Strawberry, Apple & Elderflower Pie (#GBBO week4)

43 Comments

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So it is week 4 of the Great British Bake Off which means it is the fourth week of our Great Bloggers Bake Off!!! I was completely taken aback by the entries to the last linky – 39 in total which is amazing and all the desserts were so fantastic too. I love how everyone is continuing to challenge themselves and produce some outstanding results *pats everyone on the back*

Our third Star Baker was Carolin for her Black Forest Trifle which did look  delicious so well done to her.

Tonights edition of the GBBO was all about pastry and pies and they had to make double crust fruit pie custard tarts filo pastry show stopper There were lots of soggy bottoms and undercooked egg custard and I do not think I will be giving filo pastry a try from scratch! So for the Great Bloggers Bake Off feel free to make any pie or tart, sweet or savoury to link up.

I love making pastry – there is something comforting and almost relaxing about rubbing the fat with the flour, and it really does not take long to do, and if you have never made your own shortcrust pastry I urge you to give it a go. Its very rewarding and honestly does not take that long. Not actually much longer than baking a cake for example. The pastry recipe I am sharing is one my Nanny gave me and it really is amazing. I usually just use butter BUT the original Nanny recipe calls for lard and another fat so for my GBBO pie I am using lard aswell as butter. It makes for a crumbly and crisp pastry. I have added elderflower cordial instead of cold water (Nanny’s recipe uses water!) to make the pastry recipe my own for this pie.

5.0 from 4 reviews
Strawberry, Apple & Elderflower Pie
 
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Author:
Recipe type: desserts
Cuisine: British
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • FOR THE SWEET PASTRY
  • 10oz flour (I use self raising)
  • 1oz icing sugar
  • 1oz ground almonds
  • 3oz unsalted butter – cold
  • 3oz lard - cold
  • elderflower cordial
  • (about 6tbsp but this is approx as could be more or bit less so add 1 tbsp at a time)
  • FOR THE FILLING
  • 8 eating apples, peeled and sliced
  • 250g strawberries, hulled and left whole
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 50ml elderflower cordial
Instructions
  1. Place all the pastry ingredients into a large bowl and rub together until all the butter is rubbed in and the mixture resemble fine breadcrumbs.
  2. Make a well in the middle and add the elderflower cordial – its hard to give an exact amount but better to add a little at a time – and using a knife, cut through the mixture until a dough starts to form and the mixture leaves the side.
  3. Then using your fingers bring the mixture together to form a ball.
  4. Wrap the dough in cling film – dusting the cling film in flour first – and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (I leave mine for longer , sometimes even over night)
  5. Meanwhile prep your filling by:
  6. Place the apples, eldeflower cordial and cinnamon in a pan and place on a low heat with the lid on and simmer away gently for about 10 minutes.
  7. Then remove from the heat and stir through the strawberries
  8. Pre-heat oven to 180C / 160C (fan) and grease well a pie dish
  9. Then remove your now chilled pastry, and add to a flour dusted work surface
  10. Cut the dough in half and roll out into a circle large enough to sit in your tin and about ½ cm thickness.
  11. Repeat for the lid
  12. Place one half on the bottom of your pie dish and raise the sides up as far as they will go without breaking the pastry. Bear in mind that if a little tear does occur, the pastry is quite forgiving and can be repaired with pastry patches!
  13. Add your filling - but do not add all of the syrupy sauce else your pastry may go soggy! Just a tbsp or two should do. Or none if you prefer no sauce.
  14. Then top with your other piece of pastry to make your lid, and crimp the edges to the bottom pastry so that no edges are gaping. Then brush with milk and make a hole in the centre to allow the steam to escape.
  15. I added some decoration made from leftover pastry - a GBBO and an apple and two strawberries - brush these with a little milk too
  16. Scatter a handful of caster (or brown if you have it) sugar over the pie and place in the oven and cook for about 35 minutes BUT do check to ensure the pastry is not browning too quicky. If it is, cover with foil and continue cooking.

