Recipe: Elderberry and Almond Pie

Source: Wallflower Wardrobe

Fancy a bit of baking this weekend? Whim's Recipe Writer Emma has cooked up another delicious treat and today she shares her simple recipe for this amazing Elderberry and Almond Pie. Yum!

"As Autumn comes in it's certainly the time to get baking homely pies, especially to throw in some local and seasonal produce! There are plenty of elderberries in our garden at the moment, so I decided to put them together with almond pastry as the perfect combination for stepping into the new season. Despite not being widely available to buy, it's worth putting in the effort to collect the berries, as the result is so delicious and unique - there's something about elderberries that tastes different from the rest!

The pie can also be eaten straight from the oven warm for a softer centre, or be eaten cold from the fridge with a good dollop of cream. Enjoy!"

INGREDIENTS:

Pastry: 10oz self raising flour, 5oz chilled butter, 3tbsp cold water, 1tbsp icing sugar, 2 tbsp ground almondsFilling: 4 cups elderberries, 1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup caster sugar, ¼ cup water, 4 tbsp cornflour, 1 tbsp lemon juice

METHOD:

1. Heat the oven to 180C. To make the pastry, sift the flour into a bowl and cut the butter into small chunks before rubbing in to make fine breadcrumbs.
2. Stir in the sugar and almonds, then add the water. Use a knife to stir before bringing the mix together with your hands to form a ball.
3. Knead very lightly to form a smooth pastry and keep 1/4 of it aside for the lattice later. Roll out the remaining 3/4 and line your flan dish.
4. For the filling, mix together the cornflour and water and put this in a pan over a medium-high heat with the berried and sugar.
5. Stir every few minutes until bubbling and thickened (this takes about 5 minutes).
6. Pour the mixture into your pastry case.
7. Roll out the 1/4 leftover pastry and cut 6 strips 1cm wide, before creating a lattice design on top.
8. Use a small brush to paint some of the berry liquid to give some colour to the pastry, then brush with milk.
9. Scatter flaked almonds on top then bake for 35 minutes until golden brown.

- By Emma from Wallflower Wardrobe: You can check out Emma's beautiful blog here, and please be sure to like her Facebook page. You can also visit her stunning jewellery Etsy store or vintage Etsy store - Enjoy!