Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for raspberry and pistachio hand pies

If you’re someone who prefers a high pastry-to-fruit ratio in your pies, then these are for you. I’ve made them with numerous variations of fruit and frangipane, but this combination of pistachio and raspberry might just be my favourite. The pistachio paste is great for ramping up the pistachio flavour, but don’t worry if you can’t get hold of any – these pies are still great without. Eat them while they’re still a bit warm, with a splash of cold cream for a fancy afternoon snack.

Raspberry and pistachio hand pies

Prep 10 min
Chill 2-3 hr
Cook 1 hr 20 min
Makes 6

For the pastry
325g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
250g unsalted butter, diced

For the frangipane
100g pistachio kernels
90g unsalted butter, softened
90g golden caster sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
½ tbsp pistachio paste (optional)
1 egg, plus extra for the egg wash
½ tbsp plain flour
A pinch of salt
150g raspberries, tossed in 1 tsp sugar
Demerara sugar, to finish

To make the pastry, put the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl, then rub in the diced butter until the mixture turns chunky (it’s fine if there are some larger bits of butter in there).

Make a well in the middle, add 60ml cold water and stir with a table knife until it starts to come together into a dough. Continue adding water a tablespoon at a time until there are no dry patches of flour (you’ll probably need 100-120ml cold water in total). Turn out the dough on to a lightly floured surface and bring it together with your hands. Roll out into a rough rectangle, fold the top third down to the middle, then fold the bottom third up on top of that (a bit like a letter). Wrap in clingfilm and chill for two to three hours, or until firm.

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and line two oven trays with baking paper.

To make the filling, finely grind the pistachios in a food processor. Beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest until smooth, then mix in the pistachio paste, if using. Beat in the egg, then stir in the ground pistachios, flour and salt. Spoon into a piping bag and chill until needed.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to a large, 3-4mm-thick rectangle. Cut it into 12 even rectangles, then pipe some filling on to six pieces, leaving a ½cm border around the edge. Arrange the raspberries on top and brush the edges with egg wash. Lay one of the remaining pastry strips on top of each raspberry-topped rectangle, and press together at the edges to seal. Crimp the edges with a fork, then brush the tops with egg wash.

Sprinkle generously with demerara sugar, then cut a couple of slits in the top of each pie, so the steam can escape. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden, then transfer to a rack and leave to cool for 10 minutes before serving warm.