Braided Apple, Blueberry & Cardamom Pie

It’s time to admit it: I am addicted to making pie. I can barely go a week without making some form or other. Double crust, single crust, pie-crumble hybrids, hand pies. Usually all-butter dough, but sometimes a buttermilk flavoured one. All types of fillings are fair game, but most of the time a fruit filling is my jam. A decorative top layer is a must. I mean, if you’re already going to put in all the time & effort it takes to make a proper flaky, buttery pie dough, why not just go that little bit further to impress taste-testers even more? Every time I make a pie I try to out decorate the last one I made. It is addictive.

Surely there are worse things to be addicted to?

I always look to the pros when I’m brainstorming ideas for new pie designs. I’m nowhere near as talented as others out there who can easily roll out designs like herringbone lattices etc, but I love the task of trying to be. Trying to keep everything stone cold so I don’t undo any of the good dough making I’ve already done; to cut even slices of dough; to make it all look so effortless & beautiful. Like I said, addicted. 

I made this Braided Apple, Blueberry & Cardamom Pie for a dinner party, but sliced into it before my guests arrived. I put it all back together, but I just had to photograph it before it was devoured. Thankfully, nobody noticed, and the pie was a hit. Apple because everybody loves apples. Blueberries because of Boyfriend’s obsession, & cardamom because it adds an extra little something. What a combination.

P R I N T

Braided Apple, Blueberry & Cardamom Pie

Apple & blueberry pie, spiced with cardamom, and decorated with braided pie dough.

Yield: 9 inch pie

Author: Passionate Baker

INGREDIENTS

• 1 quantity of pie dough, enough for a double dough pie

• —

• 150 g blueberries

• 800 g apples, peeled, cored & thinly sliced

• 150 g caster sugar

• 1.5 tsp ground cardamom

• 3 tbsp cornflour

• 1/2 lemon, juiced

• —

• 1 egg, beaten

• demerara sugar, for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS

• Roll one layer of dough out into a roughly 12-inch circle that is about ¼-inch thick. Carefully press the dough into your pie dish/tart tin & store in the fridge. Roll the second layer out into a rectangle roughly 12-inches in size. Place on a sheet pan & leave to chill in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

• In a large bowl, gently mix together the blueberries, apples, caster sugar, cardamom, lemon juice & the cornstarch. When combined, pour the filling into the prepared pie dish & return to the fridge.

• Remove the chilled rectangle from the fridge & place onto a lightly floured work surface. Use a ruler to cut long even strips into the dough. I cut my strips at different widths to vary the braid sizes. Once you have your dough sliced up, plait it into at least three different braids (I did four different styles – YouTube always helps!). 

• Remove the pie from the fridge & carefully transfer the braids to the top of the filling. (I had some leftover strips of dough that I didn’t plait & used these to fill the gaps between the different braids.) When all of the braids are placed on the top of the pie, crimp the edges of the dough whatever way you’d like.

• Preheat the oven to 200C. While the oven heats up, slide the whole pie into the freezer for at least 15-minutes, & think of it as a necessary step to pie success.

• When ready to bake, brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with some demerara sugar before baking for 40-50 minutes, or until the juices are bubbling & the crust is a deep golden brown. 

• Leave the pie to cool & serve warm with some lightly whipped cream.

Did you make this recipe? I’d love to know! Please leave a comment & a rating below, or tag me on Instagram @imvcki. Thank you so much for supporting Passionate Baker!

I’d love to know if you make this Braided Apple, Blueberry & Cardamom Pie – please comment below or tag me on Instagram if you do!

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