Plum Streusel Pie

While many people's list of favorite fruits more than likely doesn't include plums, I have to say that the plum is one of mine. When ripe, it is sweet and juicy; in cooking, it can turn the most mundane dish, from savory to sweet, into something very special. It has more uses than almost any fruit I know. It makes an incredible crisp, tasty crumble, decadent butter, a fabulous accompaniment to pork, kicks Major Grey's backside when it comes to chutney (sorry Major, but it's true), makes an incredible coffeecake, and a delectable pie.

My mother used to make plum pies that were legendary. People always raved about how delicious they were. I'm not a pie maker or a pie eater, but I am a fan of plums, so decided I was going to give this plum pie a whirl. What made this recipe interesting to me was that it had a streusel topping (something I far prefer to yet another slab of crust because I'm not a crust person), and was topped with homemade lemon lime ice.

I made the ice earlier in the week, and was completely won over by it; you can find the recipe here. Today I'm giving you the recipe for the pie, both from Bon Appetit magazine, both outstanding.

 Plum Streusel Pie with Lemon-Lime Ice Milk

As seen in Bon Appétit, June 2003

Crust*

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 t. sugar

1/2 t. grated lemon peel

1/4 t. salt

1 stick chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 egg yolk beaten to blend with 3 tablespoons cold water

Filling and topping

3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

1/2 cup flour

3 T. packed brown sugar

1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon

3 T. chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

1 1/2 pounds Melissa’s Plum Bites halved, pitted, cut into wedges

1 large egg beaten with 2 teaspoons water (for glaze)

For crust:

Blend flour, sugar, lemon peel, and salt in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, cut in until pea-size pieces form. With machine running, pour egg mixture through feed tube and blend just until dough forms ball.

Gather dough into disk; wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours. (Can be made up to 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Roll out dough between 2 lightly floured sheets of waxed paper to 1/4-inch thickness. Peel off top sheet of paper. Invert crust into 9-inch glass pie dish; peel off paper. Fold edges under to form rim; crimp edges. Refrigerate 1 hour.

For filling and topping:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Mix walnuts, flour, brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in medium bowl to blend. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until coarse meal forms. Set streusel aside. Whisk 3/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg, and remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon in large bowl. Add plums and toss to coat.

Place pie dish on baking sheet. Brush inside of pie shell lightly with egg glaze. Transfer plum filling to pie shell, mounding slightly in center. Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over filling. 

Bake pie 15 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Bake until filling bubbles at edges, about 35 minutes, covering crust edges with foil during last 15 minutes if browning too quickly. Cool pie on rack. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.) Cut pie into wedges. Serve with Lemon Lime Ice Milk.

* I used a Ready Made Crust from Pillsbury. Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s not as good as homemade. In this case, I beg to differ, it was fantastic (and I saved one heck of a lot of time)!

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This post is linked to:

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Happiness is Homemade Sunday

Dishing It & Digging It

Cooking & Crafting with J&J

Amaze Me Monday

Busy Mondays

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