Back on the Blackberries

I Can’t believe it’s that time of year again.

Blackberries are in full swing, and we have spoken about the joys of picking your own and that it’s one of life’s greatest pleasures. To celebrate the spare time you will inevitably have with the kids back at school now, we’ve got you! With a really nice, and slightly more involved, alternative to the undisputed GOAT that is apple crumble.

Apple pie is one of those things we think of as being completely American, however, filling pies with hedgerow fruits dates back to medieval times in the UK, so it only seems correct to give it a crack and see how we get on. It’s much easier than you think it might be if you let go of the thought that it needs to be perfectly formed like you might see in some fancy bakery or glossy magazine. Learn to embrace the imperfections that make it unique to you and your kitchen. You will no doubt enjoy the process more.

For the filling:

3 good-sized cooking apples

A couple of handfuls of blackberries

1/2 vanilla pod or a few drops of compound

100g sugar

1/2 lemon, zest and juice

1/2 teaspoon cornflour

15g butter

Peel and chop the apples up and mix with the sugar, cornflour, lemon juice, zest and vanilla.
Cook the apple mixture in a pan over a low to medium heat for a couple of minutes until the apples have started to release some liquid and soften slightly. Then add the blackberries, stir, and allow to cool.

For the pastry:

I used a similar pastry as I might for a mince pie, which has the advantage of being fairly robust yet crumbly and delicious.

500g cake flour

180g sugar

300g cold salted butter

2 x egg yolks

25g water

Mix the flour and sugar together in a bowl. Rub the butter in gently between finger and thumb, like Granny would, until you reach a breadcrumb-like consistency. Add the egg yolks and water and gently combine until smooth. Cling film and refrigerate.
Roll out the pastry to about the thickness of a pound coin and line a cake tin or dish. I used a 20cm deep ring, then rolled out a lid to fit. If you have a little pastry over, it freezes well for another day. Or can do some Kipling-style individual ones.
Pop the whole lot in the fridge to rest for a minimum of 20 mins.
Fill the lined ring with your cooled apple mix and pop your lid on top. Crimp the edges and decorate as you please.
Egg wash the top, poke a few holes to allow some of the steam to escape, and cook in a medium/low 160°C oven for approximately 45 mins, or until it’s a deep golden brown all over.

Remove from the oven and wait for what seems like an eternity. You will need to leave it for at least 30 mins for it to cool enough to have a half-decent chance of removing the ring! Honestly, don’t worry if it breaks a bit; this just shows you have made a nice short pastry. You can always scoop it out with a big spoon. And the fact that you have made it yourself from your own foraged ingredients makes it all the better.

PS I’m not in any way condoning scrumping for apples, but that really is up to you guys!

Serve warm with a very big dollop of clotted cream, some custard or ice cream, or all three obviously!
Happy end of summer.

Love D and Jolene family

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