Hello Laurence, I believe your referring to Blackberry Pie recipe #40172 which comes from the "Kiwi Cookbook" by Alan Armstrong, New Zealand - published in 1980. This recipe is very poorly written by modern standards and may be a reprint of an old Aussie or New Zealand recipe. Anyway, I do not believe this is actually a traditional pie, but rather, is more of a blackberry cobbler - a deep-dish fruit pie with a rich biscuit or pastry crust, usually (but not always) only on the top. Different regions of the world use different terminology... Also, in New Zealand, a biscuit usually refers to a cookie... for example Kiwi biscuits are reminiscent of shortbread (cookies), Anzac biscuits are made of rolled oats, coconut and golden syrup and seem to be a variation of Scottish oat cookies, Spice biscuits are a simple spice cookie, etc. So, to me, it appears that the cooled berry mixture is poured directly into a pie dish and sprinkled with sugar and flour and dotted with the butter. It is then covered with your favorite type of crushed biscuits/cookies or cake crumbs and probably baked in a preheated 375 degree F oven until the filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown. Hope this helps, Steve
[edited August-25-2008]
After thinking about this dish and its origins I realized that my previous reference to an American cobbler is somewhat close but not really accurate (while this pie is similar to a fruit cobbler in the US, the topping for a cobbler is generally smoother and less crumbly). With New Zealands historical ties to Britain, I believe this pie is actually a "crumble" - a dish of British origin containing stewed fruit (e.g. apple, blackberry, peach, rhubarb, gooseberry, or plum) topped with a crumbly mixture of fat (usually butter), flour, and sugar. The crumble is baked in an oven until the topping is crisp and is often served with custard, cream or ice cream as a warm dessert. The topping sometimes includes rolled oats, ground almonds or other nuts, and may also include sour milk (e.g. vinegar and milk) to give the crumble a more luxurious taste. Brown sugar is often sprinkled over the crumble topping, which caramelizes slightly when baked. In some recipes (such as this one) the topping is made from crushed biscuits (cookies in American English) or even breakfast cereals, but this is not traditional. Crumbles originated in Britain during World War II. The strict rationing the ingredients required to make a pie pastry (e.g. flour, fat and sugar) necessitated the use of a simpler crumble topping.
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