ChezCindy: Plum Tart with Walnut-Butter Crumble

Once again, I was seduced by the beauty and abundance of produce at my local market.  I bought too much and found myself with stone fruit that were ready to be eaten.  I had gorgeous plums that were calling out to me.  Pie, they were saying.  Make a pie.  But I had never seen a plum pie recipe before.   Of course, peach and sometimes apricot, but never plum.  So, I decided to figure this out.  Once I compared several basic peach and apricot pie recipes, I was ready to begin. 

I most always buy plums with the deep red flesh.  I just think they create a prettier dish whether used in desserts or with savory dishes.  If you don't have plums, of course use standard peaches.  


Plum Pie Filling
2 pounds plums
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon orange juice


Crumb Topping
1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts

8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced

Basic Sweet Pie Crust
 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
 2 sticks of cold unsalted butter
 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4-6 tablespoons ice water


For the crust:  In the bowl of your mixer, combine the flour, salt, and sugar.  Cut the cold butter into 1/2-inch size cubes; add it to the mixer.  Mix until the butter is the size of small peas, and the mixture is crumbly.  With the mixer running, add the cold water one tablespoon at a time until the dough forms into moist clumps.  Remove the dough and gather into a ball.  Divide the dough in half.  Flatten each piece into a disk; wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  The disks can be frozen for future use.

For the plum filling:  Cut the plums into quarters; remove the pits, skin remains on.  Place the plums into a large bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Stir to combine. 

For the crumb topping:  Working with a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the flour, brown sugar and a pinch of kosher salt to the work bowl.  Pulse to combine.  Add in the toasted walnuts; pulse for 30 seconds.  Add the butter to the flour nut mixture.  Pulse until the mixture resembles small pebbles and has a crumbly texture.

To assemble the pie:  Roll out one disk of pie dough into a circle large enough to fit a 9-inch pie pan.  Place the crust into the pie pan; crimp the edges.  Add the prepared plums spreading out evenly.  Spoon the crumb topping over the plums to cover, reaching out to the crimped edges. 

To bake:  Place the pie pan onto a baking sheet to catch any plum juices that may drip during baking.  Place the pie into a preheated oven set at 375 degrees.  Bake for 50-60 minutes.  If the edges become too brown, cover with foil and continue baking until the crumb top is golden brown and the plum juices are bubbling and peeking through.  Cool before serving.