Blackberry and Apple Tart

Could you think of anything more perfect for Autumn than this spiced apple and blackberry tart? In fact, the 21st of October, today, is also national apple day!

Apple and blackberry tart

The wild blackberries in my neck of the woods are certainly less plentiful than they were when I made this but if you look hard enough there might just be some left, to pick just in time to make this wonderful, seasonal tart.

The recipe comes from the September edition of Waitrose food. As soon as I saw it on the front cover I knew I had to bake it and it was such a good recipe that I’ve only made minimal changes to it. All hail the Waitrose baking gods.

Ingredients;

For the pastry;
The original recipe used shop bought, so I made my own based upon this recipe, however this didn’t make a large enough quantity, so I would suggest adjusting as below to make sweet shortcrust. Unless you already have a recipe which works for you, in which case stick to that.
300 g plain flour
105 g caster sugar
1 egg yolk
145 g sunflower spread
A splash of milk

For the filling;
2 pink lady apples (or cox or any other eating variety you wish)
2 bramley apples
Around 170 g blackberries
100 g caster sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 egg, beaten or the white of the other egg is sufficient

Equipment;
A loose bottomed tart tin, of a height between 3 and 5 cm and a circumference of 25 cm.

Apple and blackberry tart

Method;

1. Make the pastry by crumbing together the flour and sunflower spread first. Then stir in the sugar. Then mix in the egg yolk and as much milk as needed to form a dough. (Be careful you don’t add too much milk here).

2. Roll out the pastry (to about the thickness of a £1 coin) and line the tin with it, push it into the ridges of the tin and make sure you leave some excess pastry hanging over the edges. (If you trim it in line with the top of the tin before baking, it will shrink back and not be high enough to contain the fruit.)

3. Prick the pastry base with a fork, then fill with baking beans, making sure to put a layer of greaseproof paper under the beans so they don’t stick.

4. Place the tart tin on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes on Gas Mark 4. Then remove the baking beans and parchment and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Finally, brush the pastry case with a little beaten egg and return to the oven for 2 minutes.

5. Whilst the pastry case is cooking, place the apples, sugar, ginger and cinnamon in a saucepan with a splash of water. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved and the Bramleys have disintegrated a little. Take off the heat and stir in the blackberries, then leave to cool.

6. Spoon the filling into the pastry case. Roll out the remaining pastry and cut into ten strips and make a lattice pattern on top of the tart. Brush the pastry lattice and around the edges of the tart with the remaining beaten egg and sprinkle over a little sugar.

7. Bake for a final 45 mins.

Apple and blackberry tart