Apple and Raspberry lattice mini pies

By  Ratna

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I  have  been  away  for  a  bit.  Not  that  I  flew  to  a  fancy  destination  or  drove  around  the  country,  but  a  staycation,  as  they  say.  I  had  family  visiting.  Days  were  busy  eating  and  cooking,  cooking  and  eating,  catching  up  with  each  other.

Then  when  I  finally  got  my  house  back  and  looked  outside,  there  was  a  definite  change  in  the  weather.  Days  were  shorter,  leaves  yellow  and  harvesting  is  on.

There  are  apples  everywhere.  The  trees  so  heavy  with  the  fruits  that  the  branches  are  bent  almost  touching  the  ground.  The  overripe  ones  strewn  on  the  ground  like  a  carpet. The  raspberry  bushes  have  past  their  peak,  but  still  had  some  berries  next  to  the  yellow  leaves.

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The  July  issue  of  the  Saveur  magazine  had  a  wonderful  picture  of  Blackberry- Plum  Lattice  pie.  This  was  my  inspiration  for  today’s  recipe.  I  tweaked  it  a  bit  here  and  there.  I  have  used  Apples  and  Raspberries  instead,  skipped  the  shortening,  added  a  bit  of  raspberry  jam  to make  up  for  the  fruit,  which  I  ran  short  of.  I  also  used  small  3  inches  individual  foil  pie  pan  than  a  bigger  one  as  shown  in  the  recipe.

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Enjoy  the  pie  at  room  temperature  or  warm  it  if  you  like.  A  dollop  of  vanilla  ice  cream  by  its  side  and  you are  good  to  go…

Recipe:  Made  6  three  inch  wide  mini  pies.

Ingredients;

For  the  pie  crust;

2  cups  All  purpose  flour

1  cup  or  2  sticks  cold  unsalted  butter  cut  in  cubes

Salt  1/2  tsp

Cold  sour  cream  1/2  cup

1/2  tsp  baking  powder

For  the  filling;

6  cups  cubed  apples

1/2  cup  raspberries

1/2  cup  raspberry  jam

2  tbsp  granulated  sugar

1  tsp  vanilla  extract

1/2  tsp  salt

5  tbsp  cornstarch

For  garnish;

2  tbsp  coarse  sugar  for  dusting

Method;

Make  the  dough;

Whisk  together  the  flour,  salt  and  baking  powder  in  a  large  bowl.  Add  the  cubed  butter  to the  bowl  and  use  your  fingers  to  work the  butter  into  the  flour  until  the  mixture  resembles  wet  sand.

Stir  in  the  sour  cream,  then  turn  the  dough  onto  a  well  floured  work  surface.  Knead  the  dough  a  few  times  until  it  comes  together,  adding  more  flour  if  needed.  Flatten  the  dough  to  a  1/2  inch disc,  then  fold  it  over  itself.  Flatten  and  fold  four  additional  times  to  form  layers.  Wrap it  in  plastic  and  refrigerate  overnight. Take  the  dough  out  of  the  refrigerator  15-20  minutes  before  you  are  ready  to  roll  it  out.

Make  the  filling;

Combine  the  apple  pieces,  berries,  sugar,  jam,  vanilla,  and  salt  in  a  large  bowl  and  let  stand  for  30  minutes.  Strain  the  juices,  sprinkle  the  fruit  with  cornstarch  and  mix  well  to  dissolve  the  starch.

Assemble  the  pie;

Preheat  the  oven  to  400  degrees F.  Grease  the  pie  pans.  Dust  the  countertop  with  flour  and  roll  half  of  the  dough  into  6  by  14  inches.  I  inverted  the  3  inch  pie  pan  and  cut  out  6  circles,  each  a  little  wider  than  the  pan,  about  4  inches  diameter.  Collect  the  scraps  and  roll  out  again  if  needed.  Gently  lift  the  crusts  and  settle  them  into  each  pie  plate.  Pour  the  fruit  mixture  into  the  crusts  and  press it  down  evenly.

Roll  the  second  half  of  the  crust  again  into  6  by  14  inches.  With  a  fluted  pastry  cutter  cut  into  1/4  inch  strips.  To  form  a  lattice  design  follow  this  video.

Dust  the  pies  with  coarse  sugar.  Chill  them  in  a  refrigerator  for  15  minutes.

Bake  in  the  preheated  oven  for  20 minutes.  Lower  the  temperature  to  350  degrees and  bake  for  another  40  minutes.  The  juices  should  be  bubbly  and  crust  evenly  golden.

Let  the  pie  cool  completely  for  2  hours  before  serving.

 

6 thoughts on “Apple and Raspberry lattice mini pies

  1. You’re right Fall has started, and it is a wonderful change I am kind of looking for. It’s going to be a lot better with this pie now 🙂

    P.S. I’m glad you devoted your time to catch up & celebrate with loved ones, and I’m glad that you’re back, Ratna 🙂

    • Aww! Thanks Pang. Truly fall is so pretty here, it is as if nature is on a colour overdrive before the white of winter. You have a wonderful week ahead.

  2. I love the decorative lattice you created for the top of the mini pies. The openings between the lattice allows for the apple and raspberries juices to caramelize the top so nicely. Love your overhead shots, especially your composition. Eating and cooking along with family are the memories we cherish so much. The leaves are turning around here to. Lovely post, Ratna xo 🙂

    • Thank you Elizabeth. I haven’t made too many pies, but your comment is inspiring me to go forward.I totally agree with you re the memories made around food. I value your support very much. Have a wonderful weekend ahead.

  3. With your beautiful autumn weather starting, we too had our change in seasons. It happened overnight – Spring had sprung. Even with our terrible drought, leaves looked greener, birds were chirpier and it suddenly became too hot to put on my trusty jeans. I’ll be thinking of you as your leaves start turning, and all those beautiful apples hang on your trees waiting for you to conjure up some stunning recipes. This pie looks gorgeous Ratna. Enjoy your lovely weather. xxx

    • You are right Ev, in as much as it is sad to see the summer go, the autumn does have its share of beauty. I am so happy to hear that you are welcoming spring. Enjoy the season of hope and new beginning…

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