The classic blueberry and lemon flavor combination gets even better in this lemon-blueberry streusel pie. There’s a sweet-tart lemon layer topped with a blueberry crumble pie layer. It’s like having two desserts in one!
- Prep Time:
45 mins - Cook Time:
1 hr 10 mins - Total Time:
1 hr 55 mins *
* Plus chilling time.
Our favorite blueberry farmer is back at our farmers market so it’s time for my annual summer blueberry recipe. Last year was blueberry compote and ricotta pancakes, preceded the previous year by blueberry sorbet vanilla ice-cream swirl. This year, I’ve got lemon-blueberry streusel pie for you. It’s part blueberry crumble pie, part lemon curd pie, and all good.
The original recipe comes from King Arthur Baking and was featured in their layered pies article two years ago. Lemon and blueberry is always a favorite combination and having them as two distinct layers in a pie sounded really good. Though my husband really liked the original recipe, I agreed with many of the recipe commenters and felt the lemon layer was overall too strong and sweet. So, I adjusted the recipe to balance the lemon and blueberry flavors more to my liking and reduced the overall recipe to fit better into a 9-inch pie pan.
Tips for making lemon-blueberry streusel pie
- Give yourself plenty of time. This pie has many layers which makes it so delicious and beautiful but also makes it time consuming to put together.
To make things easier, you can make the pie crust and streusel topping a day ahead and store them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to start the whole pie making process.
- Use wax paper to roll out the dough. I like to roll out my pie crust between 2 pieces of wax paper to prevent sticking and for easier transfer to the pie pan.
Once the dough is rolled out, remove the top piece of wax paper and place the pie pan upside down in the center of the dough. Put one hand underneath the bottom sheet of wax paper and your other hand on top of the pie pan and then flip everything over at once.
Ease the dough into the pie pan, being sure to tuck the dough into the bottom edge of the pan then carefully remove the wax paper.
- Don’t skip the chilling steps. Chilling makes the pie dough much easier to handle when rolling out. And baking a chilled pie crust once it’s in the pan helps it hold its shape better when blind baking.
It’s also important to chill the pie thoroughly before slicing. Slicing the pie when it’s still warm will cause the blueberry and lemon layers to run together.
Lemon-Blueberry Streusel Pie
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes (plus chilling time)
- Yield: 1 (9-inch) pie 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
The classic blueberry and lemon flavor combination gets even better in this lemon-blueberry streusel pie. There’s a sweet-tart lemon layer topped with a blueberry crumble pie layer. It’s like having two desserts in one!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the crust
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons cake flour
- 4 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
- 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cold and cut into small cubes
- 4–5 tablespoons ice water
For the lemon filling
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 large eggs
For the streusel topping
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the blueberry filling
- 2 1/4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
For the crust
- Mix dry ingredients. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together all-purpose flour, cake flour, salt, and sugar.
- Cut in butter. Add the butter and shortening, and mix on low until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some roughly pea-size butter lumps.
- Add water. Drizzle 4 tablespoons ice water evenly over the mixture and mix on low until incorporated. Squeeze a small handful of dough together. If it doesn’t hold together, add more ice water, ½ tablespoon at a time, mixing until just incorporated, then test again.
- Gather together. Gather dough together into a ball, then flatten into a ½-inch thick disk. Wrap dough in plastic and chill, until firm, about 1 hour.
- Roll out. Have on hand a 9-inch pie pan that is at least 1 1/2-inches deep. Roll the chilled dough to 1/4-inch thick. Place the dough into the pie pan (see Notes). Gently press the dough into the bottom and side of the pan. Tuck under any excess dough around the top to reinforce the sides. Crimp the edges as desired.
- Chill. Chill the dough in the pie pan until firm, about 15 minutes.
- Prep oven. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Blind bake. Line the crust with parchment or foil and fill with pie weights. Place the pie pan on a baking sheet and bake until crust just barely starts to brown, 10-15 minutes. Remove baking sheet and pie pan from the oven and remove the lining and weights. Let cool slightly while making the lemon filling.
For the lemon filling
- Mix. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and cornstarch. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until evenly mixed.
- Pour. Pour lemon mixture into the warm pie crust.
- Bake. Return the pie pan (still on a baking sheet) to the oven and bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the filling is almost set. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool for 15-20 minutes while preparing the streusel topping and blueberry filling.
For the streusel topping
- Mix dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
- Add butter. Mix the melted butter and vanilla together and then pour over the flour mixture. Stir with a fork until the mixture is evenly mixed and crumbly. Set aside.
For the blueberry filling
- Mix. Place the blueberries in a 2-quart saucepan (if using fresh berries, rinse but don’t dry the berries first). Sprinkle the sugar, salt, and cornstarch over the berries and stir together until berries are evenly coated.
- Cook. Cook the blueberries over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the berries start to release their juices. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.
- Fill. Remove from the heat and gently spoon the blueberry filling over the lemon layer.
- Sprinkle. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the blueberry layer.
- Bake. Return the pie to the oven and bake on the center rack until the crumbs are lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Cool. Remove pie from the oven and let cool to room temperature, then chill thoroughly before slicing and serving.
Notes
- I like to roll out my pie crust between 2 pieces of wax paper to prevent sticking and for easier transfer to the pie pan. Once the dough is rolled out, remove the top piece of wax paper and place the pie pan upside down in the center of the dough. Put one hand underneath the bottom sheet of wax paper and your other hand on top of the pie pan and then flip everything over at once. Ease the dough into the pie pan, being sure to tuck the dough into the bottom edge of the pan then carefully remove the wax paper.
- Pie recipe adapted from King Arthur Baking.
- Crust recipe adapted from Bake and Freeze Desserts cookbook.
MLY says
Recently made this pie for a dinner party. Everyone loved it – I absolutely loved it! Added several big spoonfuls of premade lemon curd to the lemon pie filling. More lemon and yummy. Served with whipped cream. Thank you for a terrific dessert!
Nguyet Vo says
Oh yum! I’m so glad everyone loved it. Thanks for sharing!
Rebecca Helie says
Turned out great. One of the complaints in the reviews of the King Arthur version was that is was overly sweet. I’m glad I went with this version. No notes!
Nguyet Vo says
Hi Rebecca. I’m so glad this version worked great for you. Thank you for coming back to leave such a nice comment.