How to make grandma’s pie pastry

At this time of year, the apples and blackberries are begging to be picked, they’re practically jumping into your unsuspecting hands. The thick bubblyness you get when you stew them together with a bit of sugar makes me crazy. When I imagine it, there’s always a split second close up in my mind of the slightly thick magenta stew popping like the tastiest witch’s caldron in the world.

Let’s talk about pastry…

In some ways, we are so lucky to be able to just grab a stick of pastry from the supermarket and make a pie without the hassle* of making shortcrust from scratch. On the other hand,*making shortcrust pastry isn’t difficult and you can totally taste the buttery goodness of homemade pastry made with quality butter and flour. You just can’t buy that taste in the supermarket.

Being the pastry enthusiast that I am, I thought I would share my grandma’s pastry recipe with you guys. Buttery, ever so slightly sweet and crumbly. This pastry recipe was born to be filled with stewed autumn fruit and berries. The tang of the apple and the sweet little berries are in their element. In fact, here’s the recipe for the whole pie, because pastry without pie is a very sad affair indeed.

Apple and blackerry lattice pie

Ingredients

• • 2 tbsp plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1kg Bramley apples, peeled, cored, halved and sliced
  • 400g blackberries
  • 140g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
  • pinch ground cinnamon
  • 1 egg beaten with 2 tbsp milk

  Grandma’s Pastry:

  • 225g plain flour
  • 100g butter, diced
  • pinch salt
  • 20ml water
  • 50g caster sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 190C or 170C if fan assisted
2. To make the pastry, add the sugar, flour and butter to a bowl. Use your finger tips to make it into a breadcrumb consistency and make sure all the butter is thoroughly mixed in. Now add the water and mix until the pastry forms a ball of dough. Cling film and leave in the fridge for at least half an hour
3. On a floured surface, roll out two-thirds of the pastry line your pie dish with it. Allow so overhang as pastry shrinks in the oven. Make some holes in the base with a fork and add baking beans and then blind bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
4. Wash, peel, core and cut up your apples. Place these and the berries with sugar to taste in the baked pastry. Add the cinnamon.
5. Roll the remaining pastry and trimmings together into a square and Cut out 8 strips of pastry that should be long enough to cover both ends of your pie. Weave the strips of pastry evenly over the fruit to create a lattice pattern and push them into the edge of the tart. Trim the overhang of pastry, and use a fork to press down the edges. Brush the top of the lattice with the egg and milk and scatter on a bit of sugar. Bake for around 50 minutes to an hour until lovely and juicy!