Apple & Blackberry Pie
Looking for some apple recipes to use up the contents of your fruit bowl? An apple and blackberry pie is the perfect comforting solution. Make a head start with this recipe by preparing your own pastry. While it might sound tricky, you’ll find it’s surprisingly simple – and adding cinnamon into the pastry dough makes the crust even better. The blackberries cut through the sweet apples for a beautifully rich pie filling, and we’ve also added mixed spice to flavour the fruit, which combines sweet cinnamon, spicy cloves and warming nutmeg. Serve with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream or lashings of hot custard.
Ingredients
Preparation
To prepare the pastry, place the flour in a large bowl and stir in the Cinnamon and Salt. Rub in the butter and white fat with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre and add the chilled water. Bring the mixture together using a round bladed knife. Once it has come together, knead for a brief moment and place in a plastic bag in the fridge. Leave to rest for 30 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas Mark 4. Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out two thirds on a lightly floured surface. Grease and line a 20.5cm (8 inch) metal pie plate and place the rolled pastry in. Prick the base with a fork. Strain the fruit, reserving the juices and spoon the fruit mixture over.
Peel and core the apples. Cut them into large chunks and place them in a saucepan with the sugar and Mixed Spice. Cover with a lid and gently cook for 10 minutes until the apples have softened. Fold in the blackberries and remove the saucepan from the heat. Cool completely.
Roll out the remaining pastry and lay over the fruit. Lift back the edge and brush the base with a little egg and seal the edge. Trim and crimp the pastry edges. Brush the surface and make a couple of slits in the top. Scatter a little more demerara sugar over the pastry and bake for 35 minutes. Serve with ice cream or cream.