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This low-calorie blueberry pie came about when I wanted to make a version of the classic coffee-table treat that you can also eat while losing weight, without a huge calorie hit. An ordinary blueberry pie racks up plenty of calories from butter and sugar, and with this recipe (without sugar) the calorie count is roughly halved. Here part of the fat is replaced with fat-free quark, which also adds protein and keeps the pie moist. It has to be said, though, that if you swap the sweetener for the same amount of sugar, the pie tastes considerably better, sweeter and more delicious, and the calories don't actually climb all that much. I recommend trying both versions!
A traditional blueberry pie is delicious but surprisingly heavy. An ordinary quark pie easily has 300 kilocalories in a slice, and most of that comes from sugar and butter. This version is 139 kilocalories per serving, so two slices still stay lighter than one traditional one.
The lightness does not come from shrinking the serving size, it comes from the structure of the recipe. The sweetness comes from the blueberries and the erythritol, the texture from the quark and the oats, and there is only as much fat as the base actually needs. The result is not a compromise but a complete pie, whose nutritional values have been calculated per ingredient.
Fat free quark is in two places in this recipe, both in the base and in the filling, and that is not a coincidence. Quark is practically pure protein, about 10 grams per hundred grams, and it contains only 60 kilocalories. In the base it replaces part of the butter and brings structure at the same time.
Thanks to this there are 8 grams of protein in one slice, which is exceptionally much for a dessert. It is also the reason why the pie genuinely fills you up. Protein and fibre are the two factors that keep hunger away. An ordinary sugary dessert has neither, which is why you want more of it within half an hour.
Erythritol is a sugar alcohol whose energy content is practically zero. It is the single factor in the recipe that brings the calories down the most. If the erythritol were replaced with the same amount of sugar, the energy content of a slice would rise to about 170 kilocalories. The difference is therefore significant, and in taste it is very small.
A couple of practical things are still worth knowing. Erythritol is about 70 percent as sweet as sugar, so slightly more of it is needed to reach the same sweetness. It also gives a mild cooling sensation on the tongue, which does not disturb alongside blueberry and vanilla but which can be noticed. With a sensitive stomach, large amounts of sugar alcohols can cause bloating, although in this recipe the amount per serving is small. Ordinary sugar works just as well in the recipe, but then the pie is no longer low in calories.
Frozen blueberries work here just as well as fresh ones and are suitable for use all year round. Frozen berries are picked ripe and frozen immediately, so their nutritional values are practically equal to fresh ones. The wild blueberry is better in nutritional value than the cultivated blueberry and clearly stronger in flavour, so it is worth favouring when available.
One thing is worth remembering, however. The blueberries should not be thawed in advance, they are added to the filling frozen or scattered straight on top. Thawed berries release their liquid into the filling and colour the whole pie blue, which leaves the quark filling loose. Berries added frozen stay whole and the filling sets properly.
The pie is divided into eight servings, and one serving is about 98 grams. The amount is moderate but sufficient, when the filling is this high in protein. The pie keeps in the fridge under a lid for about 3 days and is at its best well chilled, when the quark filling has set properly.
The pie can be served as it is, or a spoonful of fat free yogurt or vanilla quark can be added on the side, which brings more protein and hardly any calories. A cold slice also works at breakfast, as the ingredients are practically the same as in quark porridge.
Save this recipe to your own recipes, you can adjust the serving size and ingredients.
