Apple & Blackberry Hand Pies with Stonebeck Wensleydale
The sweet and tart autumn fruit in these hand pies pair deliciously with the bright and lemony Stonebeck Wensleydale. Alongside the apple, we have used blackberries that were frozen after being picked in September, but you could use any combination of seasonal fruit and spices such as plum and cardamom, quince and cloves or pear and ginger.
The rough puff pastry is inspired by Nicola Lamb's recipe in her book Sift, however we have replaced half of the white flour with wholemeal flour to add a nuttier flavour and texture.
Makes 6-8 pies
Ingredients:
115g wholemeal flour
120g plain flour
165g butter
95g cold water
10g white wine vinegar
1 Bramley apple
150g blackberries
30g light brown sugar
1/4 whole nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
Demerara sugar
Stonebeck Wensleydale
Method:
Weigh out the flours into a mixing bowl. Weigh out the cold butter, then cube and cut into very thin sheaths, adding to the bowl as you go and tossing with flour. This will add a very flaky texture to the rough puff pastry. Now slowly add the cold water and vinegar and use a knife to combine to avoid overmixing. Bring together the dough with your hands and move onto a lightly floured surface.
Roll out the pastry to a 40cm long rectangle and do a double fold, bringing both edges into the centre then folding it in half. Roll the pastry out to 40cm again and do another double fold. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180C fan.
Peel and cut the apple into 1cm pieces, add to a bowl and stir through the blackberries, sugar, grated nutmeg and cinnamon.
Once the pastry is chilled, roll it out and cut into rectangles. Cut a leaf shape into half of rectangles, these will be the tops of the pies. Spoon the mixture into the centre of the un-cut rectangles, being careful not to overfill, and use your finger to run some water around the border. Place on the tops of the pies, pressing down the edges, then use a fork to seal the pastry together. Egg wash and sprinkle with demerara sugar.
Bake for 30-35 minutes.
Serve with generous slices of Stonebeck Wensleydale.
