Finnish Bilberry Pie – A Traditional Nordic Dessert You Need to Try
Bilberry pie’s flavor is pure and uncomplicated. Picking bilberries in the forest is like a spiritual return to an era when humans survived by hunting and gathering—both meditative and deeply satisfying. And after the foraging is done, the reward of a homemade bilberry pie tastes nothing short of heavenly.
Article by: Sanna Eeva, photos: Jonna Saari
Would you like to go bilberry picking with us? When the time is right, we can take you and your friends into the forest to gather fresh berries. As you pick, our guide will share fascinating stories about Finnish nature and traditions, ensuring you can enjoy the experience without any worries about getting lost. Relaxing by the bonfre before returning to civilization is a perfect way to end your trip in the woods.
Bilberry Pie Recipe: Baking the Finnish Bilberry Pie!
Shortcrust Pastry Base
(You can also use a store-bought frozen shortcrust pastry.)
- 100 g butter
- 1 dl (½ cup) sugar
- 1 egg
- 2.5 dl (1 cup) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
Filling
- 300 g (2½ cups) wild bilberries
- 200 g (¾ cup) sour cream
- 0.75 dl (⅓ cup) sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar
- 1 egg
Preparing the Crust
- Beat sugar and soft butter until fluffy.
- Add egg and continue beating.
- Mix baking powder with flour and fold into the egg mixture.
- Press the dough into a 28 cm (11-inch) pie dish.
If desired, pre-bake the crust at 200°C (400°F) for 10 minutes. This helps prevent excess moisture if your bilberries are particularly juicy. If using thawed frozen bilberries, you can also toss them with 1 tbsp potato starch before adding them to the filling. However, pre-baking is optional.
Preparing the Filling
- Sprinkle bilberries evenly over the crust.
- In a bowl, mix sugar, sour cream, and egg. Flavor with vanilla sugar.
- Pour the sour cream mixture over the bilberries.
Baking and Serving
- Bake on the lower rack of the oven at 200°C (400°F) for about 30 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.
- Let the pie cool before serving.
- Enjoy as is or with vanilla ice cream.
The recipe for bilberry pie can be endlessly customized, and there is no single “correct” or most traditional way to make it. However, one useful trick is worth mentioning: if using frozen bilberries, it’s a good idea to coat them lightly in potato starch before baking. This helps absorb excess moisture without altering the flavor, preventing the pie from becoming too soggy or runny during baking.
What to Serve with Bilberry Pie?
Bilberry pie is often enjoyed with something vanilla-flavored, such as vanilla sauce. A scoop of vanilla ice cream also pairs beautifully, melting gently beside a warm slice of pie.
What Is the Best Crust for Bilberry Pie?
A longstanding debate surrounding bilberry pie is which type of crust it should be made with: a shortcrust pastry base or a sweet yeast dough base.
A simple shortcrust pastry, made by crumbling together butter, flour, and sugar, has been featured in cookbooks as early as the 18th century. Meanwhile, the tradition of baking sweet yeast dough in Finland dates back at least to the 19th century, making it nearly impossible to determine which type of crust was originally used for bilberry pie.
In 2017, the Finnish brand Myllyn Paras conducted a public vote, in which 62% of Finns declared shortcrust pastry to be the “true” bilberry pie base, leaving the sweet yeast dough base in second place.
How Is Bilberry Different from Blueberry?
If you’ve only tasted cultivated blueberries, wild bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus) may surprise you. They are much smaller, darker, and more intensely flavored than their store-bought counterparts.
Bilberries grow wild in Nordic forests, with thin, deep blue skin and dark purple flesh—unlike blueberries, which are larger, firmer, and pale inside. Their high anthocyanin content gives them a rich color and strong antioxidant properties, making them more vibrant and flavorful.
Taste-wise, bilberries are tangier and more aromatic than the mild, sweet cultivated blueberry. When baked into a pie, they release their deep purple juices, creating a rich, slightly tart flavor far more intense than that of a typical blueberry pie. If you’ve never tried bilberries, you’re in for a completely new and delicious experience.
Fun fact! In Finnish, the berry is called mustikka, a name derived from the word musta, meaning “black,” referring to its dark color. The berry’s surface is usually covered with a bluish waxy coating, but some bilberries lack this layer and appear glossy black.
When Is Bilberry Season in Finland?
The berry season in Finland is concentrated in late summer, from July to September. As the berry harvest reaches its peak, Finnish homes are filled with the aroma of freshly baked bilberry pie, a beloved national classic made using a variety of recipes. After lingonberries, bilberries are the second most important commercially harvested wild berries in Finland, and bilberry pie is enjoyed both as an everyday treat and as a highlight of festive tables.
The History of Bilberry Pie
The exact history of bilberry pie remains somewhat obscure. Traditionally, bilberries were used less frequently than lingonberries, which were preserved for winter consumption as early as the 19th century. Superstition may have played a role in the slower rise of bilberries in popularity—legend has it that the dark-hued forest gem acquired its deep color from a snake’s lick. However, it is quite likely that bilberry pie first emerged in the kitchens of Karelian homemakers. In fact, bilberry pie is the designated local specialty of Suomenniemi, a parish in South Karelia, and Karelia is often said to be home to Finland’s true masters of pie-making.
Traditional Finnish Bilberry Dishes
Bilberries have been used in pie-like dishes such as the Häme region’s mustikkapöperö (“blueberry mash”) and Karelia’s mustikkamöllö (“blueberry mush”). In these traditional preparations, bilberries are mixed with either roasted barley flour in Häme or rye flour in Karelia and enjoyed uncooked.
Another similar bilberry delicacy is the Savo region’s mustikkakukko, also known as rättänä, which can be considered a close relative of bilberry pie.
During wartime and post-war Finland (approximately 1939–1954), when ingredients were scarce, bilberry pie was baked using a dough made from boiled potatoes, water, and wheat flour. In its earliest forms, bilberry pie consisted simply of flour, berries, and water—basic ingredients that gradually evolved into the sweet treat enjoyed today.
A beloved childhood treat for many Finns is mustikkamaito, or bilberry milk. Simply pour fresh bilberries into a glass, fill it up with cold, refreshing milk—and that’s it!
More Than Just a Dessert
The deep connection between bilberry pie and Finnish culture stems from the nation’s uncomplicated relationship with nature. At some point in their lives, many Finns have picked bilberries—sometimes willingly, sometimes less so. For some, it brings back memories of school berry-picking trips, where students gathered bilberries either for the school kitchen or, in more recent times, simply to take home for themselves.
Would you like to go bilberry picking with us? When the time is right, we can take you and your friends into the forest to gather fresh berries. As you pick, our guide will share fascinating stories about Finnish nature and traditions, ensuring you can enjoy the experience without any worries about getting lost. Relaxing by the bonfre before returning to civilization is a perfect way to end your trip in the woods.
Read also
March, March to the Bilberry Bushes! The Finnish Forest Now Calls Us to Its Sweet Natural Delights
These are 8 delicious berries that Finns pop into their mouths in the wild, and you can do the same
A Guide for Nature Enthusiasts: 10+1 Must-Try Experiences for Exploring Finnish Nature
Wild berries of the north are real superfood
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