Blackberry & Apple Crunchy Pie
Hello friends! As promised through Facebook and Instagram this week, I bring you a new recipe that's full of end-of-summer, start-of-autumn deliciousness. This recipe was actually my Nanny's speciality, passed on to my Mum, and then passed on to my sister and me. I believe this is also known as Sponge pudding, but Nanny had a knack for giving wonderful names to her dishes so this is and will always be, Crunchy Pie.
Now of course hand picked fruit is not essential for this recipe but if you can get out in the countryside to forage I highly recommend it. Not only is it a relaxing and rewarding thing to do, the fruit always tastes better than the store-bought kind.
We have some blackberries growing over the back fence of our garden, (surely it's too early - it IS still summer, right? Right!?) so I combined those, along with a few wild ones from the hedgerow, with hand picked apples from the huge tree in our garden. So apart from the odd blackberry from the field (to be honest, my garden pick was a lot more fruitful - yes, I did say that!) the fruit was completely home harvested. This fact makes me feel all warm inside, I love home grown.
So on that gloriously sunny Sunday afternoon, I set up shop in the garden and went to town on our shiny green apples.
And here is the result...
Blackberry & Apple Crunchy Pie
Serves 6-8
Prep 30 mins
Cook 30 mins
For the pie:
2lb approx blackberries and apples
½ cup water
1 handful sugar
½ cup water
1 handful sugar
6 oz caster sugar
6 oz margarine
3 medium free-range eggs
8 oz self-raising flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
For homemade custard:
2 tbsp real custard powder (I use Bird's)
2 tbsp sugar
¾ pint semi-skimmed milk
3 medium free-range eggs
8 oz self-raising flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
For homemade custard:
2 tbsp real custard powder (I use Bird's)
2 tbsp sugar
¾ pint semi-skimmed milk
What to do:
Start by pre-heating your oven to 160° (325° F, Gas Mark 3).
While this is simmering, cream the sugar and butter together in a bowl with an electric whisk or wooden spoon until combined and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Then, with the electric whisk set on low, carefully pour the eggs into the sugar and butter, a bit at a time, ensuring each dash is well mixed in before adding more egg. Add in the vanilla extract then mix one last time to combine.
Next, sift in the flour in stages, gently folding into the mixture as you go, using a wooden spoon or spatula.
Once the blackberry and apple mixture is simmered, sprinkle in a handful of sugar and stir. Spoon into a medium / large casserole dish, using a slotted spoon if there is a lot of liquid still in the pan.
Spread the mixture evenly around the bottom of the dish, then layer the cake mixture on top, smoothing out with a knife.
Bake in the centre of your pre-heated oven for 25 - 30 minutes, or until a knife pressed into the centre comes out clean.
Serve warm with homemade custard (see recipe below) or shop-bought if not.
To Make the Custard:
2 tbsp real custard powder (I use Bird's)
2 tbsp sugar
¾ pint semi-skimmed milk
Heat the milk in a small pan on the hob, until it is almost at the boil. Mix your custard powder and sugar in a bowl, and add a little bit of the milk to make a paste. Bring the milk to the boil, then pour over the paste and stir constantly until it turns to custard. It should have a nice thick consistency, but still be runny enough to pour from a jug.
Once the blackberry and apple mixture is simmered, sprinkle in a handful of sugar and stir. Spoon into a medium / large casserole dish, using a slotted spoon if there is a lot of liquid still in the pan.
Spread the mixture evenly around the bottom of the dish, then layer the cake mixture on top, smoothing out with a knife.
Bake in the centre of your pre-heated oven for 25 - 30 minutes, or until a knife pressed into the centre comes out clean.
Serve warm with homemade custard (see recipe below) or shop-bought if not.
To Make the Custard:
2 tbsp real custard powder (I use Bird's)
2 tbsp sugar
¾ pint semi-skimmed milk
Heat the milk in a small pan on the hob, until it is almost at the boil. Mix your custard powder and sugar in a bowl, and add a little bit of the milk to make a paste. Bring the milk to the boil, then pour over the paste and stir constantly until it turns to custard. It should have a nice thick consistency, but still be runny enough to pour from a jug.
Hope you've enjoyed this recipe and BIG thanks for reading, as always.
12 comments
Oh this looks fantastic!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Diana, it's quite simple to make too! Thanks for stopping by! :)
DeleteHello this looks divine! I will be featuring your post in this week's Home and Garden Thursday - I appreciate you sharing,
ReplyDeleteKathy
Hi Kathy, that's fab! Thank you so much! :)
DeleteThis just looks so fresh and delicious...yum! This would be great to link up to Create It Thursday #19…hope you'll join us!
ReplyDeleteThanks Leslie! Glad you like. Will hop on over to your party and take a look! :)
DeleteOh my, YUM!!! This looks delicious! Thanks for linking up at Sweet & Savoury Sundays! This is one of my Featured recipes for this week! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Lorraine! Thanks for the lovely comments, I'm thrilled you like this! Thanks so much for featuring me too, I really appreciate it! :)
DeleteThis looks delicious. I'm so ready for apple recipes and everything fall. Thanks so much for sharing on Inspire Me Wednesday. Featuring in this week's issue.:)
ReplyDeleteHi Mel, me too! I'm getting really excited for Autumn / Winter now! Thanks for popping by, and thanks for featuring too! :)
DeleteThis looks so appetising, nothing beats home-picked blackberries. I was wondering if you’d like to enter this recipe into our Gourmandize Giveaway recipe competition. This month the theme is apples so it would be perfect, and there are nice prizes to win – let me know what you think:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gourmandize.co.uk/article-1-recipe-competition-for-the-best-apple-recipe.htm
Regards,
Laurence
Hi Laurence,
DeleteThanks for stopping by, and your kind words! I would love to enter it, thanks for letting me know. Will make sure I do that this week! :)
Thanks,
Badgertails.
Thank you for stopping by!