Apple & Blackberry Turnovers

Nature has a wonderful way of letting us know which ingredients go together like bread & butter. Usually, food that grows next to each (as in from the same country or region) or food that ripens & comes into season at the same time. One such excellent, natural pairing is apples & blackberries, both of which ripen around the same time, usually late August – September time. A classic treat to make with the two (it’s practically a British institution) would be a hearty, warming crumble. A classic dessert, a real Autumnal treat but one that can be quite overdone down to it’s quick & easy nature. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good crumble (especially when you throw some custard my way too), but sometimes, it’s just nice to have something a little bit different. That’s exactly what my apple & blackberry turnovers are.

Apple & Blackberry Turnovers

At their heart they’re essentially still a crumble but presented in a flakier, more golden exterior. They’re basically portable pies… a stewed, lightly spiced, fruit filling is encased in a golden, sugar-coated, puff pastry case (in turn meaning less washing up – always a plus in my book!). These really are a doddle to make, the filling is made all in one pan & the pastry can be made a couple of days in advance. Even better than all of that though, if you look hard enough or have a well equipped garden, then you’ll be able to forage for & pick all of the lovely fruit filling for free! These are best eaten whilst still a little warm but keep well for a day or two, just pop back into the oven for 10-15 minutes to crisp up the pastry.

Apple & Blackberry Turnovers

APPLE & BLACKBERRY TURNOVERS
(makes 4 large or 6 small turnovers)

Ingredients:

For the rough puff pastry:

  • 450g plain flour
  • 50g icing sugar
  • 100g unsalted butter, well chilled
  • 110g lard, well chilled
  • 175ml cold water
  • pinch of salt(or you can use 320g ready made puff pastry) 

For the filling:

  • 300g apples (approx 3)
  • 150g blackberries
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tbsp cornflour

For the topping:

  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 3 tbsp demerara sugar

Method:

To make the pastry:

  • To make the pastry, sift together the flout, icing sugar & salt into a large bowl
  • Take 1/4 of the lard (roughly 26g), cut into small cubes & use your fingers to rub this into the flour
  • Take the rest of the lard & the butter & use a grater to grate all of the fats into the bowl
  • Use your hands to stir through the grated fats so that it is covered in flour & evenly distributed
  • Make a small; well in the middle of the mixture & pour in the cold water
  • Use a blunt knife to stir & bring the dough together (you may need to add a little more water, add it in a little spoonful at a time if you do)
  • Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface & use a rolling pin to roll it out into a long rectangle shape
  • Take the top (short side) of the pastry & fold this down two thirds of the way down the length of the pastry
  • Take the bottom (short side) of the pastry & fold this over the top of the piece you just folded downwards
  • Cover the pasty in cling film & place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes
  • After the pastry has chilled, re-roll it out into a long rectangular shape & repeat the same folding method as before
  • Re-cover the pastry & chill for at least 30 minutes before using

To make the filling:

  • Begin by coring the apples before chopping into smallish chunks (around 1cm)
  • Add the chopped apple, blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, spices & cornflour to large bowl & stir together until everything is well combined

To assemble the apple & blackberry turnovers:

  • Roll out the pastry into a large square, approximately the same thickness as a £1 coin
  • Use a sharp knife of a pastry cutter to create 4 equal sized squares of pastry for large turnovers or 8 for smaller ones
  • Divide the mixture between the pastry squares, spooning it into the centre of each, being sure not to reach the edges of the pastry
  • Very carefully, take one corner over the pastry square & fold it over the filling to meet the opposite corner, creating a triangle
  • Press the edges of the pastry together before using a fork to press & seal all along the joined edge
  • Use a sharp knife to cut 3 small holes in the top of each turnover to let the steam from cooking escape when in the oven
  • Brush the tops of the rolls liberally with the the beaten egg before sprinkling over the demerara sugar
  • Bake the turnovers at 180C for 30 minutes until the pastry is a nice golden colour
  • Leave the turnovers to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the baking sheet & placing onto a cooling rack or eating whilst still warm
rolling-pin


4 Comments

    1. Hi Barb! They both have a very similar fat content so shortening should work just the same so long as its well chilled for grating (pop it in the freezer for a bit)

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