Apple and blackberry pie

Apple pie is virtually everyone’s favourite pudding. My famous break-all-the-rules pastry taught to me by my mum is made by the creaming method, so people who are convinced that they suffer from ‘hot hands’ don’t have to worry about rubbing in the butter

Apple and blackberry pie

SERVES

12

PEOPLE

PREP TIME

120

MINUTES

COOKING TIME

60

MINUTES

CUISINE

COURSE

Baking

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350˚F/Gas Mark 4.

  2. 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 two hours, otherwise it is difficult to handle. Better still, make it the day before.

  3. Roll out the pastry to about 3mm (1/8 inch) thick, then use about two-thirds of it to line an 18 x 30 x 2.5cm (7 x 12 x 1 inch) square tin or a 22.5cm (8 3/4 inch) round tin.

  4. Fill the pie to the top with the apples and blackberries and sprinkle with the sugar. 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.

    Extracted from How to Cook: The 100 Essential Recipes Everyone Should Know by Darina Allen (Kyle)

Ingredients

  • For the 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) blackberries

  • 150g granulated sugar

  • To Serve

  • softly whipped cream

  • dark soft brown sugar

  • Equipment:

  • 1 x 18cm x 30.5cm x 2.5cm deep square tin or 1 x 22.5cm round tin

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350˚F/Gas Mark 4.

  2. 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 two hours, otherwise it is difficult to handle. Better still, make it the day before.

  3. Roll out the pastry to about 3mm (1/8 inch) thick, then use about two-thirds of it to line an 18 x 30 x 2.5cm (7 x 12 x 1 inch) square tin or a 22.5cm (8 3/4 inch) round tin.

  4. Fill the pie to the top with the apples and blackberries and sprinkle with the sugar. 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.

    Extracted from How to Cook: The 100 Essential Recipes Everyone Should Know by Darina Allen (Kyle)

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