Plum Crumb Pie
Topping.
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
Crust.
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
3 tablespoons buttermilk, cold
Filling.
8 large plums
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat the oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper to catch any drips.
Topping.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, swirling occasionally, until the water has evaporated and nutty brown solids form at the bottom of the pan. Scrape the butter, including the browned bits, into a bowl. Stir in the brown sugar, flour and salt, using a fork to toss the crumbs until moist and crumbly. Set aside.
Crust.
While the butter is browning, you can get started on your crust. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Cut the butter into 8 pieces, scatter over the flour, and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until the butter pieces are no bigger than peas. Drizzle the buttermilk over the mixture, and toss with a spoon to combine. Dump the mixture out onto a clean work surface and use your hands to bring the dough together; it will start off dry, but will come together into a dough ball as you gather and press the crumbs together. Don't overwork the dough; stop as soon as it forms a ball.
Flour your work surface, and roll the dough out to between 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick. Fit into a deep-dish pie pan and use a knife to trim the edges. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of flour over the bottom of the crust (this helps prevent a soggy bottom). Set the pan in the refrigerator to chill the dough while you make the filling.
Filling.
Be sure to peel your plums - the peel will add an unpleasant texture to your pie, even though the peel has a wonderfully tart flavor. You can peel them with a paring knife, or by very quickly blanching them in boiling water, which will help the peels slip off easily. Slice the peeled plums into 1/4 inch slices. In a large bowl, toss the sliced plums with the sugar, corn starch, cloves, ginger and vanilla until well coated.
Set your pie pan with the prepared crust on top of the baking sheet. Pour the filling into the crust.
Bake the pie (without the topping) at 425 for 20 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 375, and take the pie out of the oven so you can pile the crumb topping over the fruit (it's a generous amount of topping, but it will be just the right amount after it's baked). Return the pie to the oven, and bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes, until the fruit juices are bubbling around the edges. If needed, lay a piece of foil loosely over the top of the pie to keep it from over-browning.
Set the pie on a cooling rack, and let cool for about 4 hours before serving.
Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen