A pandowdy is a pie that focuses on the juicy, flavoursome fruit filling, not the pastry. It's basically a scruffy pie oozing with juicy goodness. Think of The Lady and the Tramp. The pandowdy is the loveable Tramp in the pie world.
To add to the scruffiness factor, during cooking, you cut into the pastry, letting the filling bubble over it. Some people cut the pastry before covering the filling, similar to a cobbler.
Ingredients (Filling)
- 450g (1lb) ripe fruit (Plums are great for the colour. I used apple and peach for the one in the photo)
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon (Different fruit will benefit from a different mix of spices.)
- zest from 1 lemon (optional)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (Substitute ½ tablespoon of cider vinegar if necessary. It help prevent the fruit discolouring.)
- pinch of salt
- ⅛ cup flour
Ingredients (Pie Topping)
- Cream Cheese Pie Crust (or other sweet pastry for the pie topping)
- Melted butter (for brushing on top)
- Cinnamon sugar (3 teaspoons sugar mixed with ¼ teaspoon cinnamon)
Method
- Chop the fruit into bite-sized chunks, making sure you don't lose any of the juice. Depending on the fruit you may need to peel it. (I peeled the peaches but left the skin on the apples in the photo.)
- Mix in the sugar, spices, zest, and juice.
- Stir in the flour and salt.
- Taste, adding any additional spices you need.
- Pour into baking dish. (Works great in a cast-iron skillet. The pyrex dish I used is a bit too deep to show this off at its best.
- Roll out pie crust and settle it over the fruit. Tuck the edges into the pan around the fruit.
- Bruch top with melted butter and sprinkle it with the cinnamon sugar. Poke a few holes in the pastry to let stream escape.
- Start by baking it for 30 minutes, then use a sharp knife to dowdy the crust into several parge pieces. Bake for another 20-30 minutes, until the crust is golden and the fruit juices are bubbling through the crust.
- Allow to cool for about 20 minutes before serving
Serve with cream, ice-cream, or your favourite fruit pudding condiment.