Apple and Pear Harvest Pie
Apple and Pear Harvest Pie (South Africa) is a traditional South African recipe for a classic pie of apples and pears flavoured with cinnamon and nutmeg baked in a sweet shortcrust pie shell flavoured with lemon juice that can be baked either as a single large pie or as many smaller pies. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic South African version of: South Africa (Apple and Pear Harvest Pie).
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
75 minutes
Total Time:
95 minutes
Serves:
6
Rating: 
Tags : Vegetarian RecipesBaking RecipesSouth-africa Recipes
This recipe can be used to prepare either a single large pie, or six individual pies that are ideal for lunchboxes.
Ingredients:
For the Pastry:
180g fine cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
185g butter, diced
2 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
For the Filling:
1kg Granny Smith apples
3 pears
60g butter
65g dark brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
a few gratings of fresh nutmeg
1 pinch of ground cloves
1 tbsp lemon juice
To Finish:
4 tbsp pecan nuts, chopped
1 egg, beaten (to glaze)
granulated sugar, for dusting
Method:
Begin with the pastry. Sift together the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Stir in the caster sugar then add the butter. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the lemon juice and bring the ingredients together as a dough (if the mixture is too crumbly at this stage add just a little iced water). Form the dough into a ball, cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and set aside to chill in the refrigerator.
For the filling, peel and core the apples and pears then cut into chunks. Arrange in an oven-proof dish and sprinkle over the remaining filling ingredients. Toss to combine, then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for 20 minutes. At this point remove from the oven and give the fruit a turn. Return to the oven and cook for a further 20 minutes, or until the fruit is soft and beginning to colour. Remove from the oven, allow to cool completely then chill in the refrigerator.
When the filling mixture is cold, turn the pastry onto a floured work surface and roll just over half out to form either one large round or six small rounds. Use this pastry to line the base and sides of your tart tin(s). Scatter the chopped pecan nuts over the base and top with the fruit filling. Roll out the remaining pastry to form a lid and crimp the edges to seal. Trim away any excess pastry and make a small cross in the centre of the pie to allow steam to escape.
Brush the top with the egg wash and sprinkle over a little sugar. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for about 35 minutes (20 minutes for smaller pies), or until the pastry is golden brown and cooked through.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve accompanied by whipped cream or mascarpone (or use this site's recipe for home-made mascarpone).