Borders Bramble and Apple Pie
Tart Scottish apples and juicy wild brambles baked beneath crisp, buttery shortcrust pastry and finished with a crunchy sugar crust.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 75 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 410 kcal
Equipment
- •23cm pie dish
- •Rolling pin
- •Mixing bowl
- •Pastry brush
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 410 kcal
- fat
- 18 g
- carbs
- 58 g
- fibre
- 4 g
- protein
- 5 g
- calories
- 410 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Rub the cold butter into the flour and salt until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
- 2
Add the cold water gradually and bring the mixture together into a firm dough.
- 3
Wrap the dough in greaseproof paper and chill in the fridge for thirty minutes.
- 4
Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples into uniform pieces.
- 5
Toss the sliced apples, brambles, caster sugar, and cornflour together in a large bowl.
- 6
Roll out two-thirds of the chilled pastry on a lightly floured worktop.
- 7
Line a 23cm pie dish with the rolled pastry and fill with the fruit mixture.
- 8
Roll out the remaining pastry to create the pie lid.
- 9
Dampen the pastry rim with water, fit the lid, and crimp the edges firmly to seal.
- 10
Cut two small steam slits in the centre and brush the top with milk.
- 11
Sprinkle with demerara sugar and bake at 190°C for forty-five minutes until golden and bubbling.
Chef's tips
Keep the butter and water as cold as possible to ensure a crisp pastry crust. If the pastry browns too quickly during baking, cover the top loosely with foil.
Ingredient substitutions
- brambles → cultivated blackberries
- cooking apples → Granny Smith apples
- demerara sugar → caster sugar
Storage
Store covered in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat slices on a baking tray in a preheated oven at 180°C for ten minutes.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Over-working the pastry dough, which makes the crust tough rather than crumbly.
- •Omitting the steam slits, which traps steam and makes the crust soggy.
- •Skipping the cornflour, leading to a runny filling that spills when sliced.
Serving suggestions
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