Happy almost Swedish midsummer! This time last year we were actually in Sweden - staying just out of Stockholm with some good friends of ours. This meant that we were there for midsummer, which was so fun. And so, so rowdy. Shots at lunch time? Yes please. Our friends have an amazing holiday home on the archipelago, and we made a maypole down by the water. I think the day ended with sabering a bottle of champagne using the scoop of the digger. Great fun.

Summer is well and truly here, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate than with Pie (which is my default celebration dessert). I have been wanting to try an earl grey pie crust for a while now, as I firmly believe that if you can infuse it, you can earl grey it. Add it to everything. Name your cat after it. I wanted to keep the tea taste fairly subtle, so I subbed ice water for cold earl grey tea in the crust, and added a little ground tea too. It made the pastry a lovely brown colour, which was delicately scented with the flavour of the tea. I kept it simple with a blueberry filling, which also had some bergamot extract in it to help accentuate the earl grey flavour.

I went for an easy cut-out top - I just rolled out the top crust, cut some holes in it with a small flower shaped cutter, then placed it over the filling and folded the edges over. Super simple, yet super effective.

This post is done in conjunction with a bunch of other bloggers - Organised by the lovely Saghar of Lab Noon, as part of the #virtualmidsummerpotluck4peace blog party. The idea is that we all bring something to a virtual picnic from our cultural background. I was originally going to make a pavlova, but my oven and I don't have the best track record with anything remotely meringue based, so I'm still working on that. I grew up on berry based desserts, and earl grey, so what is better than combining the two! I have listed all of the other bloggers participating at the end of this post.

Things are a little weird and shitty at the moment in the world, and it's more important than ever that we stand as a united front. We have to stand in each other's corners. We are all humans, regardless of what situation, country, race or religion we were born into. Love is most important. That's all there is to it.

A few wee notes:

The overnight rest on the pastry is more important than usual - you want the earl grey flavour to develop
Bergamot extract is totally optional, but if you are a die hard earl grey fan like me I highly recommend - it elevates the flavour so nicely, and a little goes a long way
If the dough gets too warm at any point just pop it back in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to harden up - I made this on a super hot day so did it in stages

Made this recipe and love it?

If you made this recipe then I would LOVE for you to leave me a review below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram if you make it!

A note on salt and oven temperature

It is important to note the type of salt that is called for in a recipe. I use Diamond Crystal salt throughout my recipes - if you use a different sort of kosher salt or regular table salt you will need to adjust accordingly as some salt is 'saltier' than others. Morton's salt is twice as salty, so you will need half the quantity. Same goes for a regular table salt. I am working to get gram measurements throughout my recipes for salt but still getting there.

All oven temperatures are conventional unless otherwise stated. If you are baking on fan / convection, you will need to adjust the temperature. An oven thermometer is a great investment to ensure that your oven is the correct temperature.

Using the double / triple function in the recipe card

You will notice that there is a '1X' '2X' '3X' button in my recipe card. This can be used for doubling or tripling a recipe. However, please note that this only doubles the ingredient quantities in the ingredients list and NOT in the method. If there are quantities or pan sizes in the method of the recipe (for example weigh out 150g brown butter), you will need to scale this number manually. It will also not change the baking time in the recipe so you will need to adjust this yourself too. It is always a good idea to read through a recipe fully before doubling it just to check this. If you would like to scale this recipe or convert for another pan size, use my calculator!

Tools and equipment

For a list of my go-to tools and equipment, I have a post you can refer to here.

Why is this recipe in grams?

I post my recipes in grams as it is the most accurate way to bake. Cups are not only inaccurate but they vary in volume worldwide. There is no way for me to provide one cup measure that works for everyone. However, posting in weight fixes this issue. If you would like the recipe in cups you are welcome to convert it yourself via google, but please do not ask me to do it for you as I am not comfortable providing a recipe using a method that I have not tested. Baking with a scale is easy, accurate, and also makes cleanup super simple. Here is the scale that I use if you would like a recommendation! Here's to accurate baking!