IMG_1246 (1) strawpie4 strawpie1 strawpie3

The pie did get a little too brown around the perimeter as I had a mummy mishap – while cleaning the hob I accidently leant against the oven control! Thankfully I realised in time and it was ok and by trimming the edges people would never really know!!! *ssssh*

This pie is delicious – the delicate elderflower comes through complimenting the apples and strawberries and saves the need for adding sugar to the fruit when cooking them. I fear Paul and Mary might have felt my pie too juicy too – but no one seemed to mind this when they ate it Sunday teatime. The pastry is just soooo good – and yes my pastry did break when I cut the slice for this photo while hot, so my pie did collapse but as my Nanny always tells me, a sign of a good pastry is one which crumbles! Thanks Nanny! (once fully cooled down the pie slices did come out in one piece though,  yaaay! I should have taken a photo of the successfully removed pie slice but I thought my dinner guest might find that odd!) So, that is my attempt and now it is over to you!!!

mummy mishaps
 

Please note, that although this is for fun, there are a few rules that Helen Hollywood and myself, Jenny Berry, would appreciate you following

**RULES** **all recipes must be a new post and not an old one linked up
**all recipes must fit the themes set by that week’s Great British Bake Off episode
**all entries must carry the GBBO badge (designed by Annie – thank you)
**all entries must also carry a link to Helen and myself please http://www.thecrazykitchen.co.uk/p/the-great-bloggers-bake-off.html and http://www.mummymishaps.co.uk/category/gbbo
**all entries must be linked up on either mine or Helen Hollywood’s blog by 8pm each Sunday night (click on our GBBO badges to find the linky posts)

>>To co-incide with the linky and TV show finale, Helen Hollywood and myself, Jenny Berry, will be hosting a fabulous give away with some baking goodies. We hope the bloggers who take part in the begining will still be around to be entered into this!! One condition to be entered into the prize draw at the end of the linky (and TV show) is that each blogger must ensure they have linked up at least 6 GBBO blog posts – we want committment people!!! It will be a great prize too – more details to follow.<<



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Made with Love Mondays, hosted by Javelin Warrior

 

 

43 Comments

  1. It’s so lovely to see such gorgeous summer colours as this miserable weather pays a brief visit (ever the optimist). I bet it was delicious!!
    Thank you for the tips throughout- will definitely be etching them on my mind.

    Reply

  2. ooh Nanny’s pastry looks great – My Mum makes a great shortcrust crumbly pastry but if I try to make it that short it I can’t roll it!
    Your photos are looking great too Jenny – lovely & light x

    Reply

  3. What a delicious combination for a fruit pie, I went for savoury this week and such great photos, love the light in them, I always have to add some in PicMonkey.

    thanks for hosting this is really inspiring me to get in the kitchen more AND blog about it

    Reply

    • thanks Mari – it took me ages to photograph it! i am so chuffed that people are being inspired to get baking as a result of this linky and the TV show. its fab x

      Reply

  10. Oh your a temptress in the kitchen look at that styling i think i can smell your pie from here what lovely summer flavours you have strange to think we were all boiling hot a week ago and now its cold and raining 🙁

    Reply

  11. I love the combination of strawberries and apples for a pie – I’ve never tried it, but it sounds delightful. And a pastry crust that crumbles is definitely a good thing! Thanks so much for sharing this beautiful pie with Made with Love Mondays and welcome to the series! Please remember to add a link-back to the series page…

    Reply

  12. I love that your Nanny says it’s A-OK for the pastry to crumble, I’ll be quoting your Nanny in future I’m sure! The pie looks and sounds delicious, and unusual to have apple end elderflower. Must give it a whirl when I’m next up for a pastry challenge.

    Reply

  19. If I liked fruit pie then this would definitely appeal. Sadly I hate cooked fruit – I have to have enough custard or ice cream with each mouthful to totally disguise the fruit. (And I wonder where my kids get their fussiness from,,,)

    Love your decoration and the pastry sounds yummy!

    Reply

  23. I’ve just added some more photos and the links at the bottom to my post and come back to read some more. But I can’t see mine on the linky? I added it just after 4pm. Can you see it from your end? Is it just my computer?

    Reply

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