I love Blackberry Season! We go out with our baskets and pick up these juicy fruits from hedgerows in the fields close to our house. It’s a free family activity that brings joy to all. With the harvest from this year, I decided to make an apple and blackberry pie and use also some of the cooking apples that are growing in our garden. These traditional English fruity pies are not very sweet and have a flaky buttery pastry around the filling. We usually serve this apple and blackberry pie with some ice cream, whipped cream or custard on top. So let’s get started!
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Why you should try my recipe
- Easy steps to follow for the perfect pie pastry.
- It takes only 20 minutes to prepare and then you just wait for the oven to do its job.
- Best flaky buttery pastry. Perfect for fruity pies!
- Not very sweet filling.
Ingredients & How-to
The main ingredients you are going to need to make this blackberry apple pie pastry are plain flour, powdered sugar, butter, milk.
Preparing the dough
01. Starting with the pastry, I add one tablespoon of powdered sugar to the flour, just to give it some sweet flavor. Then, I add the cold butter cut into cubes. It’s very important that the butter is cold straight out of the fridge and not at room temperature.
02. If you have a food processor, then you can just mix it for a minute until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. If you don’t, then use your fingertips and rub the butter with the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Try to work as quickly as possible, as the butter will start to get soft in time.
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Buy On Amazon03. Then I move the flour & butter mixture to a bowl and add 3 tablespoons of cold water. Using a spoon or knife, I stir until the dough binds together. If it’s too crumbly and breaks easily then add one more tablespoon of cold water.
04. Now it’s time for the dough to rest. I wrap it with some plastic wrap tightly and then, I place it in the fridge for 15 minutes. While the dough is resting, it’s time to prepare the filling.
Making the filling
01. For the filling, I’m using 2 cooking green apples and 2 cups of blackberries. I prefer using cooking apples instead of eating ones, as they are harder and hold their shape after being cooked. Feel free to use any apples that you like or even mix them up.
02. In a small pot, I add a little bit of butter, sugar and the apples cut into cubes. I leave them for 3-4 minutes to soften up a little bit and get more juicy. Then I add the cornstarch and the cinnamon, give it a bit of a stir and I turn off the heat.
03. Finally, I add the blackberries to the pot and gently stir to combine all fruit. You don’t want to mix them a lot as the blackberries can easily break and get very mushy. While the filling is cooling down, it’s time to roll out the pastry.
Rolling out the dough
01. I take out the dough from the fridge and cut it into two pieces using a dough scraper or a knife. We want one piece to be a bit larger than the other as the bottom layer needs to cover the sides of the pie dish.
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Buy On Amazon02. I like to use a wooden board when handling dough but you could use any surface that you like. I drizzle my board with a little bit of flour, so the dough doesn’t stick to it when rolling out. Then I place the bigger piece of dough for the bottom layer and I cover it with the plastic wrap or parchment paper. This way, the dough will be easier to roll out and won’t stick to my rolling pin.
If the dough starts breaking at the edges, then simply press it with your fingers and run the rolling pin over it. We want the thickness of the rolled out dough to be around 3mm or ⅛ inches and I’m using a 23cm / 9’’ pie dish. You can place the pie dish on top of the rolled out dough to check if it fits.
Repeat the process for the other piece of dough that we are going to use for the top of the apple blackberry pie.
Assembling the apple blackberry pie
01. I like to use a loose bottom non-stick tart pan for my pies as it’s easier to take the pie out and I get a prettier crust with the fluted sides. If you don’t have a loose bottom pie tin then you could use a normal round dish or any pie dish of your choice.
I roll the pastry on my rolling pin and carefully I place it into the pie dish. If it breaks a little bit at the edges, there is no need to worry. You can press it with your fingers and fix it. Although I’m not blind baking the pie pastry before adding the filling, I like to prick the bottom layer with a fork. This allows the steam to escape so that the pie crust doesn’t puff up in the oven and you get an even surface at the bottom.
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Buy On Amazon02. Now it’s time to add the filling. Make sure the filling is not too hot as that will cause the butter in our pastry to melt and result in a soggy bottom. Using a spoon, distribute all the filling evenly. Before adding the top pastry, I brush the edges of the apple blackberry pie with a little bit of milk, so it’s easier for the two pastries to stick together.
03. Using the rolling pin, I place the top pastry layer on the pie dish and remove any excess dough from the edges with my fingers or a knife. Gently press the edges to stick the bottom and top pastries together using your fingertips. If you have any leftover dough, you could use it for decoration. You could make some small flowers or leaves and put them at the top of your pie.
