They say that beauty is in the pie of the beholder. As someone who has spied many pies, I will be the first to say that nothing beats homemade. My mum was a great dessert maker. I don't know how she did it, but at the end of (almost) every meal, there would be some delicious sweet treat plonked on the table to shove down my pie hole much to my delight - and my dentist's horror.

This mixed berry pie is a comforting classic, not made to be fancy, but to be quick, easy and - most importantly - tasty. Serve with a generous scoop of ice cream to get that food coma going!

Step 1: Prep Your Ingredients

You will need:

1 cup (225g) plain flour + extra for dusting surface

1/2 cup (110g) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes

Cold water

500g frozen mixed berries

3/4 cup (170g) sugar

1/4 cup (40g) cornflour

1 egg

Equipment:

Mixing bowl x2

Sieve

Knife

Rolling pin

Pie dish (or appropriate substitute), approx 20cm diameter

Pastry brush

Step 2: Start the Pastry

Preheat your oven to 190 fan/170 electric/gas mark 5.

To make your pastry, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter. Using your fingertips, rub the butter and the flour together.

It's really important to keep your pastry as cool as possible, so don't manhandle it. Use a light touch from your fingertips to mix.

Step 3: Add Water to Pastry

When your flour and butter mixture resemble breadcrumbs, start adding the cold water.

I like to use a spoon to do this; it stops me getting carried away and adding too much - this makes the pastry too wet (did someone say soggy bottom?!).

Step 4: Finishing the Pastry

Your pastry will be sticky at first. Keep on adding water until it comes together to form a nice, tidy ball. Then, wrap it in cling film and put in the fridge for 30 mins.

Step 5: Prepare the Fruit

Put the defrosted fruit into a bowl and mix in the sugar and cornflour. The cornflour will stop an explosion of juices and make a nice, thick, fruity sauce.

Step 6: Roll Out the Pastry

Roughly halve the pastry - one half will be for the top and the other for the base of the pie.

On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out one half of the pastry, keeping an even pressure so that it's the same thickness everywhere. Regularly move and turn your pastry as you roll it so it doesn't stick to the surface.

Compare the pastry with the size of your pie dish. Once it is big enough to line it, use the rolling pin to transfer the pastry from the surface into the dish. Push the pastry gently into the corners.

Don't worry if there's pastry overhanging the edges, you can tidy it up later.

Step 7: Preparing the Lattice

Roll out the remaining half of the pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is big enough to cover the top of the pie. If possible, try to roll the pastry into a rectangle by readjusting the shape as you go. This will make it easier when cutting the lattice pieces.

Cut equally-sized strips of pastry using a knife. How many strips you will need depends on the size of your pie and how dense you want your lattice.

Step 8: Creating the Lattice

Next, take your empty pastry shell and fill it with the fruit you prepared earlier. Spread so the fruit is even.

To make the lattice, lay as many strips as desired in parallel across the top of the pie. Starting in the middle of the pie, fold back every second strip so half of the pie filling is exposed. Place a strip perpendicular to the existing row. Replace the folded strips to their original position. Repeat using the strips which stayed in their original position.

Continue to do this on both sides of the pie until your lattice is complete.

Step 9: Finishing the Pie

To put the finishing touches to the pie, use a fork to indent around the edge of the pie dish. This will seal the lattice to the body of the pie and make it look neater.

Using a knife or palette knife, trim the excess pastry from around the rim of the dish.

Step 10: Cooking

To make your pastry go a gorgeous golden brown when cooked, beat an egg and use a pastry brush to apply a thin layer over the top of the pie.

Cook for about 40 minutes in the middle of a hot oven or until golden brown and bubbling.

Step 11: Serve and EAT

If you want to, dust your pie with a little icing sugar before serving with a dollop of ice cream. Savour!

I don't know about you, but I've got my pie on another slice...

Step 12: [How to Make the GIFs]

This is a random extra tip completely unrelated to pie.

It's quite uncommon to see GIFs in Instructables, but where they have been used, we've found them super helpful. You could say they're pie in the sky...

If you want to make GIFs like the ones in this tutorial, just upload your videos to a site like this one. It does all the work for you and is ridiculously straightforward. Enjoy!

Step 13: [Was It Just a Pie-p Dream or Was It Pie in the Sky?]

Moral of the story: if you want to have your pie and eat it...we do not recommend attaching it to a drone. R.I.P(ie)

Introduction: Pie in the Sky