While standard pies are always the perfect dessert, this Homemade Apple Berry Crumble Pie is by far top notch, especially with it's delicious crumble topping!
In a measuring cup, add the milk and apple cider vinegar, stir and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. This creates a vegan "buttermilk".
In a large bowl, add the all-purpose flour, sea salt, cinnamon, and cane sugar, whisking them all together.
Add the cubed or grated butter and using a pastry blender, blend butter into dry ingredients until the mixture becomes “peas-like” and crumbly.
Pour the cold apple cider vinegar-milk mixture (slowly) and stir (working it together with one hand) until the dry ingredients are moistened. NOTE: If the ingredients feels a little too dry, add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time, until it’s moistened BUT not too wet!
Once you’re able to form it into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour (minimum), up to 1 and a half hours or of course overnight.
In the meantime, make the Pie Filling.
TO MAKE THE FILLING:
In a bowl, add the sliced apples, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, cane sugar, arrowroot, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, and salt, stirring everything together until combined and the apples + berries are completely coated.
TO MAKE THE CRUMBLE:
In a bowl, add the flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon, stirring until combined. Add the partially melted butter and using a spatula, mix until combined and 'crumbly-like'.
ASSEMBLY + PRE-BAKE:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and set a standard (9") pie dish aside.
Remove dough ball from the refrigerator and place it onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out dough ball using a rolling pin (not making it too thin), about ½-inch thick and gently placing it in your pie dish; working it around evenly. Be sure to do any folding or tucking of any excess pie crust.
Once complete, poke tiny holes around the bottom of the crust using a fork, add parchment paper to the center of the crust and add "pie weights" atop it and pre-bake the crust for 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven.
FINAL BAKE:
Spoon the coated apples + berries into the center of the crust and re-arrange slices to fit until completely filled to the top of the crust. Tuck the pieces of cut butter in between the apples + berries. Finally, top with crumble topping mixture until completely covered. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until apple-berry filling begins to bubble "out", and the crust + topping are golden brown.
Once done, remove from the the oven and let cool completely, about 1-2 hours. When cooled, place the pie in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving and slicing. NOTE: Overnight is best.
To serve, add whipped cream or your favorite dairy-free ice cream or coconut whipped cream and enjoy!
Bon Appetit!
Notes
STORAGE: Keep leftover pie tightly wrapped with heavy duty plastic wrap or foil and refrigerated for 3-4 days. Re-heat each slice when serving.
FLOUR: If you don’t have Pastry Flour available, simply substitute for All-Purpose Flour.
FOOD PROCESSOR FOR CRUST: If using a food processor to incorporate water to flour/butter mixture, ONLY ADD ¼ cup of water (or milk) AT A TIME to your dough, keeping it on “pulse” to avoid the dough from breaking down too much and it becoming “watery”. With this method, you may not need the entire ½ cup of water (or milk).
TIPS FOR THE PERFECT PIE CRUST: Be sure to read tips within the post!
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: To make the crust entirely gluten-free, simply substitute the flour with a great Gluten-Free flour option like Bob's Red Mill's GF 1-to-1 baking flour or All-purpose flour. If using any other flour, ensure that it has Xanthan Gum included or add 1 teaspoon in with any flour that doesn't. For the remaining ingredients, just make sure that you use arrowroot starch which is very GF-friendly.
ARROWROOT: If you don’t have arrowroot starch, feel free to substitute with regular starch, tapioca flour, or all-purpose flour, which all act as a thickening agent.
FROZEN FRUIT: When using frozen fruit instead of fresh, always toss them in a few Tbsps of flour before using them in the recipe. This ensures that your pie bakes through and isn't 'watery' from their high water content.