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.

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
(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