup/ 7 oz Unsalted butter - cold
- 6 tablespoon Iced water
- 1 Egg - beaten
Instructions
Blackcurrant Pie Filling
- Put the fruit, sugar and cornflour into a saucepan
- Cook on a moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 5-10 minutes. As they cook, squish the blackcurrants a little with the back of the spoon
- When the sugar has dissolved and the fruit has turned into a thick jammy consistency remove from the heat and let cool completely
Make the Pies
- Put the flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl and stir briefly
- Cube the butter and drop it into the bowl. Use your fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
- Add 4 tablespoon iced water and mix with a blunt knife. Add a little more water if the dough feels too dry
- Use your hands to bring the mixture together and knead briefly and gently until the dough is smooth
- Flatten the pastry, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge
- Preheat the oven to 175C/ 325F/ GM3
- Roll the pastry out on a floured worktop to a thickness of 2-3mm
- Cut out 12 large circles to line your muffin tin holes (see notes for details) and 12 smaller circles big enough to cover the tops. Re-roll the pastry if necessary
- Gently push the larger circles into the wells of the muffin tin and spoon the cooled blackcurrant pie filling into each pie - around ⅔ - ¾ full
- Use a little beaten egg to wet the rim of the remaining circles and press these onto the pies to form the lid. Ensure there are no gaps between the two layers of pastry
- Use a knife to cut a small pattern into the rim of each pie and cut a little slit in the circle to allow air to escape
- Brush the top of each pie with beaten egg and sprinkle a little caster sugar over the top
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown
- Allow to cool in the tin before removing. Any pies that are stuck in the holes can be loosened with a slim knife
- Keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze
Anne says
Why precook the blackcurrants?
Jane Coupland says
Hi Anne, they need to be precooked with the sugar in order to make the compote style filling which is then spooned into the pie shells. Just adding blackcurrants and sugar and letting them bake would mean that the pies are not very full and saucy consistency won't be quite right.
toshi says
I really enjoyed these!
Jane Coupland says
Thanks for the review, Toshi.
Melissa says
Would it be better to freeze the filling than to freeze the finished pies? I had to use up sour cherries & we don't need 2 kinds of pie going at once. The filling is done and tastes amazing: I can't wait to taste the finished pies, but I will have to.
Jane Saunders says
Hi Melissa, I think you could get away with either, but I always prefer my pastry freshly baked, so would go with freezing the filling if there's a choice. If you do need to freeze the pies, they can always be reheated gently in the oven once defrosted..
Laura says
Love this recipe! Would the filling work ok if I didn’t add a “top”?
(Would have loved to have made a black currant tart without a lid as opposed to a pie? X
Jane Saunders says
Hi Laura,
so pleased you've enjoyed it.
Hmmm, without a lid, I have a feeling that the blackcurrant filling would dry out and turn a little crusty. If you want to get rid of the pastry top how about a sprinkling of crumble topping instead? Perhaps this is a recipe I should work up - I was thinking about a blackcurrant tart only yesterday actually, so I'll pop it onto my list of future recipes. Watch this space...
Jon says
Wow what a recipe! My Nan used to make these for me when I was young. I bought a blackcurrant bush a couple of years ago but struggled to find a recipe. This is a brilliant recipe, thank you so much. As soon as I had my first mouthful I was back in my man’s house 30 years ago. Im making another one now. Thank you.
Jane Saunders says
Yes!!! Such a lovely comment - thankyou. I'm glad my recipe evoked happy memories for you.