A rustic Finnish blueberry pie built on a soft, cookie-like pressed crumb base and filled with wild bilberries under a tangy sweetened custard of quark (rahka) or sour cream. It is a cafe staple all summer, best made with the small, deeply colored forest berries native to Finland.
Mustikkapiirakka is the Finnish summer berry pie, made with wild bilberries (mustikka) foraged freely from the forest floor under everyman's right. Darker-fleshed and more intense than the cultivated blueberry, they bake into a tart, deep-purple pie that tastes of the Finnish woods in season. Every household has its own recipe, the base ranging from a sweet pressed crumb dough to a more rustic rye crust.
A tender, buttery crust cradles juicy bilberries that burst into sweet-tart purple pools. The quark or sour-cream custard sets soft and creamy, balancing the fruit with gentle tang. Warm or cold, it tastes of short Nordic summers and forest foraging.
The pressed butter-rich dough bakes into a soft, crumbly base rather than a flaky pastry, holding the juicy berries. Eggs in the quark or sour cream set the filling into a tender custard, while the dairy's acidity balances the berries' sweetness.
Variations
Made with lingonberries or mixed berries, on a rye-flour crust, as small tarts, with a crumble topping
On the Palate
Where Mustikkapiirakka (Finnish Blueberry Pie) sits in the Finnish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8
How it's made
7 steps · 25 min
- 15 min
Beat softened butter with sugar until creamy, then beat in an egg.
- 25 min
Stir in flour and baking powder to form a soft, slightly sticky dough.
Watch outStop mixing once it just comes together into a soft, slightly tacky dough — work it more and the base bakes up tough instead of crumbly.
- 36 min
Press the dough evenly over the base and up the sides of a greased pie pan.
- 43 min
Scatter the bilberries over the dough base in an even layer.
- 54 min
Whisk together sour cream, sugar, an egg, and a little vanilla for the filling.
- 62 min
Pour the sour-cream mixture evenly over the berries.
- 735 min
Bake until the filling is just set and the crust edges are lightly golden, then cool before slicing.
Watch outPull it when the centre is just set with only a faint wobble and the crust edge is pale gold — bake it dry and the custard cracks and goes rubbery.
