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Sunday 15 September 2013

APPLE AND BLACKBERRY PIE

Good Morning to you,

Although the weather is colder, the wonderful thing about Autumn, is the big, fat, juicy blackberries which appear amongst our hedgerows. I love blackberry picking, but as yet I have not been able to locate any blackberry bushes.

When Natasha and Danielle were little, we would all go blackberry picking and I remember they would eat more blackberries than they would  put into their baskets.  Their mouths would be stained by the rich blackberry juice and often as not, there would be juice, staining their clothes as well, but being a canny mother, I always made sure they were wearing clothes which were old, so they could enjoy the blackberry picking, and not worry if their clothes became stained.

As I said, I have not found a good blackberry hedge yet, so I was so pleased to find blackberries, which had been grown in Yorkshire, being sold at Morrisons, my local supermarket. I decided to pair them with some Bramley apples which had been grown in Kent, and this is what we are making today,



an Apple and Blackberry Pie.  The blackberries and apples have been cooked and they have released this wonderful juice.

So, if you are ready to cook, it's on with the apron and the music I am listening to today is,


Ladysmith Black Mambazo.  The first time I heard Ladysmith sing was when we bought the Paul Simon LP, Graceland, where he featured Ladysmith. After hearing them sing, both George and I were smitten.

We are both in the kitchen at the moment, so George has chosen today's music,  and as always there is a little story to tell.  When our girls lived at home, he was the only man in the house, even Chloe, our King Charles Spaniel was a girl, so in the house, there were four girls and one man. Added to that, when Natasha and Danielle's girlfriends came around as well, it was sometimes all too much for him... well you know how girls can chatter.  He would find his Ladysmith Black Mambazo LPs, put on his large earphones, (it was the days of the large earphones) place his chair in the sunshine and we would be told not to disturb him as he was "Going to Africa". He would then close his eyes and listen to the music for an hour or so. Really he was escaping us girls.  The only girl allowed to disturb him was Chloe, as invariably, he had no choice, as she would climb up on his lap and go to sleep.

I am now ready to bake, I have my ingredients ready.

INGREDIENTS
FOR THE PASTRY


275g plain flour
100g cold unsalted butter


25g  of lard
1 level teaspoon of salt


5 tablespoons of iced water
use as much or as little as you need to combine the pastry.

These are the ingredients to make the pastry.  I have not taken any photographs as we have made pastry many times.  Once you have made the pastry,


cut the pastry so you have two thirds for the bottom of the pie and one third for the top.  Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.



You will also need,
1 egg yolk to brush over the pastry before baking.

FILLING


8 medium sized Bramley Apples


300g blackberries


150g Demerara sugar
or if you prefer granulated sugar,
but keep back 25g to sprinkle on top of the pastry


2 tablespoons of cornflour
50g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons of lemon juice

METHOD

Pre-heat the oven to 180 F
1 x 10 inch, buttered, loose bottom cake tin


Juice the lemon


Peel core and chop the apples
and add the lemon juice.
As you peel and chop each apple,
toss them in the lemon juice so that they do not
discolour.

Add the Demerara sugar and mix 
(remember to hold back 25g of sugar)
Add the cornflour and mix
Lastly add the blackberries and mix carefully,
as you do not want the blackberries to break.


Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out.
Fit the pastry gently into the baking tin, don't force it
and allow  a little overhang.  As you can see on the
right hand side, I had to do a little patchwork.

Place the apple mixture inside
and dot with the 50g of unsalted butter.
 Roll out the pastry for the top of the pie and place it over
the apple and blackberry mixture.


Crimp the edges and brush the pastry with the egg
yolk to create a lovely golden brown pastry top.

Sprinkle with the remaining 25g of demerara sugar.
Using a knife, make two slits in the top of the pie
to allow any steam to escape.

Place the apple and blackberry pie on a baking sheet.

Bake in a pre-heated oven, for 30 minutes, until the pie crust
is golden, then reduce the oven temperature to 160 F and
cover the pie with tin foil and bake for a further 45 minutes
to 1 hour.
It takes the apples this long to bake as we used a lot of apples.



Remove the pie from the oven, but leave the pie on the 
baking sheet  and  allow to cool for
45 minutes, before you release the pie from
the cake tin. The pie will be warm, rather than piping hot,
and by eating the pie warm, you will be able to enjoy the flavours.

You will see in this photograph that some of the pastry has been
cut after baking. Sometimes I give the pastry a little trim with a
sharp knife, if the edges don't sit properly.  I just go around the
pastry using  a knife, it gives a cleaner look to the pie.


I thought I would show you the side of the pastry, as I did not
want you to worry if your pastry was not smooth. It will have a
few wrinkles, this is because it was placed into the cake tin  as one piece of pastry.


So using seasonal fruits we have created this lovely 
Autumnal pudding.

The sauce that is on the plate came from the pie. As the pie  rested, the juices came out of the bottom of the cake tin.  This did not spoil the pie as the base was thoroughly cooked.  I just added the juice to some Mascarpone cheese and mixed it together with icing sugar,  to eat with the Apple and Blackberry pie.

Alternatively, you could put the apples and blackberries into the base of a pie dish and use a third of the pastry to make a pie crust top.

Whichever way you decide to make this Apple and Blackberry Pie, I know you will enjoy it, served with cream, ice cream,  or that wonderful staple, custard.

So take care and I will see you later in the week.

This week I will be joining,





22 comments:

  1. apples and blackberries --two of my favorite things! yummy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Snap, I am not surprised that apples and blackberries are two of your favourite things as they work so well together. Perfect for an Autumn day.
      Best Wishes
      Daphne

      Delete
  2. I love the way you present in photo and with a bit of a story too. I can visualize an ear phone daddy, with Chloe sleeping away and girly chatter in the background. A happy moment for everyone.

