Mulberry Pie

Mulberries are such a special fruit and my fresh Mulberry Pie recipe lets them shine in all their seasonal glory. This easy pie has a luscious, purple mulberry filling with hints of lemon and vanilla all wrapped up in a buttery, flaky crust. Eat this pie warm with some vanilla bean ice cream for a delicious, old-fashioned treat.

Recipe Background and Details

We are so fortunate to have several native mulberry trees on our property here in rural North Eastern Virginia. One of the oldest and biggest mulberry trees fell down many years ago when I was young but the roots remained in the ground. To this day, that tree grows the biggest, most beautiful mulberries of them all. And the big bonus is that because it is growing horizontally, the berries are incredibly easy to pick!

It grows down near our old silo and it's such a magical place and my favorite spot on our land. Whenever I'm down there I feel like my dad is there with me. So from late-May through mid-June I find myself there most mornings and evenings picking these little jewels. This year (2024) Malcolm has been my little helper and fellow mulberry snacker. I often use his stroller as a place to stash berries when I forget to bring a bowl.

I have a few other mulberry recipes in the works, but to start it off I thought I'd finally share this good old-fashioned Mulberry Pie Recipe. I'd love to know if you have any favorite mulberry recipes! Until I get more mulberry-specific recipes posted, if you have an abundance of mulberries, use them in place of the berries or rhubarb in these recipes: Blackberry Ginger Scones, Wineberry Sorbet, Blueberry Streusel Muffins, Fresh Raspberry Lemonade, or Rhubarb Fool.

Ingredients for Mulberry Pie

I keep things pretty simple with my fruit desserts. I like to add a few little flavor enhancers but nothing that will overpower the fresh flavor of the fruit. Mulberries are very sweet when ripe and I like to balance that with a bit of lemon and a hint of vanilla. If you like a more old-fashioned spiced pie filling, feel free to add some cinnamon, cardamom, or your preferred spice.

ingredients for pie crust:

• all purpose flour
• sugar
• salt
• butter
• ice water
• vanilla extract

ingredients for mulberry pie filling:

• fresh mulberries - I have not tried this with frozen berries but I don't see why it wouldn't work. Just be sure to add plenty of cornstarch since frozen fruit will often release a lot more juices than fresh.
• brown sugar - I love the old-fashioned flavor of brown sugar and it pairs really well with the mulberries. You can use regular sugar if you prefer.
• lemon zest and juice - to balance the sweetness and help create that wonderful goo.
• vanilla extract - I love vanilla in most desserts and I feel like not enough fruit pie recipes include it. Of course it is optional but it really adds something special.
• cornstarch - to thicken the very juicy berries. You can use flour, tapioca, arrowroot, or your preferred thickener.
• butter - for dotting the top like my granny always did. This is not essential to the recipe but it's so lovely and old-fashioned and it adds a richness that is hard to beat.
• and for baking I like to brush the crust with a beaten egg and sprinkle with a little sugar, also like my granny always did.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions - How to Make Mulberry Pie

Make the Pie Crust:

Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until blended. Add butter and pulse a few times until the butter is about the size of small peas. Drizzle in the ice water and vanilla mixture while pulsing. Start with 4 tablespoons. If it is still quite dry add 1-2 more tablespoons.

When dough is evenly moist and holds together when pinched, dump onto work surface and gather into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.

Prepare the Mulberry Pie Filling:

Combine filling ingredients in a large bowl and stir well. Allow to sit while you roll out the crust and preheat the oven.

Roll dough into a roughly 12-inch circle. Don't worry if the edges aren't perfect. Drape the dough over your 9-inch pie pan and fit it into the bottom without stretching the dough. Add the filling and all of the goo that has accumulated. Dot the top with butter and fold the dough over the filling.

Brush dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar before baking in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until filling is bubbling. I like to tent mine with foil after about 25-30 minutes to prevent it from becoming too browned.

Substitutions and Variations

• Pie Crust: feel free to use a store bought crust to make this super easy. There are some great pre-made pie crusts these days and some are even gluten-free or vegan so feel free to take advantage of that!
• Styling the Crust: I am the first to admit I am not a fancy crust baker. I will not spend an hour latticing a pie crust or cutting out cute little pie decorations. I admire those who do but it's just not for me. I love to make my pies galette style because it's beautiful and it requires almost no patience. And there is hardly any waste. If you want to do a full top or a lattice crust, you should! But be sure to double this pie dough recipe.
• Mulberry Filling: Of course this is a mulberry pie, but if you want to mix it up substitute some of the mulberries for another fresh spring or summer berry, pitted sweet or tart cherries, rhubarb, etc. And yes, you can use frozen berries but you may want to add a touch more cornstarch to account for the extra juices.
• Flavorings: I love the lemon and vanilla combo here but feel free to shake things up with cinnamon, cardamom, lavender, different citrus like orange or lime. Use your imagination and have fun!
• Topping: I think a crumble topping would be amazing on this pie! Use the one from my Rhubarb Crumble Scones but maybe double it.

