Today, I’m going to show you how to make Snow White’s gooseberry pie!

Yes, the wind blows a little bit colder, and we’re all getting older, and the clouds are moving on with every autumn breeze. 

Wait, wrong movie, wrong princess. But Anna’s lyrics from Frozen 2 remind me of an undeniable fact … fall, the best season, is officially here.

What makes it the best, you ask? The food and drink!

I love strolling with a steaming apple cider, gathering for a turkey dinner with all the fixins’, and savoring the quintessential fall dessert, which of course, is pie. And who makes better pie than our O.G. princess, Snow White?

Snow White serving up Gooseberry Pie to the seven dwarfs! Image Courtesy of Disney

I decided to take a page out of Miss Snow’s recipe book and attempt her famous gooseberry pie. Read on to see how our pie turned out, and how you can make your own!

SILLY GOOSE(BERRIES)

We used cape gooseberries, also known as golden berries, for this recipe. Photo by Esther Vallins

Turns out, traditional gooseberries are harder to find than I thought. However, I did find cape gooseberries.

While Snow White’s pie had the little green berries that most think of when they imagine a gooseberry, cape gooseberries are little, plump, and orange (which gives off even more of a fall feel, so I considered that a bonus). 

Cape gooseberries, also known as golden berries, worked perfectly for this recipe.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Make sure your pantry is well-stocked with the usual pie staples; sugar, butter, and flour. I used this particular pie crust recipe from Simply Recipes, which additionally requires sour cream to create a mouth-watering, flaky crust.

For the pie filling, I used this recipe from Feast of Starlight. You’ll notice on her blog that there are also directions for a pie crust in the recipe, which you can certainly use. I’m just faithful to my flaky sour cream pie crust listed above. For this filling, you will need:

• 5 cups fresh cape gooseberries
• ½ cup granulated sugar (or to taste, add more if you like things on the sweeter side)
• The zest of one full lemon
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter.

I found as I was cooking this delightful mixture over the stove that it was slightly runny, so I thickened it with a teaspoon of flour and a touch of cornstarch.

Almost there, just needs the top crust! Photo by Esther Vallins

SOME DAY MY PIE WILL COME

I baked the bottom crust at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes first, to get it a bit golden before placing the filling in. 

When you do this, be sure to lightly pierce the bottom crust with a fork before putting it in the oven, and place a sheet of parchment paper over it, with either pie weights or dried beans, so the crust doesn’t bubble up while baking. 

Take the bottom crust out of the oven, but don’t turn off the oven yet … you still have to bake the rest of the pie!

Place your filling into the pre-baked bottom crust, and roll out the top pie crust. 

Place the top crust over your bottom crust and filling, decorate the edges however you like, and cut six light slits in the top of your pie, so that the steam can ventilate properly.

Beat an egg, and brush it over your top crust. I also sprinkled a bit of granulated sugar on top, after brushing the beaten egg over the top crust. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

THE RESULT… PIE-FECTION

Love at first bite! Photo by Esther Vallins

Wow. I now understand why the dwarfs were so eager for Snow White to stay when she said she could make gooseberry pies. 

This pie is divine. The gooseberries are tart, yet sweet at the same time, and the lemon zest brings out a zippy, lip-smacking flavor that compliments the berries perfectly.

Add in that flaky crust that melts in the mouth, and you’ve got yourself an amazing autumn dessert that will impress anyone, making you as renowned as Disney’s first Princess!

Piece out, cutie pies! Photo by Esther Vallins

I will definitely be making this pie again. In the words of Megara, another Disney heroine, “it’s been a real slice!”

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