I am not a summer person. I do not appreciate the heat except when I’m lying on a beach or am in the swimming pool. I don’t like feeling hot and bothered. But what I do like about summer is the abundance of summer fruit that just begs to be used. Berries, peaches, watermelons and mangoes are a regular in our household during the warmer months and this is what I miss most about summer during winter. So to celebrate summer fruit, I’ve decided to develop a few recipes making them the star of the show. Yesterday I decided to turn the berries in my fridge into a beautiful berry lattice pie and topped it with a very pretty (although quite rustic-looking) lattice pastry top. Now listen, you are not allowed to judge how wonky my lattice-top looks. This was the first time I ever attempted this kind of fancy pastry-work and even though I got the gist of it, the execution could’ve been a bit better. It also didn’t help that I made a very short shortcrust pastry which was pretty much just butter with a little flour folded in. Note to self: don’t up the amount of butter in your fool-proof shortcrust recipe. But even though the pastry was a serious bitch to work with, this pie came out quite beautiful. A bit rough around the edges but we all are, no? (for a great lattice-top tutorial, visit The Kitchn) And let’s face it, when it comes to food, the prettiness only lasts so long. As soon as you take that first bite, the only thing that matters is how it tastes and this berry lattice pie tastes mighty good. The berry filling is just the right amount of tart and sweet which is just delicious with the buttery pastry. I served the pie with double thick cream which my guests dolloped onto their slices and finished it off with a dusting of icing sugar. It made for a lovely end to our meal and I can tell you, it tastes pretty good for breakfast the next day too.
