Description
Delight in these spiced apple and blackberry hand pies, combining tender cooked apples with juicy blackberries, all encased in buttery shortcrust pastry. Perfectly spiced with cinnamon and lightly sweetened with honey and caster sugar, these pies are an ideal treat for any occasion, served warm with cream or custard.
Ingredients
Scale
Fruit Filling
- 2 medium cooking apples peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces
- 50 g golden caster sugar
- 150 g blackberries fresh or frozen
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Pastry & Topping
- 2 sheets, 320 g shortcrust pastry
- 1 small egg beaten
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
Instructions
- Cook the Apples: Place the chopped apples in a small saucepan with golden caster sugar and 2 tbsp water. Cover and cook over medium heat for 8 minutes until the apples are soft. Transfer the cooked apples into a shallow dish and spread out to cool slightly.
- Prepare the Fruit Mixture: In a small bowl, mix cornflour, honey, and ground cinnamon until smooth. Add the blackberries to the cooled apples, then gently fold in the cinnamon and honey mixture until combined.
- Cut Pastry Circles: Unroll the shortcrust pastry sheets. Using a 10 cm pastry cutter (or a similar-sized ramekin or glass), cut out 12 circles from the pastry.
- Assemble the Pies: Spoon about 1 tbsp of the fruit filling onto half of the pastry circles, leaving a 1 cm border around the edges. Brush the border with beaten egg. Place a plain pastry circle on top, pressing gently to seal. Create a small dent at top and bottom to shape like an apple.
- Seal and Decorate: Seal the edges by pressing with fork prongs. Brush each assembled pie with egg wash. Use pastry off-cuts to cut out small leaves and stalks, attaching them with egg wash. Poke a small steam hole in the top of each pie with a skewer.
- Chill the Pies: Place the pies on a baking sheet and chill in the fridge for 1 hour or overnight. They can also be frozen at this stage for up to 3 months.
- Bake the Pies: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees fan). Bake the pies for 20 minutes until golden and filling bubbles through the steam holes. Bake 25 to 30 minutes if starting from frozen.
- Serve: Sprinkle caster sugar over the warm pies and serve with a dollop of cream or custard.
Notes
- For a dairy-free option, serve with coconut cream or a vegan custard alternative.
- Ensure the fruit filling is cooled before placing it on the pastry to prevent sogginess.
- Chilling the assembled pies before baking helps them keep their shape and texture.
- Use frozen blackberries if fresh are unavailable; no need to thaw before mixing.
- Pastry off-cuts can be reused to make more decorative shapes or extra small hand pies.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 195 g
- Calories: 109 kcal
- Sugar: 21 g
- Sodium: 12 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 26 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 24 mg
