Blueberry Pie

Enough to serve 6

for the filling
blueberries 500g
lemon juice 2 tbsp
cornflour 1 generously heaped tbsp
redcurrant jelly 1 heaped tbsp

for the crust
butter 150g
golden caster sugar 150g, plus a little more to scatter over the top
plain flour 250g
baking powder 1 tsp
an egg, beaten
a little milk, or beaten egg and milk, to finish

Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4 and put a baking sheet in it (this will help keep the base of the pie crisp). Lightly butter a 24cm shallow metal pie plate. Put the blueberries into a bowl with the lemon juice, cornflour and redcurrant jelly. Toss gently to mix, then set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar in a food mixer until pale and fluffy, pushing the mixture down the sides of the bowl from time to time with a spatula. Sift the flour and baking powder together. Incorporate the egg, a little at a time, into the butter and sugar mixture, adding a little flour if it starts to curdle. Mix in the flour and baking powder to form a soft dough.

Flour the work surface generously. Bring the dough together to form a ball, then knead lightly for a minute. Cut into two equal pieces and roll one out to fit the base of the pie plate. Line the dish with the pastry, taking care to push the dough well into the corners and to leave some overhanging.

Add the filling. Roll out the remaining pastry. Brush the edge of the pastry lining the dish with a little milk or beaten egg and milk, then lower the pastry lid on top. Press the edges to seal, trim any overhanging pastry and cut two small holes in the top (if you don't, the pastry may split). Brush with a little milk or beaten egg and milk and scatter lightly with sugar.

Bake on the hot baking sheet for 40 minutes or so, until golden. Allow to calm down a little before servin