Junkberry Pie

Recipe from Royers Round Top Cafe

Adapted by Melissa Knific

Updated Oct. 31, 2024

Junkberry Pie
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
5½ hours
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour 20 minutes, plus 4 hours’ cooling
Rating
4(84)
Comments
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Underneath a firm, thick layer of sweet and tart cream lies a deep sea of berries, a combination known as “Junkberry” at Royers Round Top Cafe in Round Top, Texas. Husband and wife owners JB and Jamie Royer added the fruit pie to the menu in 2011 after Mr. Royer’s father’s 60th birthday, when the cafe’s baker at the time brought a pie with a similar topping to the party. That dessert inspired the junkberry version — a mix of berries, peaches and apple — which became one of the top sellers at the small town restaurant, located about 90 minutes east of Austin. Utilizing frozen berries and peaches makes this pie accessible year-round, but fresh fruit can be used in their places. Follow the cafe’s lead and serve it with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. —Melissa Knific

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Ingredients

Yield:1 (9-inch) pie

    For the Filling

    • 1Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
    • 1½cups frozen peaches
    • 1cup frozen blackberries
    • 1cup frozen blueberries
    • 1cup frozen strawberries
    • ½cup frozen raspberries
    • ¾cup/150 grams granulated sugar
    • 6tablespoons/45 grams all-purpose flour

    For the Topping

    • 1¼cups/250 grams granulated sugar
    • 1cup/120 grams all-purpose flour
    • 1cup/228 grams sour cream
    • ¼teaspoon salt

    For Assembly

    • 1(9-inch) single pie crust
    • 1large egg, beaten
    • Coarse sugar, for sprinkling
Ingredient Substitution Guide
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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium pot, combine apple, peaches, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, sugar and flour over medium heat. (Do not thaw the peaches or berries.) Bring to a boil, stirring often. The raspberries will start to break down, but the rest of the fruit will remain intact; this whole process takes 12 to 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and cool slightly.

  2. Step 2

    Adjust a rack to the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Make the topping: In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, sour cream and salt until thoroughly combined. This will take a few minutes and will look like a thick paste.

  3. Step 3

    On a lightly floured surface, with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the pie crust to a 13-inch round and fit it into a 9-inch pie plate. Tuck and pinch the overhang so that the crust rests on the top edge of the pie plate, then crimp. When the oven has come to temperature, pour the slightly cooled fruit mixture into the crust. Dollop the topping over the fruit and smooth it all the way to the edges of the crust.

  4. Step 4

    Brush the edges of the crust with the beaten egg. Sprinkle the crust and the topping with coarse sugar.

  5. Step 5

    The pie plate will be very full; place it on the prepared baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake until the topping is firm and the crust is golden, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and cool for at least 4 hours, then slice and serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5
84 user ratings
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Comments

MT

@Kathryn Major —At first, I also thought the photo and text were mismatched. But after re-reading the recipe and zooming in on the photo, I think they are correct. It is indeed a single- crust pie but the topping (apparently) bakes in such a way to mimic a top crust.

Kathryn Major

The pie in the picture looks delicious but is not the pie of the recipe - the recipe is for a one crust pie with a topping that sounds intriguing. Alas…

Read

Recipe calls for "1 cup/228 ounces sour cream". That would be remarkably dense sour cream.

Sally

A hit at today's work pie party to celebrate a wonderful colleague leaving. Thanks!

Julie

This was delicious though a bit too sweet for me. I think both the filling and the topping should use less sugar. Next time, I would probably use 1/2 c. for the filling and less than 1 c. for the topping. I also had some trouble with smoothing out the topping. I dolloped it in 5 large scoops throughout. First, I was unable to perfectly smooth the topping to the edges because smoothing it to the edge forced the filling out and over the rim of the crust so I backed off from smoothing it all the way to the edge. This left a kind of “moat” of filling around the topping, which was concentrated in the middle of the pie. Predictably, the filling bubbled out of the pie during baking, creating a mess. Second, the topping immediately began to sink into the filling, making it hard to smooth out. Third, once baked, the result is that the topping expanded as it cooked, creating really thick parts of topping and a thin layer of filling, such that some slices had very little filling and a lot of topping. I would like to make this pie again but in the future, I think putting smaller dollops of topping on and placing them at the edges of the pie and smoothing those dollops toward the center of the pie, would work best.

Will

Can this pie be made with different fruits?

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