04. Finally, brush the apple blackberry pie with a little bit more milk to get a nice brown matte finish after being cooked, and prick the top pastry so the air can get out. Make sure your oven is preheated to 180°C/350°F and bake the pie for 45-55 minutes or until it has a nice light brown color.
Serving suggestions
We usually have the apple blackberry pie with some ice cream on top, or whipped cream or custard. For a lighter version, you could just sprinkle the pie with some powdered sugar. Depending on what we are having it with, we like to warm it up or just enjoy it cold. If you are serving it with ice cream, then I suggest warming it up in the microwave or the oven for a minute.
Storage
I recommend storing the apple blackberry pie at room temperature for up to 2 days and cover it with some kitchen foil or towel. After that, if not consumed, then you can put it in the fridge for another 2 days.
FAQ
You could serve the apple blackberry pie with ice cream, whipped cream or custard. Depending on what you are serving it with, you could warm it up for 30-60 seconds in the microwave or just serve it cold.
The best apples to use for an apple blackberry pie are cooking apples as they are more tart and will hold their shape after being cooked.
I recommend using a loose bottom, non-stick flan tin to bake your apple blackberry pie as it will be easier to remove the pie, and you will get beautiful fluted sides.
You can store the apple blackberry pie at room temperature for up to 2 days and cover it with some kitchen foil or a towel, so it doesn't dry out. In the fridge, it will last for an additional 2 days.
Recipe
Apple Blackberry Pie
This classic apple blackberry pie is a traditional English dish, a comforting family pudding. Inside a flaky buttery sweet shortcrust pastry, you will find a slightly tart filling made of green cooking apples and blackberries. Serve the pie with some vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or custard, or for a lighter version, just sprinkle with some powdered sugar.
8-10 servings
20 minutes
Pastry Ingredients
- 2 cups / 260gr plain flour
- 1 ½ sticks / 160gr cold butter cut in cubes
- 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons of cold water
- 2 tablespoons of milk
Filling Ingredients
- 2 cups blackberries
- 2 cooking apples
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 2 teaspoons of cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
Equipment
- dough scraper (paid link)
- food processor (paid link)
- tart pan (paid link)
Instructions
- Start with preparing the pastry. Add the flour and powdered sugar to a food processor or a bowl.
- Add the cold butter cut into cubes. With your fingers, rub the butter with the flour or mix in the food processor for a minute until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl if you are using a food processor. Add 3 tablespoons of cold water, one at a time, while mixing with a spoon or knife.
- Bring together the mixture into a rough dough. If the mixture is still crumbly, add one more tablespoon of cold water.
- Wrap the dough with some plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, it's time to prepare the filling. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to a pot and heat up over medium heat.
- Add the 2 cooking apples cut into cubes to the pot and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Give it a stir and leave it to cook for 3-4 minutes until tender but not very soft.
- Add the cornstarch and the cinnamon. Give it a stir and turn off the heat.
- Add the blackberries and gently mix them, so they don't break down.
- Leave the filling on the side to cool down while rolling out the pastry.
- Take the dough out of the fridge and remove the plastic wrap. Cut it into two pieces, with one piece being a little bit bigger than the other.
- Take the bigger piece of dough first, as we are going to use it for the bottom of the pie. Drizzle the surface, where you are going to roll out the pastry, with some flour. Place the dough in the middle and cover it with plastic wrap or parchment paper.
- Start rolling out the pastry into a circle. Don't worry if the edges start to break. Simply press them together with your fingers and continue to roll out.
- Using the rolling pin, place the dough in a 23cmm/9in pie dish and cut any excess from the edges. Using a fork, prick some holes at the bottom.
- Add the filling to the pie dish and evenly distribute it.
- Start rolling the top pastry into a circle. Wet the edges of the pie with some milk and place the top pastry on top.
- Gently press with your fingers the edges to seal the top and bottom pastry where you brushed with the milk.
- Using a knife, prick the top pastry four times and brush with some milk.
- If you have any leftover dough, you can make some flowers or leaves and decorate the pie.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 45-55 minutes at 180°C/350°F or until golden brown.
Notes
- You can use any apples that you like and have available in your fridge. The cooking apples are the best as they are a bit hard and will hold their shape after cooking, whereas other types might melt and result in a texture similar to thick jam.
Storage
Store the apple blackberry pie at room temperature for up to 2 days and cover with kitchen foil or a towel. After that, you could store it in the fridge for an additional 2 days.
Nutrition Info (per serving)
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
