Upside Down Halloween Pumpkin Apple and Berry Pie

Upside Down Halloween Pumpkin Apple and Berry Pie

Welcome back to Upside Down Cooking and for this special Halloween edition I’m making a Pumpkin Apple and Berry Pie .

I start by carving a pastry pumpkin with overlapping layers of puff pastry, using a cinnamon paste to create texture and then cutting out a ghoulish grin and stuffing him up with a pear and berry filling.

A quick brush with egg wash and he goes into the witches cauldron until sufficiently scorched, we then flip him over as we pray the pagan gods of old and reveal the spookiest, ooey-gooiest, upside down pumpkin pie of nightmares!

• 2 x 320g (11oz) sheets of ready-rolled puff pastry, roughly 35 x 23cm (14 x 9in
• 2 tbps runny honey
• 1 tbsp golden caster sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon mixed with a little water to make a paste
• 2 pear, peeled, cored, and cut into very small dice
• 3 tbsp mixed frozen berries
• 1 egg, beaten

YOU WILL NEED

A large baking tray, roughly 43 x 30cm (17 x 12in), lined with baking parchment and pastry brush.  I use the Jelly Roll Pan by Nordic Ware

1 Preheat the oven to 220ºC (200ºC fan/425ºF/Gas 7). Unroll one of the sheets of pastry, placing it horizontally in front of you and cut out a large pumpkin shape. (A -pre-drawn template would be usefull here.) Using the cinnamon paste, brush curved lines onto the pumpkin to represent the curved shape. Cut out a pumpkin stalk shape and brush all over with the cinnamon paste. Set aside.

Unroll the second sheet of pastry and cut out the same pumpkin shape but make it 1 cm larger all round – set aside.

 2 drizzle the honey all over the baking paper-lined baking tray and sprinkle with the sugar and a little cinnamon. Lay the 1^st pumpkin pastry shape, painted side down onto the tray and carefully cut out a spooky face with an evil grin.

 3 Place the pear in a bowl and mix in the berries, then gently tip the mixture on top of the pastry pumpkin face in heap in the middle, leaving a 1.5cm (⅔in) border around the edge.

4 Drape the larger piece of pumpkin shaped pastry over the pear mixture. Trim the edges of the tart to neaten, if needed. Using the back of a fork, press around the edge of the pastry to seal. Score the top in a diamond pattern with a sharp knife, and then brush with egg.

 5 Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the pastry is golden and crisp. Remove the tart from the oven and allow it to sit on the tray for 5 minutes. Lay a piece of baking paper on top, followed by a chopping board, and carefully flip the tart over. Remove the tray and lift off the baking paper.

For more Halloween recipes, check these out here on Dom in the Kitchen.

Eat and of course, enjoy!