Description
These spiced apple and blackberry hand pies are easy to make and bursting with the perfect balance of sweet apples and juicy blackberries, enhanced with warm cinnamon and honey. Encased in golden, flaky shortcrust pastry, they make a delightful dessert perfect for any occasion.
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 tablespoon cornflour
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pastry and Finishing
- 2 sheets 320 g shortcrust pastry
- 1 small egg beaten
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
Instructions
- Cook Apples: Place the chopped apples in a small saucepan with the golden caster sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. Cover with a lid and cook for about 8 minutes until the apples are soft. Transfer the cooked apples into a shallow dish and spread them out to cool slightly.
- Prepare Filling: In a small bowl, mix the cornflour, honey, and ground cinnamon until smooth. Add the blackberries to the cooled apples and drizzle the cinnamon-honey mixture over. Gently combine all ingredients to create the filling.
- Cut Pastry Circles: Unroll the shortcrust pastry sheets. Using a 10 cm diameter pastry cutter (or a similarly sized ramekin or glass), cut out 12 circles. These will be used for the hand pies.
- Assemble Pies: Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the fruit filling onto half of the pastry circles, leaving a 1 cm border around the edges. Brush the edges with beaten egg wash. Place a plain pastry circle on top and gently press down. Create an apple shape by making small dents on the top and bottom edges using your fingers. Seal the edges thoroughly with the prongs of a fork.
- Decorate and Vent: Brush the tops of each pie with egg wash. Use any pastry scraps to cut out little leaves and stalks, attaching them with egg wash. Poke a small steam hole in the top of each pie using a skewer.
- Chill Pies: Place the assembled pies on a baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. They can also be chilled overnight or frozen for up to 3 months at this stage.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Celsius fan). Bake the pies for 25 minutes, or until golden brown and the filling is bubbling through the steam holes. If baking from frozen, add an additional 10 minutes to the baking time.
- Serve: Remove from the oven, sprinkle with caster sugar, and serve warm with cream or custard as desired.
Notes
- If you don't have a 10 cm pastry cutter, use an upside-down ramekin or a glass with a similar diameter as a substitute.
- To make ahead, assemble the pies through step 5. Store them covered in the fridge for up to 24 hours or freeze for up to 3 months before baking.
- Using digital kitchen scales is recommended for precise measurement, especially for the pastry.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pie
- Calories: 290 kcal
- Sugar: 20 g
- Sodium: 75 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 42 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 40 mg
