When a friend brings mulberries from their laden tree, only delicious things can come of it. Straight into the freezer they went, which is where all good juicy mulberry ideas go to fortify themselves.

Mulberry kombucha, mulberry jam, mulberry cake, mulberry pie… All finger staining contenders that need just a little prompt to be lured out.

So when your ten year old gets home from having had appendicitis, followed by his appendix removed, well that seems like a good enough reason as any.

Goodbye appendix, and hello mulberry pie.

Mulberry Pie

150 cold cubed butter

50g caster sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla

grated rind of a lemon

300g plain flour

1 tbls cold water

2 dessert spoons extra raw sugar

Pulse butter, sugar, vanilla, egg yolk, and plain flour in a blender until it looks like bread crumbs. Turn pastry crumbs out to a clean lightly floured bench top, add cold water and knead mixture until it forms a smooth dough. (Don’t over work it.)

Roll pastry roughly between two sheets of baking paper, and let it rest in the fridge for about half an hour. Getting it out a little further, until about .5cm (or a little thicker if you like it like that).

Grease your pie dish with a little butter, carefully laying down pastry. Add fresh mulberries, and sprinkle a couple of dessert spoons of extra raw sugar over the top.

Add extra pastry pieces to decorate if you feel like it and bake at 180C for approximately 40-45mins or until light golden.

Eat with enthusiasm.