There’s nothing homelier and comforting than a pie especially when you add a filling with lots of autumnal flavours and warming spices and my Apple and Plum Turnovers are fitting with the change of weather.

This is a fantastic way to use up those apples that you just don’t know what to do with and the plums which are a bit too overripe for my liking. I like to keep the skin on both the apples and plums as both fruits are high in pectin, a water-soluble fibre that forms a gel when combined with water. This helps to set the compote up slightly so that there isn’t too much liquid which could give you a soggy bottom! I like to place a layer of rolled oats underneath the compote filling which helps to absorb some of the moisture and prevent that dreaded soggy bottom.

I roll out the pastry slightly to make the rectangle larger so it can hold more filling and also the pastry is thinner which is the perfect ratio of pastry to filling. Before I bake the turnovers, I finish with a brush of egg wash to glaze the pastry and sprinkle over some flaked almonds and crunchy Demerara sugar.

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2 apples, I used Pink Lady

3 plums

2 tbsp sugar – you can use brown sugar

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp mixed spice

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

50g sultanas

2 tbsp water

2 tsp flour

1 pack of ready-rolled puff pastry

Rolled oats

Demerara sugar

Flaked almonds

Icing sugar

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Decore the apples and chop them into 1cm cubes. Halve the plums, twist to separate them into two halves, destone, and chop the plums into 1cm cubes. Add the sugar and all of the spices to the pan. Put the pan on a medium heat for 10 minutes until the fruit begins to soften.

Add in the sultanas and water and stir. Place on the lid and allow the compote to bubble away for a further 10 minutes until the fruit has softened. Check the liquid, it should be thick and syrupy. You can add some flour to thicken it up. Transfer the compote to a bowl and allow to cool fully.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Cut the puff pastry into 6 rectangles and on a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry slightly thinner and larger. Onto one side of the pastry and leaving a 1cm border on that side, sprinkle over a layer of the rolled oats. Spoon over around 2 tablespoons of the filling onto the oats and sprinkle over some more on top.

Cut a diagonal line in the centre of the other half of the pastry and fold the pastry over the filling, pressing around the compote and the 2 sides together lightly. Crimp the edges of the turnover using a fork and place onto the baking tray. Repeat for the other turnovers. Brush the turnovers with some beaten egg and then sprinkle over the Demerara sugar and flaked almonds.

Bake the turnovers for around 25 – 30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown, risen in layers and when you lift them up from the tray, the bases are cooked through. Allow to cool on a cooling rack.

While they cool, make your icing by mixing together icing sugar with either water or milk to form a thick icing that is runny enough to pipe; 2 teaspoons of liquid usually works for 40g icing sugar. Place into a piping bag and drizzle over the turnovers, or you can randomly drizzle it with a spoon.