Storage

This mulberry pie is best stored at room temperature and eaten within 2 days. It can also be refrigerated for up to 5 days. The crust will not be as flaky after refrigeration and the bottom will become softer as the juices from the filling soak into it.

Cool Mulberry Facts

• There are male and female Mulberry trees. If a female tree is growing with no males nearby, the tree will make lots of fruit with either no seeds or unviable seeds (side note: the seeds of mulberries are very soft and almost undetectable - they don't get stuck in your teeth like raspberry and blackberry seeds!). A male tree will never fruit.
• Mulberry trees can change their sex and also the color of their berries! I have witnessed this firsthand. We have mostly black mulberries here but I noticed last year one of our trees' berries never seemed to ripen. Well what I soon realized was that the tree had begun producing white mulberries!
• The flowers of the white mulberry release their stamens at twice the speed of sound to catapult their pollen into the air.
• Mulberries are used in the productions of silk as Mulberry leaves are the sole source of nutrition for silk worms.

What do Mulberries Taste Like?

To me, cooked mulberries taste a lot like cooked blueberries. Mulberries are related to figs, so some people say they have a similar taste but I really don't think they do. For my mulberry recipes, I like when some of the mulberries are a tiny bit under-ripe as it adds a bit of tartness to the very sweet fruit.

What Flavors go Well with Mulberry?

Mulberries are very sweet when fully ripe so acidic and tart flavors such as lemon zest and lemon juice go very well with them. Other citrus such as lime or orange also complement mulberries very well. Tart ingredients like granny smith apples and rhubarb would pair well with mulberries in this mulberry pie or other mulberry recipes.

How to Remove Mulberry Stems (and do you need to?)

As you can see in these photos, I do not remove the stems from my mulberries. Mulberry stems are very tender and I've been eating them right off the trees my whole life. If you want to remove them, you can either slice them off with a sharp knife, or pull them through a fork like in this video. (Be prepared to have purple fingers for a day or two!).

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Mulberry Pie Recipe

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Mulberries are such a special fruit and my fresh Mulberry Pie recipe really lets them shine. This easy pie has a luscious, purple mulberry filling with hints of lemon and vanilla all wrapped up in a buttery, flaky crust. Eat this pie warm with some vanilla bean ice cream for a delicious, seasonal treat.

• Total Time: 1 hour plus chilling
• Yield: 1 9-inch pie

Ingredients

for the crust:

1.5 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

4 ounces unsalted butter, diced and frozen

2 ounces water 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

a few ice cubes

For the filling:

5-6 cups fresh mulberries, about 1.5-2 pounds

1 cup light brown sugar

¼ cup cornstarch (⅓ cup if you like your pie filling more firm or if you are using frozen fruit)

zest and juice of one lemon

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon butter, diced into very small pieces

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Instructions

1. Add vanilla to water and ice and set aside. Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until blended. Add butter and pulse a few times until the butter is about the size of small peas. Drizzle in the ice water and vanilla mixture while pulsing. Start with 4 tablespoons. If it is still quite dry add 1-2 more tablespoons.

2. When dough is evenly moist and holds together when pinched, dump onto work surface and gather into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.
3. When ready to bake the pie, preheat oven to 400 degrees with a baking stone, baking steel, or heavy baking tray inside. Combine filling ingredients in a large bowl and stir well. Allow to sit while you roll out the crust and preheat the oven.
4. Roll dough into a roughly 12-inch circle. Don't worry if the edges aren't perfect - you can trim them if desired. Drape the dough over your 9-inch pie pan and fit it into the bottom without stretching the dough. Add the filling and all of the goo that has accumulated. Dot the top with butter and fold the dough over the filling.

5. Brush dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar before baking on a parchment or foil lined tray in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until filling is bubbling. I like to tent mine with foil after about 25-30 minutes to prevent it from becoming too browned.
6. Allow pie to cool at room temp for as long as you'd like but 20-30 minutes is usually enough time to let the filling set up a bit but not so long that the pie will be cold. Warm pie with ice cream is one of life's greatest joys!

• Author: anita | wild thistle kitchen
• Prep Time: 20 minutes plus chilling
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Category: dessert, pie
• Method: baking
• Cuisine: American