Blackberry and apple pie

ingredients

• Blackberry and apple pie

  • 50 gram butter, melted
  • 2-3 sheets sweet short pastry
  • 650 gram (about 2-3 medium) apples
  • 125 gram caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 lemon, juice
  • 1 cup (at least a dozen) blackberries, plus extra for serving (optional)
  • 3 tablespoon cornflour
  • pouring cream, to serve

method

• Blackberry and apple pie

  • 1

    Preheat oven to 180°C. Put in an oven tray to heat up (the pie will sit on it).

  • 2

    Liberally brush a 22cm pie dish with some of the butter. Line with half of the sweet pastry (I like to roll the store-bought sheets out thinner) so that it comes up the sides of your dish and overhangs. Freeze or chill for 15-30 minutes.

  • 3

    For the filling, mix the butter and apples, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and lemon juice in a saucepan.

  • 4

    Heat until the sugar dissolves and the apples start to give up their juice. Remove from the heat, add the blackberries and cornflour, then stir gently. Set aside to cool.

  • 5

    Place the chilled pastry shell on top of the hot oven tray and bake for 12-15 minutes or until it is starting to colour – some of the excess pastry may drop on the tray.

  • 6

    Spoon in the fruit filling. Cover and seal with the remaining rolled-out pastry, pressing the edges together firmly. With a sharp knife, trim the edges and poke a few air holes in the lid.

  • 7

    Bake for a further 25-30 minutes until golden brown and the base is cooked through (baking it on the hot tray helps!).

  • 8

    Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the extra caster sugar. Serve thick warm slices with pouring cream. Too good!

notes

Leaving pastry to overhang allows for some shrinkage on the first bake.