Description
These spiced apple and blackberry hand pies are a delightful dessert featuring a flaky shortcrust pastry filled with a sweet and aromatic mix of cooked apples and fresh blackberries, enhanced with cinnamon and honey. Perfectly portioned and easy to handle, these hand pies offer a comforting combination of fruity flavors and a crisp golden crust.
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 shortcrust pastry sheets
- 1 small egg beaten
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
Instructions
- Cook the apples: Place the peeled, cored, and 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 about 8 minutes or until the apples are soft. Transfer the cooked apples to a shallow dish and spread them out to cool slightly.
- Prepare the fruit filling: In a small bowl, mix the cornflour, honey, and ground cinnamon until smooth. Add the blackberries and cooled apple chunks to the bowl, then gently combine all ingredients to evenly coat the fruit with the cinnamon and honey paste.
- Cut out the pastry circles: Unroll the shortcrust pastry sheets. Using a 10 cm round pastry cutter (or an upside-down ramekin or glass of similar diameter), cut out 12 circles from the pastry.
- Assemble the 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 to help seal. Place a plain pastry circle on top of each filled one. Shape the pies by gently pressing a small dent at the top and bottom to create an apple shape, then seal the edges by pressing with the tines of a fork. Brush each pie with egg wash.
- Add decorative details and steam holes: Use any pastry off-cuts to cut out small leaf and stalk shapes, attaching them to the pies with egg wash. Poke a small steam hole in the top of each pie using a skewer to allow steam escape while baking.
- Chill the pies: Transfer the pies onto a baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. They can also be frozen at this point for up to 3 months.
- Bake the pies: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Celsius fan). Bake the pies for 20 minutes or until golden brown and the filling bubbles through the steam holes. If baking from frozen, increase the baking time by 10 minutes.
- Finish and serve: Remove the pies from the oven and sprinkle them with caster sugar. Serve warm with a dollop of cream or custard.
Notes
- If you don't have a 10 cm round pastry cutter, an upside-down ramekin or a glass of a similar diameter works well as a substitute.
- For making ahead, prepare the pies through step 5 and store them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours or freeze them for up to 3 months before baking.
- Using digital scales is recommended for accurate ingredient measurements.
- If frozen, allow extra baking time of 10 minutes to ensure the pies cook thoroughly.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pie
- Calories: 230 kcal
- Sugar: 15 g
- Sodium: 80 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 33 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 40 mg
