The Autumn air grows chilly and cold while fruits and nuts thud on the ground, falling from trees and bushes, ripe for harvest. It’s the perfect time to turn to warming, comforting dishes that make use of all that nature’s seasonal larder has to offer; berries, pears, apples and nuts, available in rich abundance.
Belvoir Fruit Farms who make all their Pressés and Cordials with wholly natural ingredients; freshly pressed fruits and gently infused flowers and spices has worked with leading chefs including 2015 Great British Bake Off Finalist, Ian Cumming to produce a quartet of mouth-watering Autumnal recipes to make the most of this bountiful season.
It will depend how sour your apples are as to how much sweetening they’ll require! We’ve pre baked the base of this pie to prevent a soggy bottom and topped it with decorative leaves. Serve it warm in slices with cream or custard.
Ingredients
- 350g plain flour
- 175g unsalted butter, cubed
- pinch of salt
- 100ml Belvoir Spiced Apple & Ginger Cordial
For the filling:
- 850g cooking apples
- 4 tbsp Belvoir Spiced Apple & Ginger Cordial
- 50-100g caster sugar
- zest and juice ½ lemon
- a little milk for brushing
- a little granulated sugar for the top
Equipment: 23cm 9in metal pie tin with a rim
Preparation time: 20mins + chilling Cooking: 55mins
Method
- Make the pastry: place the flour, butter and salt in a food processor and blitz until it looks like breadcrumbs. Alternatively, place the dry ingredients in a bowl and rub in the butter using your fingertips.
- Add the cordial to the pastry crumb mix and blitz in the processor or stir in with a knife, until the mixture comes together and forms a ball. Wrap and chill for 20 mins.
- Prepare the filling: Quarter, peel and core the apples then roughly slice them. Place in a large pan, add the cordial, lemon zest and juice. Bring to the boil, then cover the pan and simmer for about 5 mins or until the mixture is just soft bit some apple pieces remain. Taste and add more sugar according to taste (and the sourness of your apples!) Set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 100oC/Fan 180oC/ Gas Mark 6. Roll out half the pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is 3mm thick. And use to line the base of a 23cm pie tin, pressing the pastry well into the base of the tin. Leave the excess pastry hanging over the sides of the tin. Place on a baking tray, line with baking parchment and baking beans and bake for 15 mins. Remove the baking beans and cook for a further 5 mins.
- Roll out the remaining pastry on a lightly floured surface then cut out a circle about 5 cm larger than the pie dish.
- Spoon the apples into the centre of the pie, brush the pastry edges with milk, then lay the pastry over the filling. Use a knife to trim off the excess pastry, then use a fork to seal the edges and make a pattern. Roll out the reserved trimmings and use these to decorate the top of the pie. Brush with milk, sprinkle with sugar and bake on the baking tray for 30-35mins until golden and crisp.
Let’s embrace what the Autumn provides and give these recipes a go. For more mouth-watering recipes from Ian Cumming and other well-loved chefs, visit www.belvoirfruitfarms.co.uk.
