Darina’s favourite apple and blackberry pie
Enjoy with a blob of softly whipped cream and soft brown sugar, it’s obligatory!
SERVES
8
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
40
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
60
MINUTES
Ingredients
Break-all-the-Rules Pastry:
225g (8oz) butter, softened
40g (1 1/2oz) caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 organic, free-range eggs
350g (12oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 organic, free-range egg, beaten with a dash of milk
For the filling:
600g (1lb 5oz) Bramley cooking apples, peeled and cut into large dice
110g (4oz) wild blackberries
150g (5oz) granulated sugar
To serve:
softly whipped cream
dark soft brown sugar
1 x 18cm x 30.5cm x 2.5cm (7 x 11 x 1 inch) deep square tin or 1 x 22.5cm (8 3/4 inch) round tin
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350˚F/Gas Mark 4.
To make the pastry, cream the butter and sugar together by hand or in a food processor.
Add the eggs one by one and beat for several minutes. Reduce the speed and mix in the flour slowly.
Turn out onto a piece of floured baking parchment, flatten into a round, then wrap and chill. This pastry needs to be chilled for at least 2 hours otherwise it is difficult to handle – better still, make it the day before.
Roll out the pastry to about 3mm (1/8 inch) thick, then use about two-thirds of it to line the tin.
Fill the pie to the top with the apples and blackberries and sprinkle with the sugar – brush the edges with water.
Cover with a lid of pastry, press the edges together to seal. Decorate with pastry leaves, brush with the beaten egg mixture and bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour until the apples are tender.
When cooked, sprinkle lightly with caster sugar, cut into pieces and serve with softly whipped cream and sugar.
