© David Loftus

blackberry and apple pie

method

This is the best apple pie in the world. You can’t go wrong with
good cooking apples, delicious blackberries and ginger. The
cooking time can depend on how freshly picked the apples are,
so the best thing is to cook them until they’re softened first.

First, make your pastry dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and
rest it in the fridge for at least half an hour. Then preheat
the oven to 350°F. Put the butter and sugar into a saucepan
and, when the butter has melted, add the apples, ginger and
a tablespoon of the ginger syrup. Slowly cook for 15 minutes
with a lid on, then add the blackberries, stir and cook for 5
more minutes with the lid off.

Meanwhile, remove your pastry from the fridge. Dust your
work surface with flour, cut the pastry in half and, using a
floured rolling pin, roll one of the pieces out until it’s just under
½-inch thick. (Rolling the dough between two layers of waxed
paper will also stop it sticking to your rolling pin.) Butter a
shallow 10-inch pie dish and line with the pastry, trimming off
any excess round the edges using a sharp knife.

Tip the cooled apples and blackberries into a sieve, reserving all
the juices, then put the fruit into the lined pie dish so you have a
mound in the middle. Spoon over half the reserved juices. Brush
the edge of the pastry with beaten egg. Roll out the second piece
of pastry, just as you did the first, and lay it over the top of
the pie. Trim the edges as before and crimp them together with
your fingers. Brush the top of the pie with the rest of the beaten
egg, sprinkle generously with sugar and the cinnamon, and
make a couple of slashes in the top of the pastry.

Place the pie on a baking tray and then put it directly on the
bottom of the preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, until golden
brown and crisp. To serve, slice the pie into portions and serve
with a generous dollop of ice-cream.

serves:

ingredients

• 1 x sweet shortcrust pastry
recipe
• ¼ cup butter, plus
extra for greasing
• 1⁄3 cup raw sugar, plus
extra for sprinkling
• 2 large Bramley or
McIntosh apples,
cored, peeled and each
cut into 16 wedges
• 4 Cox, Empire or
Granny Smith apples,
cored, peeled and each
cut into 8 wedges
• 1 heaped tablespoon
chopped ginger,
in syrup
• 5 ounces blackberries
• 1 large free-range or
organic egg, beaten
• ½ teaspoon ground
cinnamon