Baking with Coconut Oil: Gooseberry Pie

July 12, 2011

Gooseberries are one of those fruits that we always had growing in our backyard, but that no one else outside our family seemed to know anything about it. To me it seemed that gooseberries to others were like currants to me. They knew of them, but had never had the opportunity to experience them.

It didn’t really hit me how unpopular gooseberries were in our area until I came across them in Brazil. Not the fruit, though, the flavor. We started seeing groselha flavored popsicles and juices. There was even a groselha beer, also a bit of a girlie beer, where they put a shot of groselha syrup in the mug.

Thanks to my trusty translating book I quickly learned that groselha was gooseberry and it was something I’d known most of my life.

My parent’s gooseberry bushes are the red variety and when I was visiting recently I brought a small container back with me. A gooseberry is difficult to describe. Its flavor isn’t very distinct to me, just sweet. The skin and flesh are like that of a commercial grape, but the seeds inside are more like a blueberry. They are very difficult to pick due to the large thorns, but with gloves we managed to get a container full. Taking my mom’s advice we mixed both the purple/red and the ones that were still a little green.

Having the gooseberries to use up gave me an opportunity to try out a new pie crust. I’d wanted to try to make one with only virgin coconut oil for a while. Given the season and that my oil is in the fridge right now to prevent it from being a liquid, using it for the pie was quite the task.

I set the jar in warm water until it softened just a bit and then I had to do some serious digging to get it out and at the right texture. I wanted it to be firm enough to cut, but somewhat soft like butter. After a lot of work, I finely got it the way I wanted it and got working on my pie.

I had planned to make the pie all gooseberry, but I had just a few blackberries and raspberries that were threatening to go bad so I threw those in as well. I knew the berries would be good so the real test was the pie crust.

I’m going to go ahead and claim success. We really liked it. It was nice and flakey with that mild sweetness you get from coconut oil. Any combination of flours would work. I just happened to have white whole wheat and buckwheat around so I gave them a try. This crust is a nice break from an all butter version. It makes for a hearty, whole grain pie.

Gooseberry Pie with a Coconut Oil Crust

Crust: (enough for a 9-inch, two-crust pie)

2 cups white whole wheat flour
½ cup buckwheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup virgin coconut oil, cubed (about the texture of cold butter)
½ cup cold water

Filling:

3 ½ cups gooseberries (or any mixture of berries)
¼ cup raw sugar
1 ½ tbsp white whole wheat flour
1 tsp vanilla

In a bowl, mix the flours and salt. Add the semi-solid coconut oil and blend with a pastry blender until the oil is incorporated with pea-sized pieces.

Slowly add the water a little at a time and mix by hand until a dough is formed. Divide into two equal parts, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Remove from the fridge and roll out between two pieces of plastic wrap to the appropriate size for your pie pan.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a bowl, combine the berries and toss with the flour and sugar until all the fruit is well coated. Stir in the vanilla.

Place the bottom crust in your pie pan and prick gently with a fork. Add the berry mixture. Cover with the top crust and cut slits in the top for baking. Sprinkle the top with about a teaspoon of raw sugar if desired.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. The crust should begin to brown and be firm and the berries should be bubbly. Remove, let sit for about 10 minutes and serve or allow to cool to room temperature. Serves 8.

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This post is a bit of a two-part because I have another fun recipe to share with you. My friend Jada, who is going on 10, developed a newfound interest in all things Abraham Lincoln this past school year. So this summer, Jada did a great presentation all about his life and included Abe Lincoln’s favorite cake. She consulted me, the food blogger, to find out if I thought the recipe was as good as she did. Oh, yes it is.

Jada made the cake with her family this week and her mom brought me some to work. I promised to photograph it and share this beautiful, and mighty tasty, cake with you. So here you go, and if you are interested in the recipe, quite a few bloggers have featured it. Obama Foodorama and Frugal Housekeeping are two of them. Thanks, Jada!

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  • simplynutritiouskate July 12, 2011 at 6:47 pm

    I havent tried gooseberries yet but they look delicious, I love how rustic this pie is!

  • Rona Roberts July 12, 2011 at 8:01 pm

    Gooseberry pie is a personal favorite. Thank you for letting people know how good it is. I’m glad to know about the coconut oil option for pie crusts, too.

