Blackberry crumble: Maida's way

Maida and I hit the grocery store to procure ingredients for the "award-winning" blackberry pie in her book.

I let her lead.

This recipe caught my attention because for one, it calls for frozen fruit.

Now I know it's best to use fresh, but I need fruit I can rely on (taste-wise).

I need a constant. A sure thing.

The contest is in July. It's highly likely that fruit from all four categories are NOT going to be in season at the same time. I need ingredients I can count on for flavor and texture.

The recipe calls for a granny smith apple to add another flavor element,
but also to add pectin, a natural thickening agent.

This is an open-faced pie with a crumb topping made of dark brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and unsalted butter.

With the crumb top.

I also used Maida's pie crust recipe and I've gotta tell you. This dough was a beast to work with. I kept it as cold as possible and followed her instructions to the letter, but when I rolled it out and tried to transfer it to the pan, the whole thing crumbled to pieces in my hands.

(My husband came running when he heard me scream.)

So, I patched the dough back together as best I could.

Crust 911!

Baked it and, viola:

Finished product.

She sure won't be the prettiest girl at the party, but I hope she puts out (TASTE, people!).

I'm taking it to work today for my co-workers to help test.

Stay tuned for the results.