Saturday I attended a baking class at King Arthur Flour given by Joy The Baker. It is the second class of Joy’s that I have attended there and it was so much fun. The two recipes we made were to highlight the bounty of berries that June in Vermont brings.

This luscious Strawberry Lemon Ginger Pie was one of the recipes. A flaky buttermilk crust holds a sweet strawberry filling laced with whole slices of lemon and a generous dose of fresh ginger.

And can I tell you something amazing that happened at the class? I said hello to my baking work bench neighbor and immediately realized that I knew her from somewhere. The beautiful blue eyes, fun laugh and familiar voice….Yet, she had a surname that I did not recognize and lived in Rhode Island although Boston and Vermont are the only New England states I have resided in.

Less than a minute after I told her I knew her somehow, she turned to me and said my maiden name. And that she remembered me, too, from when we both worked in the burn unit at Mass General Hospital. Almost 30 years ago!! And she reminded me that she was cousins with another of my good friends from MGH. It all came flooding back and made the class that much more fun. If I had been sitting anywhere else in the baking studio chances are good that we never would have connected.

What a world!

Strawberry Lemon Ginger Pie

Ingredients for the crust:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup cold buttermilk

Ingredients for the filling:

1 1/2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 lemon, very thinly sliced
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 large egg, beaten for egg wash

Directions:

1. To make the crust, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and, using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture.

2. Create a well in the crumbled butter mixture and pour in the cold buttermilk and egg yolk. Use a fork to bring the dough together.

3. Turn dough mixture onto a lightly floured work surface and gently knead. Divide the dough in half and wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

4. To make the filling, in a medium bowl toss together strawberries, lemon slices, ginger, sugars, cornstarch, salt, nutmeg and lemon juice. Toss until all of the cornstarch is absorbed then let rest for 10 minutes.

5. To assemble the pie, on a well-floured surface, roll the bottom crust 1/8 inch thick and about 12 inches in diameter. Transfer to a pie pan. Trim the edge almost even with the edge of the pan.

6. Spoon filling into piecrust.

7. Roll out the top crust and use a pizza slicer to slice the dough into 1-inch wide strips. Weave the crust strips on top of the pie.

8. Preheat oven to 400℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

9. Brush the egg wash over pie crust.

10. Place pie on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°F. Bake the pie for 30 minutes longer, or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.

Serves 8

Recipe from Joy the Baker

Time to sing along with this toe tapper, a new track from the new album from Manwomanchild. It’s retro and fun.

Check out Manwomanchild on the band’s Website where you can buy their music.

Cheers!