My baking diary: Red Plum Pie

This is my 1st attempt in baking a pie from scratch & IT TURNED OUT AWESOME!!!!! *dances in the kitchen with joy*

If you're wondering why I decided to make a red plum pie of all pies, it's SOLELY because my dad bought LOADS of red plums from the pasar malam, but found out that it's sour after tasting ONE plum. He didn't want to eat the rest of the plums after that! So, what to do with almost 10 plums in the fridge that NO ONE wants to touch? Get the PerutBesi to work some magic on the plums & give it a new life! :D

So pretty, right?? :D

Sweet & slightly tangy red plums oozing outta the golden-brown pie! I've tasted it & it's GOOD! Looks like a cherry pie, eh? Lovely, natural red colour :D

I took the idea/inspiration from Hungersauce.com's recipe on red plum pie, but I modified it according to my experiences from watching loads of cooking shows & also according to my personal taste-preference (I don't want things too sweet nor too sour nor too salty). If you wonder how I picked this recipe from the many out there online, it's random! I just look at the ingredients & methods, & whichever that I find "easy"/convincing, it'll just go ahead to try it out...haha...

Note: All measurements below are based on estimation/personal experience.

Ingredients - Pie Crust

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tbsp white granulated sugar

1 stick of cold butter [I used salted]

9 tbsp cold water

1 egg yolk

White of 1 egg

Ingredients - Pie Filling

8-10 red plums, cubed with skin on

1/2 cup soft brown sugar

2-3 drops of vanila essence

Juice of 3/4 lemon

Zest of 1 lemon

1 1/2 tsp corn starch, mixed with approximately 50ml of water...?

Directions - Pie crust

* Preheat oven to roughly 190C for at least 15-20 minutes.

1. Sift flour & sugar together & mix well

2. Cut cold butter into pieces into the flour & sugar mixture 

3. Mix all ingredients well.

I use my hands since I don't have a food processor to rub the butter into the flour & sugar mixture. Ensure you rub it thoroughly. The end result will be a yellowish-coloured flour mixture. 

4. Add the egg yolk to the flour mixture & mix well. 

5. Add the cold water, 1-2 tbsp each time, mixing the flour 'til it forms into a dough.

Adjust the amount of cold water accordingly. Your dough should not be too wet nor too dry. It should be able to form into a ball. 

6. Wrap the dough & chill for approximately 1/2 an hour in the fridge. 

7. Once chilled, remove dough from fridge. Dust your table/counter with flour. 

8. Use approximately 3/4 of the dough & roll the dough into a round, flat piece, large enough to cover your pie dish.

I rolled mine to roughly 1/8 inch or 1/2 cm thick. 

9. Place pie crust over the pie dish & brush with egg white.

Ensure that you use a fork to poke holes into the base of the pie to avoid the dough from rising/popping up. You can make patterns on your pie using the fork as well.

10. Bake base of pie at 190C for approximately 20 minutes 'til it's cooked/browning.

When the base of the pie is done, remove from oven & set aside to cool.

While the base of pie bakes/cools, prepare your red plums...

Directions - Red Plums Filling

11. Wash & remove seed of plums

12. Cut plums into cubes with their skins on 

13. Slowly pour the brown sugar over the plums & mix well.

You may not use all the sugar, especially if your plums are originally sweet. Mine were sour, so I had to put enough sugar to get it "sweetened". 

14. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, & vanilla essence, mixing all ingredients well.

You'll begin to notice that your bowl has more liquid as you mix because the juices of the plums are slowly drained from the plums itself. 

15. Transfer your plums into a pan over medium-high flame. 

16. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally.

You'll notice that more & more liquid gets drained from the plums. Don't panic as it's natural & good for your pie-filling! :D 

17. As the liquid reduces, add some "liquid"corn starch to thicken the filling.

Don't over-thicken, but ensure that it's not watery. Once done, remove from heat & set aside to cool.

While the pie-filling cools, get ready your pie-top...

18. Use the remaining dough & roll the dough into a round, flat piece, large enough to cover your pie.

As this is the top of the pie, you can actually make it flatter/thinner than the base of the pie.

19. Dish your pie-filling into the base of the pie. 

20. Cover your pie with the freshly rolled-out dough, glaze with egg white & make holes & patterns with fork. 

21. Bake pie for approximately 25 minutes until top of pie turns golden brown. 

22. When the pie is done, remove from oven & place on "cooling rack".

As I don't have a specific cooling rack, I just place it on the table & turn the fan on to get it to cool faster. 

23. When the pie is slightly cooled-down, cut the pie & enjoy! :D

I feel that it's best to eat the pie warm & perhaps accompany it with some cold vanilla ice-cream!! 

This was a SUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT! I'm SO proud of myself for coming up with my own improvised recipe & got the pie turning out nicely as well! Woohoo!!!!


The proud & happy baker,