Spiced Apple And Blackberry Tart Food

SPICED APPLE & BLACKBERRY HAND PIES

Steps:

• Put the apples and golden caster sugar in a saucepan with 2 tbsp water and cook, covered, for 6 mins or until the apples are soft, stirring once or twice. Tip the mixture into a shallow dish and spread out to cool slightly, then tip in the blackberries and stir. In a separate bowl, mix the cornflour with the honey and cinnamon, then stir it into the fruit mixture.
• Unroll the pastry sheets and, using a 10cm round cutter, cut out 12 circles. Spoon the fruit filling onto half of the pastry circles, leaving a border of about 1cm around the edge. Brush the beaten egg around the edges and place a plain pastry disc on top to encase the filling, then make a little dent in the top and bottom to form an apple shape. Seal the edges all the way around using the prongs of a fork, then brush with egg. Use the pastry off-cuts to cut out little leaf shapes and stalks, then stick them on with beaten egg. Poke a steam hole in the top with a skewer. Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling. Arrange the pies on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and chill for at least 30 mins, or up to 24 hrs. Can be frozen unbaked for up to 2 months.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Bake the pies for 20 mins, or until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling through the hole. If cooking from frozen, bake for an extra 5 mins. Sprinkle with the sugar, then leave to cool for at least 20 mins before serving with custard.

QUICK BLACKBERRY APPLE TART

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. In a small pot, heat the blackberries with 2 teaspoons of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla until thick and syrupy. You can also skip this step and just use heated blackberry preserves instead. Take the sliced apples and toss with the lemon juice and zest.
• On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, roll out the puff pastry square a little bit until there are no seams.
• Spread the blackberry mixture over the pastry, leaving about an inch at the edges. Arrange the apples across the pastry, and brush with the warm honey (just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds). Dot the tart evenly with butter and bake for 18-20 minutes until the apples are tender and the pastry is golden brown.

SPICED ROASTED APPLES & BLACKBERRIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4/fan 160C. Core the apples so you have a hole the size of a pound coin in each one. Make a cut just into the skin around the middle of each apple.
• Stand the apples in a shallow baking dish large enough to take all four. Mix together the honey, cinnamon and orange zest, put an equal amount into the cavity of each apple, then pour the orange juice into the dish.
• Roast the apples for about 40 minutes, spooning the juices over them occasionally. Then, when the apples are almost ready, spoon the blackberries around and over the top of each apple. Return to the oven for 10 minutes or until the juices start to run. Spoon the blackberries and juices over the apples to serve.

APPLE AND BLACKBERRY KUCHEN

Steps:

• For the cake:
• Pour 2 1/4 cups of the flour in a bowl with the salt, sugar and yeast. In another bowl, beat the eggs and add them, with the vanilla extract, lemon zest and cinnamon, to the lukewarm milk. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients to make a medium-soft dough, being prepared to add more flour as necessary. I generally use about 2 1/3 cups in all, but advise you to start off with the smaller amount: just add more as needed. Work in the soft butter and knead by hand for about 10 minutes or half that time by machine. When the dough is ready it will appear smooth and springy: it suddenly seems to plump up into glossy life.
• Cover with a kitchen towel and leave until doubled in size (1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes). Or leave to rise slowly in a cold place overnight. Then punch down and press to line a jellyroll pan measuring 13 by 9-inches. You may think it's never going to stretch to fit, but it will, although you may need to let it rest for 10 minutes or so mid-stretch, especially if the dough has had a cold rise. When it's pressed out on the pan, leave it to rest for 15 to 20 minutes and then brush with the egg and cream mixture.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Peel and chop the apple and toss it in a bowl with the blackberries and the zest from the other half lemon. Set the bowl aside for the few minutes it takes to make the crumble topping. Put the flour, ground almonds and cinnamon in a medium-sized bowl, stir to combine, then add the cold, diced butter. Using the tips of your fingers - index and middle stroking the fleshly pads of your clumpy (this is very buttery mixture) oatmeal. Fork in the sugars and sliced almonds.
• Tumble the fruit over the egg-washed dough and then sprinkle the crumble on top of that. Put in the oven for 15 minutes, then turn down to 350 degrees F and cook for a further 20 minutes or so, until the dough is swelling and golden at its billowing edges and the crumble is set; don't expect it to be crunchy.
• Remove from the oven and, if you can, wait 5 minutes or so before cutting it into greed-satisfying slabs.

