Description
These spiced apple and blackberry hand pies are deliciously easy to make, combining tender cooked apples and juicy blackberries with warm cinnamon and honey, all encased in buttery shortcrust pastry. Perfect for a comforting dessert or a sweet snack, they bake up golden with a bubbling fruit filling and a sprinkle of sugar on top.
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
- 2 sheets (320 g each) shortcrust pastry
- 1 small egg beaten
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
Instructions
- Cook Apples: Place the chopped apples in a small saucepan with golden caster sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. Cover with a lid and cook over medium heat for 8 minutes until the apples are soft. Transfer the cooked apples to a shallow dish and spread out to cool slightly.
- Prepare Filling: In a small bowl, combine the cornflour, honey, and ground cinnamon to form a smooth paste. Gently mix this paste into the cooled apples along with the blackberries, being careful not to crush the berries.
- Cut Pastry Circles: Unroll the shortcrust pastry sheets. Using a 10 cm round pastry cutter, a ramekin, or a glass of similar size, cut out 12 circles from the pastry.
- Assemble Pies: Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the fruit filling onto half of the pastry circles, leaving a 1 cm border. Brush the edges with beaten egg wash. Place a plain pastry circle over the filling and gently press edges to seal, forming a hand pie. Create a small dent at the top and bottom of each pie to mimic an apple shape. Seal edges with a fork and brush the tops with egg wash. Use pastry scraps to cut out small leaf and stalk shapes and attach with egg wash. Pierce a steam hole in each pie using a skewer.
- Chill Pies: Arrange the pies on a baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Alternatively, you can chill them overnight or freeze for up to 3 months at this stage.
- Bake Pies: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Celsius fan). Bake the pies for 20 minutes until golden brown and the filling is bubbling through the steam holes. If baking from frozen, add an extra 10 minutes to the cooking time.
- Serve: Remove pies from the oven and immediately sprinkle with caster sugar. Serve warm with cream or custard as desired.
Notes
- If you don't have a 10 cm round pastry cutter, use an upside-down ramekin or a glass of similar diameter to cut pastry circles.
- For make-ahead option, prepare pies up to step 5. Store in the fridge for up to 24 hours before baking, or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Use digital scales for accurate measurement especially for pastry and sugar.
- The pies are best enjoyed warm but can be reheated gently in an oven.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pie
- Calories: 270 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 40 mg
