Comments for Cherry Plum Pie

Cherry Plum Pie: 06/17/07

Today is Father's Day. We didn't exactly do anything extra special for Ian except that I let him sleep in (he normally lets me sleep in) and I made him plum and cherry pie for dessert. Cherry pie is Ian's favorite dessert and with the cherries in season and with our Japanese plum tree full of ripe fruit, it was the perfect way to treat him today.

On Friday Sean's school hosted a Fathers' Day party but it wasn't as good as the Mothers' Day tea according to Sean because the pizza was boring cheese only pizza and there wasn't a piñata.

Here is how I make cherry and plum pie:

The crust:
2 cups (and a bit extra for good luck) of flour
1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened at room temperature
8 to 10 Tbs of cold water
cinnamon, nutmeg or all spice to taste

To mix the crust to the perfect consistency, use your fingers to break up the butter into the flour until it is evenly mixed. Trust me, it is significantly easier to judge a crust's readiness with one's fingers than with a spoon or other mixing device! Toss in some cinnamon or other pie spice to give an extra kick to the crust. Then spoon the water and finish mixing with fingers. It's a messy but efficient process.

Divide up the crust into two balls for the bottom and top crusts. Roll them out on a floured surface. If you've mixed the crust correctly it will roll out the first time without sticking to the pin or to the surface.

The pie filling:
2 cups of freshly pitted cherries
1 cup of freshly pitted Japanese plums (or 2 or 3 regulars sized plums, diced)
1/2 cup sugar
4 Tbs corn starch
enough water to cover the fruit

Start with fresh fruit and pit them. It can take up to a half an hour to cut all the fruit and it will get juice every where but it is worth the effort. Dump the fruit into a sauce pan with the water, corn starch and sugar. Cook on a medium heat for 20 minutes or so and then set it aside to cool.

Putting the pie together:
Roll out the crusts, dump in the pie into the bottom crust and the plop the top crust on top. Pinch together. Break the surface with a few fork pricks.

Bake at 375° F for 35 minutes. Don't worry about covering the edges with foil. Let cool before serving. Yummy!

ian | pie | father's day

Comments (0)

Permalink