Plum-Apple Pie

I was in Chinatown on Friday morning to pick up pastries for our trip to Philadelphia. The fish/fruit market on Canal Street was selling these prune plums. Plums are in season. I try to buy what's in season and of course, buy local. It's economical, as prices are lower for fruit in season, and  it makes sense to cook and eat what is available rather than what has to be flown in or trucked for miles.  I found this recipe on The Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite cooking blogs, and thought I'd share it. This is a single-crust pie and it's somewhat unusual in that the crust is on top rather than on the bottom.

Pie Filling:
1 pound (2 cups) prune plums, halved and quartered
1 pound apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into chunks
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
squeeze or two (or three) of orange juice

In a large bowl combine the fruit, sugar, cinnamon and orange juice. Butter a 9 inch glass pie plate and pour the fruit mixture in it. Set aside.

Halving and quartering plums. That's a $1.99 Farberware knife from Boscov's

Scoop out the apple core with a spoon

Apples and plums in the buttered pie plate

Preheat oven to 350˚F. 

Pie Lid:
Have at room temperature~
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup plus 6 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
beaten egg, milk, or cream for brushing on the crust
1 tablespoon sugar for sprinkling

Cream butter with sugar and orange zest. Add egg. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture in three batches. Beat until just combined. Do not over mix. Turn out into a sheet of plastic or waxed paper. Freeze for 10-20 minutes or until firm. Roll out onto a well-floured board. Carefully fold the dough and unfold it on top of the fruit in the pie plate. Trim the edges and crimp. Don't worry if the dough tears. Patch any tears with the excess dough. Gently press down the dough on top of the fruit. Crimp the edges. Brush the top with beaten egg, milk, or cream. Sprinkle the top with sugar.

Grated orange zest. I love my microplane grater!

Pie lid dough. Don't over mix!

Roll out pie lid dough onto a well-floured board

Unfold dough on top of the fruit. Don't worry if it tears!

Patched, crimped, and brushed with beaten egg

Sprinkle of sugar

Bake the pie in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.

Plum-apple pie on the cooling rack, bubbling over with juices

Juicy

Spoonful of pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

The pie lid crust crumbles and is lightly sweet, like a flaky sugar cookie. Serve with crème fraîche, sweetened whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.