Apple And Blackberry Pie With Mint Creme Fraiche

-FOR FILLING-
45 g Brambley apples; peeled,
-cored and
; sliced (1lb)
225 g Blackberries; (1/2lb)
2 ts Semolina
3 tb Caster sugar
1 Handful fresh mint leaves;
-chopped with a
Sprinkle of sugar

you will need a 10 inch pie plate

Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6

Beat eggs, lemon juice and water together. Chill in fridge until
needed.

Sieve flour, salt and icing sugar into a mixing bowl. Add butter and
rub in with fingertips until mixture forms a fine crumb.

Add all liquid all at once and stir with a knife until mixture starts
to bind. Finish with your hand.

Knead gently on a lightly floured surface. Cover pastry and use to
line base of pie plate. Sprinkle with the semolina, this will mop up
the excess juices from the fruit to make a sauce which will prevent
the pastry from becoming soggy.

Fill with alternate layers of apple and blackberries, sprinkling
sugar and chopped mint between the layers. You will have lots of
fruit, but use it all and mound it up in the centre of the plate
because the apples will fall during cooking. We are aiming at a very
full and generous looking pie.

Roll out the remaining pastry, lift carefully using the rolling pin
and gently ease it over the fruit, taking care not to stretch the
pastry.

Moisten the edges and press down the pastry onto the bottom layer
round the edge of the plate. Trim away any excess. Knock the edges
together and either decoratively pinch or flute the edge.

Snip the top of the pie in several places to allow the steam to
escape.

Bake for 25 minutes to crisp the pastry and then lower the
temperature to 190C/375F/gas mark 5 to finish baking until the
pastry is cooked through and the fruit is cooked, about anothe 40 –
50 minutes (you will need to test it with a skewer). After the first
1/2 hour you can gently rest a peice of folded parchment paper on the
top of the pie to prevent it becoming too brown.

As soon as you take it from the oven sprinkle with caster sugar so
that it sticks to the hot pastry.

Allow to cool a little and then serve with a dollop of crme fra?he
into which you have stirred some mint chopped with a sprinkle of
sugar.