Autumn family recipe: blackberry and apple pie

Method

Step 1

Forage for your blackberries! Hedgerows are full of juicy, plump blackberries in September. The ones you haven‘t foraged will be munched by birds, mice, foxes and even deer. Collect windfall cooking apples from your garden or buy these from a local farm shop or supermarket. Some of our properties, like Priorwood Garden, harvest their crop for sale too.

Step 2

Preheat your oven to 180C/160C fan. On a floured surface, roll out two-thirds of the pastry and use it to line a 23cm loose-bottom tart tin, cutting off any scraps. Pop the tart in the fridge to chill for 5 minutes. Lightly prick the base with a fork, then fill it with a circle of greaseproof paper and baking beans. Put it in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and then take out the beans (careful, they’ll be hot!) and the greaseproof paper. Pop it back in the oven and bake for another 15 minutes until it looks light brown. Take it out of the oven. Keep the tart in the loose-bottom tin and set aside while you prepare the apple and blackberry mixture.

Step 3

Pour the chopped apples into a big bowl and microwave them on high for 4 minutes. Next, mix in the blackberries, sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour and cinnamon (if using), then fill the tart with this mixture.

Step 4

Roll out the remaining pastry and cut strips using a ruler to trace. Place the strips of pastry evenly on top of the fruit to make a criss-cross design.

Step 5

Place the pie tin on a baking tray (this will collect any of the juices that seep during baking). Mix the egg and milk together and use the mixture to brush the pie. After that, sprinkle 1 tbsp of sugar over the top. Put the pie back in the oven and bake it for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until it’s brown and crispy. Let the pie cool for 30 minutes until it’s not too hot anymore.

Step 6

Serve the pie warm with some ice cream or custard, and enjoy!

Top Tip

Use your remaining pastry scraps to make sugar and cinnamon pinwheels. Roll out your pastry, scatter with sugar and cinnamon, roll into a log and cut into slices (pinwheels). Bake in the oven at 200C/180C fan for 15 minutes. Let them cool and enjoy with a mug of hot chocolate!