To celebrate Pi(e) Day on March 14th (3.14), I wanted to recreate a childhood memory for my boyfriend, but couldn’t find a recipe for the pie he loved as a child. His fond memories of picking wild blackberries as a child in the UK, then bringing them home to be turned into a pie by his father started me on the venture to make him a pie with his two favorite fruits–apples and blackberries. I’ve modified a fruit crumble recipe from Epicurious that we really like to top this deep-dish pie.
How to make Apple Blackberry Pie: Printable
This pie uses pastry for a 1-crust pie and requires a deep-dish pie pan.
Start by making the filling.
Chop 1 1/2 pounds of apples, such as Galas or Fujis into 1/2″ pieces. I used 4 Braeburn apples. You can peel them first, but I don’t bother. Life is short!
Combine apples with 2 1/2 cups blackberries. I used some lovely local blackberries that I froze last summer and just let them thaw enough so that I could separate them. Add in 6 tablespoons sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
Now, mix together the topping.
Mix 1 cup oats, 1/2 cup flour (I used whole wheat ’cause that’s how I roll) and 1/4 teaspoon salt together in a separate bowl. Cut in 1/2 cup softened margarine or unsalted butter.
Roll out your crust and put it in your pie plate. Fill with filling.
Then top with the crumbs. I had a bit of crumbs left over.
Bake the pie in the lower third of your oven (thanks, Suzanne, for that trick!) at 425 degrees for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes.
You’ll know it’s done when the crumb topping is browned and you can see the filling bubbling. Even though this recipe makes A LOT of filling and you have to mound it up to get it all in the pie plate, I haven’t had trouble with the pie bubbling over and making a mess in the oven. I suspect this would be an issue if you upped the ratio of blackberries to apples, however.
Enjoy!
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Kathi N says:
Thanks for sharing. This looks really tasty!
Kathi N.
http://granddadscorner.blogspot.com
On April 16, 2012 at 1:55 pm
Pete says:
Oooooh – this looks and sounds just wonderful. And the story that goes with it is delightful.
Thanks for sharing!
On April 16, 2012 at 6:54 pm
STH says:
Thanks so much, Kathi and Pete! I showed this post to my boyfriend this morning and he was just tickled to see HIS pie posted there. And I was happy to make him a treat to help him remember his father, who’s gone now.
On April 16, 2012 at 7:41 pm
murphala says:
Oh my, that looks fabulous! I’m trying it as soon as I can locate some blackberries. And Braeburns are my favorite apple ever, so this has to be awesome. Thanks for the Pi(e) day dish! I don’t think I can wait ’til next March to make it though. 😉
On April 16, 2012 at 9:59 pm
STH says:
Thanks, murphala! It’s tough this time of year, isn’t it? I’m REALLY impatient for the summer fruit to get here, especially those gorgeous berries!
I’m hoping to submit more recipes for traditional British foods as I learn how to make them. I made a Cottage Pie tonight that I’ll try to put together a post on (sorry, all you English teachers out there–I couldn’t come up with a better way to phrase that!), and I’m also thinking about trying to recreate a Chicken and Leek Pie I had in a London pub!
On April 16, 2012 at 10:57 pm