By Ratna
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…