  • TasteHongKong July 12, 2011 at 9:18 pm

    I have read with interests your words on gooseberry. Learned more from you than merely gooseberry jam : ).
    Just wonder if we need to seed the gooseberries for baking?!

  • lesley lifting life July 12, 2011 at 9:20 pm

    I love baking with coconut oil. your pie looks delicious!

  • Marianne (frenchfriestoflaxseeds) July 12, 2011 at 11:17 pm

    I could totally go for a pie made with coconut oil instead of butter – I’m sure it adds such a nice, subtle coconut aroma.

  • sangeeta July 12, 2011 at 11:30 pm

    These are such different berries than anything have seen. The Indian gooseberries are so different in size and taste too.

    The pie is actually all health. Buckwheat makes it rally good.

  • Viv July 13, 2011 at 2:15 am

    this is the first time i’ve seen gooseberry – def look like grapes! (even better the seeds are tiny like blueberries!)
    i cant wait to try your crust using coconut oil…ive recently made a crust using just olive oil and turned out great so im sure this would be just as delicious!

  • Allison July 13, 2011 at 9:18 am

    I’d never seen a gooseberry before this post either! The pie looks delicious. Where would I get my hands on gooseberries to give it a try??

  • kat July 13, 2011 at 10:08 am

    Gooseberries are very big in MN, we even have a waterfall named Gooseberry. I like the idea of that heartier crust with blueberries too

  • Deb in Hawaii July 14, 2011 at 1:42 am

    Your pie looks delicious. We don’t see a lot of gooseberries around here so I am envious. I love how flaky your crust looks. 😉

  • Lori July 14, 2011 at 7:15 pm

    kate – Thanks! They are a good, but different fruit.

    Rona – Wish I would have known, I would have shared. 😉

    TasteHongKong – No need to seed them. The seeds are small and edible similar to a blueberry or kiwi, or even a dragon fruit.

    Lesley – Me too!

    Marianne – It does. I love baking with it in just about everything.

    sangeeta – I never saw fresh in Brazil, but the photos I saw were very different there as well. More red/pink and not purple like the one’s we have always grown.

    Viv – Oh, I definitley need to try olive oil now!

    Allison – It depends on where you are located. The grow in central Ky and southern IN in the US, but they are still rare. I never see them for sale. Maybe check localharvest.org for some growers.

    kat – Oh, blueberries would be great with it!

    Deb – Thanks!

  • Peggy July 15, 2011 at 6:38 am

    I’ve never had gooseberries before and now I’m really intrigued! Might have to be on the lookout for them =)

  • Mindy July 15, 2011 at 9:32 am

    I just tried gooseberries for the first time on my trip to Europe this summer! They were so-so in my opinion, but I bet they’d be tastier in something like a pie than just plain.

  • Michelle @ Find Your Balance July 15, 2011 at 10:25 am

    Very interesting and experimental all the way around! Berries, coconut oil, flours…nice work 🙂

  • chopinandmysaucepan July 15, 2011 at 10:54 pm

    The gooseberries looks beautiful and what a wonderful pie they make!

  • Daily Spud July 17, 2011 at 9:50 am

    Like you, gooseberries were something that my parents always had in the garden when I was growing up – I spent many summers picking them and avoiding the thorns! Ours weren’t the red variety but the ones that just stayed green and fairly tart, and I’d describe their taste as similar to kiwifruit (which I guess is why kiwifruit are also called Chinese gooseberry). I was excited to find some for sale this week and am planning on turning them into a gooseberry crumble this evening, though your post has me wondering if I shouldn’t make pie instead 🙂

  • Joanne July 18, 2011 at 4:45 am

    I’ve never even seen a gooseberry before! Now I feel kind of deprived.

    This pie is gorgeous. It set up perfectly and that crust sounds delicious!

  • Shannon Marie July 19, 2011 at 4:02 am

    Looks delicious! It’s difficult to get a pie’s filling consistency right. Mine oftentimes run and get the crust soggy. I’ve never had gooseberries in a pie so I’ll be trying this soon!

  • Juliana July 20, 2011 at 11:27 am

    Lori, I never seeing gooseberries…so interesting! And i love the idea of baking with coconut oil a I just got introduced to it.
    The pie looks delicious, I’d love to try it.
    Hope you are having a fantastic week 🙂

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