Whether you’re making a double-crust fruit pie like apple pie, cherry pie, strawberry rhubarb pie, caramel pear pie, peach pie, or blueberry pie; or a single-crust cream pie like pumpkin pie, banana cream pie, fudge brownie pie, coconut cream pie, lemon meringue pie, French silk pie, or even quiche, learning these easy crust-shaping techniques is essential for baking a homemade pie you’ll be proud to present. Now you can make big batches of pies in advance and pop them straight into your freezer. They can then be defrosted at a moment's notice, whether that’s for an upcoming party or simply to satisfy any late-night pie cravings you might suddenly have. See my tutorial on pie crust for tips on how to roll out pie crust. Rolling the dough into a 12-inch circle is just the right size for fitting into a 9-inch pie dish. Cooking just for yourself most nights? Or perhaps you want to create a restaurant-style dining experience from the comfort of your own home? Individual pie dishes are the way to go. A little leftover pie is a wonderful thing, but storing the leftovers can be a bit of a challenge, particularly if you’ve made a pie with a tall and fluffy meringue top. This pie plate solves the storage problem neatly with a plastic snap-on lid that will keep the pie safe until the last crumb is gone. The lid has vent holes to release heat in case you have to cover your pie while it's still warm—reducing moisture build-up that could make the crust soggy.

Crimping: To crimp the edges of the pie, you just need a regular fork. Place your index finger on top of the fork, and press the tines down into the edges of the crust, continuing all the way around the pie crust. You don’t need any special tools (though I’m not sure a fork really counts as a special tool, LOL), just your hands. Actually, you only need 3 fingers! Abigail Abesamis Demarest is a freelance writer, editor, and former New Yorker based in sunny Panama City Beach, Florida.She still loves her Emile Henry Ruffled Pie Dish. After you fit the pie dough into the pie dish, you can trim the excess pie dough overhang. I like to keep around 1.5 inches of dough overhanging. Now you can do this before or after you add your pie filling; it really doesn’t make a difference. I use either a knife or kitchen shears for this step.Donna Currie has written for The Spruce Eats since 2016. A seasoned recipe writer and gadget tester, she also wrote the cookbook Make Ahead Bread. Yes, you can use a pie pan to bake a cake, but you should be aware that pie pans typically have angled sides and cake pans have straight sides. Because of this difference, if you're making a layered cake, the edges of the cake will be harder to frost. The cakes can be trimmed to get rid of the angled edges but may still be difficult to frost. Generally, cake pans should be used for baking cakes, but in a pinch, a pie pan will do if you aren't interested in how good the final product looks. I especially love fluting the edges of a one-crust pie, like a coconut cream pie or a quiche, because it’s a way to add a little flair without a top crust design.

Any special features that set the pan apart, including handles, lids, size, transparency, or aesthetic design. We baked both a delicate coconut cream pie and a hearty apple pie in this dish, and were impressed with the results of both pies. We immediately noticed that the tight fluting around the edge makes a great guide for a consistent finger-crimped pie crust. The coconut cream pie released cleanly and evenly from the plate in perfect slices, while both the top and bottom crusts of the apple pie cooked all the way through. Available in three colors, the retro design plays up the nostalgic feeling of a fresh-baked pie straight out of your grandma’s oven—which is really half the point of a comforting homemade pie in the first place. And if taken care of, it's likely that this pie dish might last generations and actually be someone's grandmother's pie dish one day.Crimping the edges is great for pies that have a top crust and a juicy filling, such as blueberry pie. It’s also how we seal the edges of hand pies, like these chocolate hand pies and apple hand pies. I use this method again for tightening up the edges of butternut squash tart, and for these homemade turnovers. This is my favorite blueberry pie recipe, and what I show in the video tutorial below.