I will never forget my first taste of Blackcurrant Pie! When I was growing up we often used to go for lunch in a cafe called 'The Tender Trap' in St. Annes-on-Sea. The blackcurrant pie was made by Mrs. Sterk and it was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted. This recipe is my attempt at replicating it!
INGREDIENTS
Shortcrust Pastry or *Sweet Shortcrust Pastry, see bottom of post
4-6 Cups of Blackcurrants
1-2 Tablespoons of Cornflour
½ Cup Sugar
Lemon zest (optional)
METHOD
Filling
Toss the blackcurrants in the cornflour, sugar and lemon zest, put aside.
The cornflour mixes with the juice from the blackcurrants to form a thick jammy filling
Pastry
Make the Shortcrust Pastry as per my recipe
or *Sweet Shortcrust Pastry, see bottom of post
Leave to chill for 20 minutes
Divide the pastry into two and roll out
Line a pie plate with half of the pastry, using the plate as your guide
Fill with the blackcurrant mixture
Dampen the edges of the pastry with a little water
Top with the other half of the pastry
Press down on the pastry edges making sure they are properly sealed. Hold the plate elevated in one hand, with the other hand trim off any excess pastry with a knife in a downward motion, using the plate edge as your guide
Flute the edges with a pinching action using your fingers and thumb. If you struggle to do that you can always just use a fork and press down on all the edges to make a lined pattern on the pastry edge
Decorate with pastry leaves, sticking them down with a little water
Make two small incisions in the middle of the pastry lid to let the steam escape
Brush the pastry lid with a little milk and sprinkle with granulated sugar
Bake at 200c for 25–30 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and golden-brown.
Serve with cream or custard
VARIATIONS
You could replace the Blackcurrants with Peaches
Instead of using pastry you could make this into a Sponge Pudding
*Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
This is Paul Hollywood's recipe. Use the same method as in my Shortcrust Pastry, mixing the flour and icing sugar together, adding the butter, then the egg and lemon juice:
7oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tbsp icing sugar
3½oz unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1cm/½in cubes
1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp lemon juice
My Mother-in-Law Shirley taught me how to make this, it's surprisingly easy! I'm sorry I don't have any quantities I usually do it by eye but I would buy between 4 & 6 large Bramley Apples. If you make too much the excess can always be saved (or frozen) for apple sauce.
INGREDIENTS
Shortcrust Pastry or *Sweet Shortcrust Pastry, see bottom of post
Bramley Apples (cooking apples)
Sugar (adjust according to taste / how sour the apples are)
Water
METHOD
Filling
Peel and core the apples, slice or chop, it doesn't really matter
Place in a pan with a little sugar
Pass the pan quickly under a running tap to add just a touch of water. Not too much, the apples will release their own liquid. If you add too much water the final result will be too sloppy, you can always add more if necessary
Cook on a medium heat until the apples are cooked and collapsing (it shouldn't take long). Keep an eye on them that they don't boil dry, add a little more water if necessary. Taste and adjust the sweetness with a little more sugar if necessary
Once they are cooked, place in a sieve or colander sitting over a bowl to collect the juice. Reserve the juice
Leave to cool
Pastry
Make the Shortcrust Pastry as per my recipe
or *Sweet Shortcrust Pastry, see bottom of post
Leave to chill for 20 minutes
Divide the pastry into two and roll out
Line a pie plate with half of the pastry, using the plate as your guide
Fill with the cooled and strained apple mixture
Dampen the edges of the pastry with a little water
Top with the other half of the pastry
Press down on the pastry edges making sure they are properly sealed. Hold the plate elevated in one hand, with the other hand trim off any excess pastry with a knife in a downward motion, using the plate edge as your guide
Flute the edges with a pinching action using your fingers and thumb. If you struggle to do that you can always just use a fork and press down on all the edges to make a lined pattern on the pastry edge
Decorate with pastry leaves, sticking them down with a little water
Make two small incisions in the middle of the pastry lid to let the steam escape
Brush the pastry lid with a little milk and sprinkle with granulated sugar
Bake at 200c for 25–30 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and golden-brown.
Serve with the reserved apple juice and cream or custard
VARIATIONS
You can always add a little cinnamon to the apples
You could swop the apples for pears or a mixture of the two
When adding the apple mixture to the pie you could dot a few blackberries on the top, no need to cook them first
Instead of using pastry you could make this into a Sponge Pudding
You can also make this with with Puff Pastry but I prefer to make that in a deeper dish with only a pastry top as the bottom pastry can sometimes end up soggy. Buy ready make Puff Pastry, life is too short to try and make it!
*Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
This is Paul Hollywood's recipe. Use the same method as in my Shortcrust Pastry, mixing the flour and icing sugar together, adding the butter, then the egg and lemon juice:
7oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tbsp icing sugar
3½oz unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1cm/½in cubes
1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp lemon juice
We never really had French Toast in our house, or "Eggy Bread" as we call it over here. I remember seeing it for the first time in Kramer v Kramer. I have since become quite fond of it though, not necessarily for breakfast but for when I crave something sweet and don't want to go to the trouble of making pancakes.. I find the taste is quite similar. It's also a great way of using up stale bread.
Plain French Toast is just bread dipped both sides in beaten egg thinned with a little milk (or water if you've no milk in), then fried in butter until golden brown. It's up to you what you do with it thereafter. You can make it savoury or sweet...
INGREDIENTS
2 Slices of Bread
1 Egg
2 Dessert Spoons Milk
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract (optional)
Knob of Butter
Drop of Vegetable Oil (this stops the butter from burning)
METHOD
Soak the bread slices in the eggy mixture for 5 minutes a side
Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan
Fry the egg-soaked bread until golden on both sides
VARIATION - ROLL UPS
Cut the crusts off the bread slices
With a rolling pin flatten the bread slices
Spread filling of your choice
Roll up the bread as tightly as you can into a sausage shape
Soak in the egg mixture on all sides
Cook as above
SERVING IDEAS
Savoury
Serve on it's own or with bacon
Make a sandwich with..
Cheese
Cheese and Ham
Cheese and Tomato
Cheese and Onion
Press sandwich together to help it hold, soak in the egg mixture, fry on both sides
Tip.. finely grate the cheese and mix with a little mayonnaise to make a spread
Make roll ups filled with any savoury filling as above
Sweet
After cooking dredge with..
Sugar
Sugar and a little Lemon Juice
Icing Sugar
Cinnamon Sugar (a little cinnamon mixed with sugar)
Golden Syrup
Maple Syrup
Or top with Marmalade! A favourite of mine, acquired during my time at boarding school, is fried bread and marmalade… trust me it's delicious! Topping Eggy Bread with Marmalade is pretty good too.
Make roll ups filled with..
Peanut Butter
Nutella / Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
Jam
Lemon Curd
Thinly sliced Banana*
Thinly sliced Strawberries*
*Don't overfill with fruit or have the slices too thick or you'll have trouble rolling them up. When you put them into the egg mixture to soak, put the side with the join at the bottom so that it soaks up the egg mixture first.. it helps to seal the join.
After cooking dredge with any of the above toppings, sugar, syrup etc.
If desired top with Cream / Crème fraîche / Yoghurt
Filling the Roll Up with Strawberry Jam and dredging in Sugar after cooking tastes remarkably like a Jam Doughnut! You can also cut the Roll Ups into bite sized portions so that you can eat them with your fingers.
Enjoy!