SPICED BLACKBERRY, QUINCE AND APPLE PAVLOVA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F (140 degrees C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Put the sugar and lemon juice in a large bowl. Add one egg white and whisk for a minute - the mixture will look hard, but don't worry. Add another egg white and whisk for a few minutes before adding the remaining whites. Then whisk for 4 to 5 minutes until the meringue is stiff and shiny.
• Dollop the mixture in a circle on the parchment paper about 8in (20cm) round, making the sides slightly higher than the center. Bake in the bottom of the oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the meringue is firm and crisp on the outside but still soft and "pillowy" inside. If you can, wedge the oven door open a tiny bit with a damp tea towel; this allows the moisture to escape and dries out your meringue more quickly. You don't want too much color - it may begin to turn a very, very pale beige, but that is it. Once cooked, turn off the oven and leave the meringue inside until completely cool.
• Meanwhile, put all the fruit filling ingredients except the blackberries in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. You can throw the vanilla seeds and the bean into the mix. Bring the liquid to just boiling point, then turn down to a poach. (A poach is when there is only one or two bubbles breaking the surface of the liquid.) Cook for about 15 minutes, until the fruit is soft but still has a bit of bite. Add the blackberries and remove the pan from the heat, then let the fruit cool in the liquid.
• To make the cream filling, put the cream, sugar, and vanilla into a large bowl and whip. The cream is whipped enough when it just starts to hold its shape in the bowl and does not run when the bowl is tipped. It is best to very slightly underwhip, as the cream will thicken when left to stand.
• Drain the fruit through a sifter or colander, reserving the liquid if you want, to have as a hot toddy.
• To assemble the pavlova, place the meringue on a serving plate. Dollop the cream mixture all over it, leaving a 1 1/2 (4cm) border all the way around. Pile the drained fruit all over the cream and serve.

FARMHOUSE BLACKBERRY & APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. On a floured surface, roll out two-thirds of the pastry and use it to line a 23cm loosebottom fluted tart tin, leaving a slight overhang and keeping any pastry scraps. Chill the tart for 10 mins. Prick the base lightly with a fork, then fill with baking paper and baking beans. Place in the oven on a baking sheet for 20 mins, remove the beans and paper, then bake for 10 mins more until sandy brown and biscuity. Remove from the oven.
• Tip the apples into a large bowl and microwave on High for 3 mins. Toss in the berries, sugar, cinnamon and 2 tbsp flour with a pinch of salt and pile it into the case, saving 14 berries for later.
• Roll the remaining pastry and trimmings together into a square roughly 30 x 30cm. Cut out 8 strips of pastry about 3 x 30cm - if you cut round an average ruler the size will be perfect. 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, brush the lattice heavily with the egg, then scatter generously with more sugar. Plonk the remaining berries into the gaps, then bake for 1 hr until brown and bubbling. Leave the pie to cool for 30 mins until no longer scorching. Scatter with more sugar, slice and serve.

BLACKBERRY & APPLE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Butter a 22cm round loose-bottomed cake tin and line the base with baking parchment. Beat the butter and caster sugar together in a large bowl until it is light and fluffy. Gradually pour in and beat the eggs, a little at a time, until you have used two-thirds, adding flour if it curdles. Fold in the remaining egg, the ground almonds and finally the flour, and combine everything gently.
• Add two-thirds of the apples to the cake mixture and all the blackberries. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth it out evenly. Scatter the remaining apples over the surface of the cake. For the topping, sprinkle over the cinnamon, demerara sugar and butter. Bake for 50-55 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and scatter on the toasted hazelnuts. When the cake is cool, dust lightly with icing sugar. Serve in slices.