Cape Gooseberry and Apple Pie

The cape gooseberry, also known as the ground apple and tomatillo is now ready for harvest and perfect to use in this apple pie. The slight tang of the cape gooseberries balances the sweetness of the apple perfectly.

Cape Gooseberry and Apple Pie

Ingredients:

Pie Crust:

• 230 g plain flour
• 30 g cornflour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 125 g caster sugar
• 140 g butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Pie Filling:

• 3 Granny Smith apples
• 500 g cape gooseberries, husked and washed
• 130 g brown sugar
• Finely grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch of ground cloves
• extra  2 Tblsp brown sugar
• icing sugar, to dust (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170º C F
2. Line the base of a 22cm round springform cake tin with baking paper
3. Grease the sides of the tin with butter
4. Peel and core the apples and then slice them
5. In a large bowl, gently toss the apples, cape gooseberries, brown sugar, lemon zest and juice, the cinnamon and ground cloves with a wooden spoon
6. Place the mixture into a large sucepan over a medium heat
7. Cook for 10 – 15 minutes or until the fruit is tender and the juices have evaporated
8. Cool the mixture
9. Sift the flour, cornflour, baking powder and 1/2 tsp cinnamon and then pour into the food processor bowl
10. Add caster sugar and butter to the bowl and rocess until it looks like fine breadcrumbs
11. Add beaten egg and process until a dough forms ( these steps can also be done by hand)
12. Reserve 1/3 of the dough
13. Press the rest of the dough into the prepared springform tin, lining the base and pressing it with your hands approximately 2 cm u the sides
14. Spread the cooled fruit mixture over the dough base, smooting it out evenly
15. Take small pieces of the reserved dough about the size of a hazelnut, scattering them over the top of the fruit and leaving a gap in the middle
16. Sprinkle the extra brown sugar over the pie
17. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until light golden brown
18. Allow the pie to cool before removing from the cake tin
19. Dust the pie with icing sugar and serve with a little double cream or ice-cream

Growing your ingredients:

Growing Cape Gooseberries