Custard and Mixed Berry Hand Pies
Moderate
4 Servings
15 minutes bake time
Rich and creamy custard with mixed berries in a handy hand held pie.
Ingredients
Pastry
- 200g Jus-Rol sweet shortcrust pastry, chilled
Berry Filling
- 400g frozen mixed berries
- 75g sugar
Custard
- 250g milk
- 1 vanilla pod, seeds only
- 4 Egg Yolks
- 50g sugar
- 20g Plain Flour
- 2tsp cornflour
To Glaze
- 1 Eggs, 1x beaten and 1x whole
- Demerara sugar
Equipment required
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Knife
- Baking tray
- Baking Sheet
Techniques Used
Method
- Begin by making the berry filling. Place the berries and sugar in a pan and cook over a gentle heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid forms a syrup. Set aside and leave to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make the custard. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a large mixing bowl for 2 minutes until pale and fluffy, then mix in the plain flour, cornflour and a dash of milk to loosen up the mixture. Whisk until completely combined and set aside.
- Place the milk and vanilla seeds in a pan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Quickly whisk in the egg and sugar mixture and continue to heat through until the custard thickens, stirring continuously to help the cornflour cook out.
- Once thickened, pour the custard into a deep baking tray or tin and cover with clingfilm – this will help it to cool quicker. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Remove the pastry from the fridge 20 minutes before using to allow it to come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6 and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
- Roll the pastry out to a thickness of a pound coin and cut out 4 circles, each about the size of a small side plate or roughly 18cm in diameter.
- Spread a layer of the chilled custard over half of each circle, leaving a border. Make a slight indent in the middle of the custard and add a good spoonful of the cooled berries.
- Dampen the pastry border with a little water and fold over the plain half to cover the fillings, making a semi-circle shape. Use a fork to seal the edges together, pressing down firmly to create a lined pattern.
- Make 3 small slashes with a sharp knife in the top of each pie to allow steam to escape, then brush the tops liberally with the beaten egg to glaze. Sprinkle over a thick coating of Demerara sugar and transfer the pies to the lined tray.
- Bake for 10 minutes then turn the oven temperature down to 160°C/gas mark 3 and bake for a further 15 minutes until golden and crisp.
- Remove the pies from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes as the filling will be extremely hot. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, or leave to cool completely if not eating straight away.
