Can anyone else believe it is Autumn already? Where does the time go? I still love this time of year the best though. It’s a time for cosy nights in, fires, special events and lots and lots of hearty good food. What more do you need on a Sunday evening than an absolutely delicious homemade blackberry and apple pie?

The best thing about making this pie is that you can pretty much get blackberries for free. Why not take a stroll down a country lane and see how many punnets you can fill? Go on, take advantage of nature at it’s best. It was believed in the olden days (old wives tales) that blackberries should be picked before the 11th of October as people used to believe the devil made them unfit for eating as he trod, spat fouled on them (yikes!). Blackberries have been around for years and years, records show they have been around 8’000 BC.

Yes this little fruit that just casually grows on the side of the lane has a lot of history!This traditional homemade blackberry & apple pie recipe has been made by my family years before I was around. My ancestors owned farms on the Yorkshire Dales and I can just imagine how warming, filling and satisfying it was for them. Living and working on a farm, plenty of food had to be around to help fill up the workers. I believe an Aga would have been used and I am convinced it would taste even more delicious made in one.

If your new to making pies then do not fear! Ask away by leaving a comment if you need any help. Give it a go, the results are worth it.

Recipe

Makes 8 large slices Prep Time 15-20mins Cook Time 15-20mins Difficulty Medium

Ingredients

12oz Plain Flour

3oz Lard (chilled)

3oz Butter (chilled)

3 – 4Tablespoons Cold Water

1 oz Brown Sugar

1oz Caster Sugar

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

Pinch of Salt

1 Egg (beaten)

A little extra brown sugar and cinnamon for the finishing touch!

For the filling

11oz Blackberries

2 Cooking Apples (cored and sliced)

2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

Knob of Butter

Instructions

(This recipe makes enough for a topping for the pie and a little extra – just in case!)

Grease a deep pie dish. Mix together the flour, salt, sugars and cinnamon. Cut the chilled lard and butter in to cubes and add to dry mixture. Using cold fingertips gently rub in the fats to make a bread crumb texture – making sure you rub in from a height to make it light and airy. Once rubbed in, make a well and add the water. Using a knife, chop in to the mixture until it starts to form together in to a dough. The dough needs to be moist but not too sticky. Cover the dough and leave in the fridge to chill. Meanwhile, add your sliced apples into a pan along with the butter, sugar and cinnamon. On a low heat, gently heat your apples with a pan lid on. Stir occasionally making sure the sugar does not burn and until the apples begin to break. This can take around 10 minutes. Once your apples are breaking add the blackberries and cook without the pan on for around 5 minutes. Leave to cool. Whilst your fruity filling is cooling, place your dough on to a floured surface and cut it in half. Roll out one half of the dough to the thickness of half an inch and large enough to cover your pie dish. Gently lift the dough over the dish and carefully let it fall in. Tuck the edges gently into the dish. Cut off the excess but making sure you have enough around the edge of the dish to help attach the lid. Wash your edges with the beaten egg to help ‘glue’ the top. Drain your cooled fruit mixture and spoon the lovely fruit in to the pie base. Drizzle a little juice left over on the fruit (but not too much or you will get a soggy bottom). Roll out the other half the dough to the same thickness and size and place over the fruit. Again, cut off the excess pastry and nip together the pie base and top…this can be done pressing a fork and going around the edges. Make two small cuts in the middle of the pie lid. Brush your pie with the beaten egg and sprinkle over brown sugar and cinnamon. Bake for around 20minuites in a pre-heated oven at 180C. Once golden brown, leave your pie to cool slightly and serve with ice cream or custard. Simply delicious.

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