Blackberry and apple pie and turnovers

A turnover is simply an individual pie as far as I can make out. The difference is that a turnover is portable; a bit like a sweet pasty I suppose, whereas a pie usually requires a dish and spoon.

After our second blackberry picking expedition we decided to stick to a more traditional recipe, hence the blackberry and apple pie.

If you want to make these completely sugar free, the secret is to use sweet eating apples. People get so hung up on using the 'right' type of cooking apple but experiment and see what you can come up with. Some apples are much sweeter than others and some eating apples cook down nicely just like cooking apples.

I used 1 James Grieve (which can be used as both an eating and cooking apple early in the season) and 2 discovery apples along with about 300gms of blackberries and the sweetness level was just right.



Blackberry and apple pie and turnovers

Ingredients

• 300 gms blackberries
• 3 good sized eating apples
• 8 oz plain flour
• 4 oz butter straight from the refrigerator
  
• Around 6-8 tablespoons chilled water
• Couple of tablespoons of ground almonds (optional)

Method

• Prepare the fruit - skin and core the apples and cook in a tiny amount of water with the lid on, until soft. This takes about 20 minutes. Add the blackberries for the last 5 minutes of cooking time to soften them
  
• While the fruit is cooking, make the pastry:
• Cut the butter into small dice and put into a big bowl with the flour
  
• Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Work quickly and lightly, using only your fingertips to keep the butter cool.

• Gradually add the chilled water, a tablespoon at a time. Mix with a wooden spoon as you go until you get a soft dough.
• Chill the dough in a plastic bag in the fridge for 1/2 hour to make it more manageable.
• Lightly flour a clean work surface and your rolling pin and start to roll the dough out to whatever shape you need it - you'll need a base for your pie dish and a top. The rest can be used to make individual turnovers
• To make the pie, put the pastry base in a lightly greased oven proof dish, fill it with the prepared fruit and place a pastry top on the pie. Make a few holes in the pastry topping to let steam out.

• To make the turnovers, roll the pastry into large rounds, sprinkle each round with a desertspoon of ground almonds (this helps to stop the pastry go soggy) and add a desertspoon or two of fruit filling into the centre of the pastry. Gather up the edges of the turnover, put a dab of water along the edges of the paste and squeeze together to make a pasty shape. Again, make a couple of holes in the pasty to let out steam
  
• Put the turnovers on a lightly greased baking sheet
  
• Bake in a preheated oven at 180-200 degrees for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden

Verdict 10/10 I love these, they are just the right sweetness and I love the pastry