Foraging for blackberries continues here in West Wales. At the time of writing the wild blackberry season is incredibly abundant and I am picking a good half kilo most days when out walking. Most of my collection is going into the freezer for use throughout the winter when fruits are more scarce. One of my favourite things to do with blackberries is to make gluten-free blackberry and apple pie. This is a perfect treat for the late summer.

If you are looking for other blackberry recipes, then I have a few more listed here: Blackberry Recipes HERE – otherwise please read on for the gluten-free blackberry and apple pie tips and recipe.

Holds together perfectly upon cooling - GF Vegan blackberry and apple pie

Gluten-free sweet pastry base without any nasties

When making a gluten-free vegan sweet pastry base then it’s best to forget about all of the principles that you might have learned when you were taught how to make wheat pasty. Gluten-free pastry works differently from conventional wheat pastry. Firstly, having no gluten in the dough means that it operates differently. This basically means that when handling it, it doesn’t have the ‘glue’ of gluten to hold it together. Once you readjust your mindset to allow for this and, follow the new guidelines, it becomes easy. Dare I say it might even revolutionise your gluten-free pastry-making experience forever.

This gluten-free pastry method makes it easier

You can forget your rolling pin because in this recipe we are not rolling anything. We simply combine the ingredients. Which in this case is rice flour, tapioca flour or starch, maple syrup (or agave syrup, etc), coconut oil, and vanilla.

Once everything is combined we simply take three-quarters of the mixture and press the dough down evenly into the baking dish. How easy is that? The remaining quarter of the mixture is put to the side to make a crumble topping in a minute.

Gluten-free vegan blackberry and apple pie

 

Once baked, and then cooled, this pastry is simply divine! It holds together perfectly, whilst offering a delectable melt-in-the-mouth experience. People who have tried this pastry say that is reminiscent of shortbread.

The simplicity of this gluten-free blackberry and apple pie

Less is more I say! The filling is very much a fuss-free experience. No pre-cooking is required. All you need to do is chop your apple and blend it with your blackberries and a little coconut sugar. If you don’t have coconut sugar then any sugar will do. Then blend these ingredients together. Use a hand blender if you want less washing up. 

No nasties, no fancy things, just good old-fashioned simplicity.

Next, you pour your blackberry blend on top of the pastry that you’ve just pressed into your baking dish. Then crumble on the topping and voila!

Up close... my gluten-free blackberry pie with a delicious pastry

When you have baked and cooled your blackberry pie it holds together very well, just like we all love it to do.

Gluten-free blackberry and apple pie

Gluten-free Vegan Blackberry and Apple Pie

Yield: 8 slices
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

An easy vegan blackberry and apple pie with a gluten-free crust and no nasties. Holds together to perfection once baked and cooled.

Ingredients

  • 100g (3½ oz) rice flour (⅔ cup)
  • 100g (3½ oz) tapioca flour or starch (⅘ cup)
  • 4 tablepsoons (60g) maple syrup
  • 4 tablespoons (60g) coconut oil (melted)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Blackberry & Apple Filling

  • 200g (1½ cups/7oz) fresh blackberries
  • 1 sweet apple (medium sized)
  • 3 tablepoons coconut sugar

Extra ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon rice flour

Instructions

Making the pastry base

  1. First of all, melt the coconut oil by leaving it in a warm place or on a sunny windowsill. Alternatively, place the coconut oil jar in a pan of hot water until melted.
  2. Put the rice flour, tapioca flour, maple syrup, vanilla, and coconut oil into a mixing bowl. If you don't have maple syrup you can use any other sweetener such as agave syrup.
  3. Mix these pastry ingredients together until everything combines. There may still be a little crumbling that happens. This is fine as long as everything is evenly combined.
  4. Get a round baking tin or tart dish about 8 inches (20cm) in diameter. You can either coat a tiny amount of coconut over the surface by rubbing it in or line it with parchment paper.
  5. Take ¾ of the pastry dough and press it down into the baking dish firmly to create a base. This will take a couple of minutes. Try to get it as even as possible, although it's going to look rustic.

Making the blackberry filling

  1. De-core your apple and chop it into small cubes.
  2. Put the blackberries, apples, and coconut sugar into a small jug and blend with a hand-blender. This works nicely by pulsing it. It will turn to a lovely blended pulp very quickly.

Bringing the pie together

  1. Pour your blackberry and apple mixture on top and spread evenly.
  2. Take the unused pastry adding the extra rice flour. Rub this pastry between your fingers to create a crumbly mixture.
  3. Add the crumble to the top and press down ever so gently.

Bake and cool your pie

  1. Put your pie into a pre-heated fan oven at 180C (350F or gas mark 4). 190C if your oven is not a fan oven. Bake for 25 minutes.
  2. It is important that you let your blackberry pie cool down before slicing if you want it to hold together. Let it cool down on your kitchen countertop. You can even put it in the fridge after a while. Once cooled it will become perfectly sliceable and hold together very well.
  3. If you want it warm or hot then you can slice it immediately, but please note that the pastry will be more crumbly unless you allow it to cool.
  4. Enjoy!

    Did you make this recipe?

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