Black Doris plum time is possibly my favourite time of the year. There is a sweet four-to-six-week period where Black Doris plums are out in force, and then they disappear completely for the next 10.5-11 months. You’ve got to get in quick where these plums are concerned. But on the plus side, when you do get in, there’s plenty to be had. The last two weekends at our house have both seen a delivery of a five-kilogram bag of Black Dorises. That’s ten kilograms of Doris. Even I—noted and significant lover of the Dorises—have not been able to get through them all. (They’re in the freezer; expect more plum recipes in the future.)
Today’s recipe is a pie, because pies are the second-best way to get plums into your mouth. (The first is putting them directly in your mouth.) They’re mixed with apples just to mitigate the tartness of the plums, and to provide a bit of variation, but I’m sure it could be made entirely with plums too. And if you’ve got five kilos of them, then why not?
Apple and Plum Pie
Ingredients
For the pastry
If you don’t want to make your own pastry, store-bought pastry would do the trick.
4 T vodka
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 T water
4 ice cubes
2.5 C flour
0.5 C sugar
0.5 t salt
0.5 C margarine (plus a little for greasing)
0.5 C coconut oil
A little non-dairy milk for glazing (you will need this even if you’ve bought your pastry from a store)
0.25C white sugar (you will need this even if you’ve bought your pastry from a store)
For the filling
1.5L (approx. 6 cups) apples and plums, chopped into chunks (you can chop them later, as long as you think you’ll have enough)
1 t cinnamon
0.5 t nutmeg
0.5 t vanilla essence
0.5 t ground cloves
0.5 C brown sugar
0.25 C cornflour
pinch salt
Utensils
Pie Tin or Pie Dish, 25cm in diameter and approximately 5cm deep
Two large mixing bowls
Two mixing spoons
Rolling pin (or, if you realise as you’re baking that you have no rolling pin in your new house, a large straight glass)
Large flat surface for rolling
Oven
Method
For the pastry
Recommendation: put the flour, butter and oil in the freezer for 0.5-1 hour before you want to use it. Pastry works best when the ingredients are cool. You may even want to cool the pastry as you work with it, for example after mixing the dry ingredients, or after adding the fats. Warmer temperatures will melt the fats and they will combine with the flour, causing the dough to become tough.
- Mix the vodka, apple cider vinegar and water in a cup or bowl with the ice cubes.
- Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
- Add the margarine and coconut oil 0.25 of a cup at a time. After each addition, cut the fat into the flour mixture using a) a pastry cutter (you fancy wench), b) your hands (you common wench) or c) your blender (you rich wench). I always use my hands. Ideally you want the fat to be dispersed with no large chunks, but for the mix to still look grainy.
- Add 0.75 of the vodka/vinegar/water mixture. Mix to combine. If the dough starts to come together, try kneading it a few times with your hands. Then it’s up to your judgement. If you think it needs more liquid to fully stick together, then add some—but only a very little at a time. You’d be amazed how far it goes. If you use it all up and you really need more, then you can add a little water.
- Once the dough is formed, break it into two balls (I do one slightly larger than the other), wrap in plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
- Alternative: buy your own pastry. It’s way quicker.
For the filling
- Before you start the filling, turn the oven to 200 degrees Celcius.
- Cut up the apples and plums if you haven’t already.
- Mix all the filling ingredients together in a bowl. As you mix you’ll find that the dry ingredients form a kind of dry sauce around the apples and plums. Don’t stop mixing until this happens.
To assemble the pie
- Prepare the pie dish. Grease it lightly with margarine, and line it with baking paper.
- Place the larger of the two dough balls onto a lightly floured surface. Press the ball down and dust the top with flour. Dust the rolling pin with a little flour too, for good measure. You don’t want this to stick.
- Roll out the pastry to a circle that will fit into the pie dish (including the sides). Gently lift it and place it into the dish.
- Fill the pastry with the fruit mixture.
- Flour the surface and the rolling pin again. Roll out the other half of the dough.Slice 1.5cm-wide ribbons of pastry and create a lattice top for the pie by laying the pieces to create a crosshatch pattern. I am never very technical about this, and it usually turns out fine. And if it doesn’t turn out fine, it still turns out delicious.
- Press the edges of the pastry together and cut off any pieces of pastry that are hanging over the sides, to make a neat edge.
- Pour the non-dairy milk into a saucer. Using your fingers or a pastry brush, gently brush the milk onto the lattice.
- Shake the sugar over the top of the pie, particular over the pastry.
- Place in the oven for around 1 hour. This part seems to vary a lot between pies and ovens. In my oven, I place a piece of aluminium foil lightly over the pie and that seems to help it to go brown on top rather than burning. Others recommend having the oven at around 220C for 20 minutes and then turning it down to 180. My personal recommendation is just to keep an eye on your pie. If it looks like it’s browning quite fast, put some tin foil over it. The pie is done when the filling has been bubbling for 5-10 minutes.
You and V 