    Lovely post . . . my SIL found a Blackberry patch at the rear edge of their property this summer. He has enjoyed making cobblers and preserves. Huge berries . . . I liked them just plain off the bush . . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Lynne, I am so glad you enjoy the little stories which I weave into my recipes. My daughters will certainly remember their dad "Going to Africa" and I know they will smile when they read this post.
      How lucky to have a Blackberry patch at the bottom of the garden. I would be the same as your SIL.... knee deep in pies, cobblers and preserves. I love blackberry jam, it is a jam Ivy made many years ago, but do you know, it is a jam I have never made. I will need to rectify that.... now where are my jars???
      Best Wishes
      Daphne

      Delete
  3. That looks so delicious. Your recipes are always so well laid out and easy to follow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Linda, Thank you so much for your kind comment. I take a lot of photographs, because I think it is easier to follow a new recipe with lots of photographs, to see how a cake or pie should progress. Can you tell I am a visual learner.
      Best Wishes
      Daphne

      Delete
  4. Hello Daphne,

    You are making me very hungry,even though I am nearly ready to go to bed!

    Thanks for the recipe.
    Bev.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Bev, Ooops, sorry to make you feel hungry.... especially when it is time for you to go to bed.
      I am glad you liked the Apple and Blackberry pie recipe.
      Best Wishes
      Daphne

      Delete
  5. Dear Daphne !!!! Your Apple and Blackberry Pie
    looks so ...mouth watering !!!!!!
    I enjoyed reading about your memories when your daughters were little !!!( so funny !!)
    Best wishes
    Niki

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Niki, Oh you are so sweet, thank you for your kind comments. It is interesting how the memories start to come flooding back, when I decide to bake a cake or bake a pie.
      I am thrilled that you like the look of my Apple and Blackberry Pie. Now that the weather has a chill in the air, it is a perfect Autumnal pie.
      Best Wishes to you,
      Daphne

      Delete
  6. Hello Daphne, your blackberry & apple pie looks delicious. I picked blackberries yesterday I have plenty all around the fields next to my garden, so wev'e had them in various ways. Yesterday I made individual crumbles in ramakin dishes, lovely. While I was picking them it reminded me of my childhood days with my brothers. I too ate more than I would bring home. Nice memories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Barbara, Oh, lucky you, to have blackberries growing close to where you live. I like the idea of individual crumbles in ramekin dishes, just the right amount to eat.
      Isn't it lovely when something, which we do today, can take us right back, to when we were much younger. As you say, lovely memories.
      Have a lovely Monday.
      Best Wishes
      Daphne

      Delete
  7. Good evening, Daphne

    I can't decide if this gorgeous apple blackberry pie looks professional, as it is TOO perfect, or homemade, since I know it is made with all the best of ingredients! Love the colour of that sauce and the crust looks scrumptiously crispy and light!

    Have a wonderful week,

    Poppy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Poppy, At first I thought you meant I had bought the pie and made it look like my own....and then I realised that is not what you meant, you meant that it was a perfect pie.
      Apple and blackberries go together so well and the colour of the sauce is actually how it looked on the plate. It was one of those photographs where the lighting was just right... and of course photographing the pie on a white plate, just created the perfect picture.
      Best Wishes
      Daphne

      Delete
  8. Dearest Daphne,
    What a sweet story about George escaping his girls! Loved the way Chloe always got on his lap for her nap...
    Sounds like a delicious apple and blackberry pie but for sure not cholesterol free with the butter, lard and egg... But for all those that still can enjoy it; go and help yourself to a second serving!
    When I was not on this strict diet, I used to eat blackberries with vanilla ice cream; lots of it... But being now diabetes type II did cure that.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Mariette, I am so pleased you enjoyed the story about George escaping from all of us girls. I think with so many girls in the house, he needed somewhere to enjoy some quiet time, as in those days he did not have a den of his own, as all the rooms were being used. Now the girls have left the nest, there are rooms to spare, so he does have a den of his own, which he loves.
      I am sorry to hear you have diabetes, I knew you ate a strict diet, but I was not sure why. It makes it doubly special that you visit me, when I cook all the foods you cannot eat.
      Best Wishes to you,
      Daphne

      Delete
  9. I can almost taste this wonderful pie, Daphne!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Karen, If I could send you a piece of pie, for you to enjoy, then I would. I wonder, how would you eat it.... just as it is, with cream or custard?
      Best Wishes to you,
      Daphne

      Delete
  10. You make the best dessert, and they look beautiful as well. You are really talended Daphne.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Daniela, Thank you so much for your kind comment, you made me so happy. I am thrilled that you like the desserts which I bake. I have cooked and baked for so many years now, and it is something which I really love to do. The fun part is, there is always something new to learn.
      Have a lovely Monday.
      Best Wishes
      Daphne

      Delete
  11. Would you believe I've never had blackberry pie? I hear it's amazing, though. Your pictures are mouth-watering, and I want a taste so badly.

    XOXO,
    Meredith

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Meredith, Have you never eaten blackberry pie, because they are not grown in your part of the world? Or is it just something that you have never tried. Blackberries are one of my favourite Autumnal fruits.... you know Autumn has arrived when the blackberries are ripe and ready for picking.
      Thank you so much for your lovely comment.
      Best Wishes
      Daphne

      Delete

Dear Friends,

It is so wonderful to know you enjoy reading Ivy, Phyllis and Me! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave me a comment. I really do appreciate it.

Best wishes to you.

Daphne

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