Soft autumn fruit beneath a light scone-style topping, with enough crisp edges for everyone.
Serves 4 | Preparation: 20 minutes | Cooking: 40 minutes | Total: 65 minutes
Times include the chilling, soaking or resting stated in the method. Cooking times are a guide: check tenderness and doneness before serving.
Ingredients
500 g apples, peeled, cored and sliced, prepared weight
200 g blackberries, fresh or frozen
50 g caster sugar for fruit
10 g cornflour
30 ml water
180 g self-raising flour
50 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
30 g caster sugar for topping
100 ml milk, plus 10 ml for brushing
Method
Heat oven to 190°C conventional / 170°C fan. Mix apples, blackberries, fruit sugar, cornflour and water in a 20 cm baking dish about 5 cm deep.
Cover loosely with foil and bake for 10 minutes while making the topping.
Rub butter into flour and stir in topping sugar. Add 100 ml milk and mix briefly to a soft dough; do not knead.
Remove foil. Place eight spoonfuls of dough over the hot fruit, leaving gaps for steam, and brush with the remaining milk.
Bake uncovered for 25–30 minutes until golden, the fruit bubbles and the topping is cooked through with no wet dough underneath. Rest for 5 minutes, then divide into four.
Variations and substitutions
Use pears and frozen raspberries for a different fruit combination. Replace dairy with baking block and plant milk. If using plain flour instead of self-raising, add 2 level tsp baking powder.
Homegrown and seasonal produce
Frozen blackberries can go straight into the dish. A mixture of cooking and eating apples gives both sauce and pieces; add a little extra sugar only if the fruit is very sharp.
Storage and freezing
Cool promptly, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours at 5°C or below; eat within 48 hours. Freeze without cream, yoghurt or custard in labelled portions for up to 3 months for best quality. Defrost in the fridge and use within 24 hours. Reheat only once until piping hot throughout if serving warm.
Find more ideas in the complete recipe menu. Explore our growing guide finder and From Garden to Kitchen guide, or plan your next harvest with Your Growing Companion.
Stock photograph illustrating ingredients or a serving idea. These recipes are practical ideas to try; they are not presented as all having been tested in my kitchen.
