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I have a bit of an obsession with fruit pastry products – at one point, a few years ago, I used to have a strudel or pie in the fridge at all times for that much needed sugar hit at the end of a long day of teaching. Sometimes they were homemade, sometimes shop bought, always delicious.
I made an apple rose tart, one of my showstopper bakes, recently, and it rekindled my love of pastry and fruit – so much so I had to whip up one of these beauties – the perfect treat for those cold winter days, with a puddle of custard, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or maybe both!
I baked this pie in a 23cm fluted tart tin, but you could use any kind pie, flan, tart dish or tin that you like!
Raspberry and apple pie
Ingredients:
For the pastry: 250g plain flour 125g butter 2 tbsp caster sugar
For the filling: 3 Bramley apples, peeled and chopped 250g raspberries (I used frozen) 75g caster sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tbsp plain flour 1 egg, beaten 1 tbsp demerara sugar, for sprinkling
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Rub together the butter, flour and sugar to a breadcrumb texture. Add a small amount of ice cold water to turn into a dough, form into a circle, wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, roll out the dough, on a floured surface, to fit the base of your pie dish. Use a small piece of off cut pastry to press the pastry into the edges of your dish, this is especially important if you are using a fluted dish. Return to the fridge for 30 minutes. Wrap the remaining pastry back up in the cling film and pop in the fridge for later!
Blind bake your pastry case: to do this, line it with greaseproof paper, and fill with rice, baking beans, or I use split peas. Bake for 20 minutes in the middle of the oven, then remove the greaseproof paper and beans, and return to the lower shelf of the oven for about 7 minutes, until the case looks sandy.
Meanwhile, put the peeled and chopped apples in the microwave on full power for 3 minutes. Mix in the raspberries, caster sugar, cinnamon and flour, and pile into the pastry case.
Roll out the remaining pastry, and cut into thin strips – I used a ruler and a pizza wheel for this! On a piece of greaseproof paper, arrange the strips of pastry into a lattice pattern, interweaving the strips horizontally and vertically.
Flip the pastry lattice and greaseproof paper quickly onto the top of the pie – this should mean that your lattice stays intact, but it may need a little tidying up! Press the edges of the lattice into the edge of your pie, and trim off the excess.
Brush the lattice with the beaten egg, and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake for 1 hour, until golden and bubbling.
Leave the pie to cool for 30 minutes, then serve with lashings of custard, ice cream, or whatever you fancy!
I hope you give it a go, and love it as much as I do! I love to mix and match the fruits in my pies – why not try apples with blueberries or cherries, or fresh peaches and raspberries when the weather turns nicer!
Miss Helen x