Grandma's Design

BILBERRY RYE PIE

GRANDMA

Milja

COUNTRY

Finland

ORIGIN

Joroinen

INGREDIENTS

Pastry:

150 g butter
½ dl sugar
3 dl rye flour
½ teaspoon baking soda

Filling:

1-1½ l bilberries (depending on the size of the pie dish)
1 tbsp potato flour
1-1½ dl jam sugar/sugar

HISTORY

Mustikkakukko belongs to the culinary tradition of the South and North Savo regions of Eastern Finland. Using rye flour and a baked filling inside the crust (the kukko pastry) is typical of the regions’ baking tradition. A savoury version of the dish, kalakukko, is widely known and was granted TSG status in 2002.Sweet mustikkakukko is based on ingredients once gathered from local fields and forests. Wheat flour is now also used. Finns still pick bilberries during the season, from July to September. This traditional delicacy has now spread throughout Finland.To make it, the dish is lined with dough, and the bilberry filling is added and covered with the top crust. Mustikkakukko is usually served warm with whipped cream, vanilla sauce or ice cream, as a dessert or with coffee.

More Minus

HOW TO

Beat the soft butter and sugar. Add baking soda into the rye flour. Add the flour-soda mixture into the butter-sugar mixture. Set aside about 1/3 of the pastry for the lid of the pie. Use the rest (about 2/3) of the pastry to cover the pie dish. Mix the ingredients for the filling and put into the pie dish. Roll the remaining pastry into a lid on top of the blueberries.Bake for 1-1½ hours in a preheated oven (180 °C).Let the pie cool a while, and serve with vanilla ice cream or vanilla sauce. In winter, instead of fresh bilberries, use frozen bilberries. In this case the cooking time should be longer.