Tag Archives: Crust (baking)

Grandma’s Plum Tart

26 Sep

Italian Prune Plums are only in season for about one day each year.  When I saw that Fresh Direct had them, I jumped at the chance to order them so I could make Grandma’s Plum Tart.

I use the crust for this tart A LOT (you can use it on basically any pie or any savory dish, like quiche, if you take out the sugar).  It is the EASIEST thing in the world to make and requires no fridge time nor rolling out.  You make the darn thing right IN the pie pan.  It isn’t a flaky crust, but I’d challenge anyone to say it is any less delicious. I used it as the base for the Drunk ‘N Nutty pie, so head over to that link for more instructions.

I was actually out of breadcrumbs, so I used graham cracker crumbs.  You don’t taste this anyway, but good to know you can substitute (this stops the crust from absorbing too much of the sugar).

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Grandma used to halve the plums with her fingers and the pits would fall right now.  I guess I don’t have her magical ability to figure out when they are perfectly ripe, so I am usually splitting them with a knife and carving out the pit.  (And I have to give a shout out  to Mike, who meticulously and patiently cut all these for me since I broke my right pinky, further limiting my already clumsy knife skills).  This time was no different, even though they felt very soft to me.  You then soak them in sugar. (Grandma used to always worry they wouldn’t be sweet enough… I will keep that in mind for the future because while this turned out awesome, it was a little on the tart side.  Next time remember: MORE SUGAR)

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After you split them all in half, you arrange them in concentric circles.  I have done this starting from the center or from the outside, and while both methods need a little balancing and adjustment, the outside-in method seems to make the most evenness.

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You then bake it up for an hour.  Last time I made it, it wasn’t quite so juicy (the plums were frozen… not sure if that had anything to do with it).  This one was almost FILLED with juice.  I was concerned it wouldn’t work… but I should not have worried.

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You then pour in a mixture of egg, flour, milk and Bristol Cream Sherry (or any sherry really, but Bristol Cream is always the most delicious).  I was nervous it was going to overflow, but it fit in just right.

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You then bake it a bit more until the egg mixture is set (not runny).

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This thing is a crowd pleaser.  It has a beauty to it with those plums and is incredibly easy to make but looks VERY difficult.  The flavor is very unique, and unlike anything I have ever had.

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And best of all… it reminds me of Grandma.

 

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RECIPE
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Grandma Litty’s Plum Tart

Ingredients:

Plums:

  • 2 to 2 ½ pounds Italian Prune Plums – Split in half (they should be softish, ready to eat and splitable by hand. You should add more sugar if they are on the hard side. You can split them and freeze them since they are only available in early September)
  • ½ to 2/3 cups sugar (more if not very ripe)

Filling:

  • One egg yolk
  • 1 tsp flour
  • ¼ cup milk
  • One tbsp Bristol Crème Sherry (or any sherry)

Crust:

  • one stick butter, room temp
  • 1 ½ cup flour
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp milk
  • 1 Tbl. Plain bread crumbs

 

Instructions:

· Cover split prunes with sugar and set aside

· Preheat oven to 350

· To make crust:

1. Cut up the butter in bottom of 9” pyrex dish

2. Add all the other stuff on top and using your hands, mush together very well, no flour should show.

3. Make ball in center, then press out with heels of hands, then fingers to get it up the sides… make even thickness bottom and sides.

4. Cover the bottom of the crust with BREAD CRUMBS.  This prevents the sugar from seeping thru the crust.

· Add plums in concentric circles, starting from outside… Stand them up and make it tight to keep them standing… use last plums in bowl to sop up all or most of the sugar.

· Bake at 350 for one hour.  Check after 35-45 mins, as sometimes the crust gets too brown, to prevent this, add a pie shield or place a ring of tin foil to cover the crust area.

· Remove from oven for 5 minutes and place on rack

· Beat one egg yolk with fork, then add 1 tsp flour, mix well with fork, then add ¼ cup milk, mix in one tbsp Bristol Crème Sherry (or any sherry)

· After crust has been out of the oven for 5 mins, pour the egg mixture gently over the plums.

· Return to oven for 5 mins… touch with your finger… if it is “set” (not runny) then remove from oven

 

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Apple Pie with New Crust

17 Dec

My Aunt Dinah is a 90-something powerhouse of a woman with a fondness for awesome shoes and the most amazing spirit you have ever met.   She is awesome.

However, she is 90-something and while she was fine to make ONE homemade apple pie from scratch for Thanksgiving, she admitted she couldn’t bring the usual two pies.  My cousin/uncle Mark, who hosts Thanksgiving every year at his house with wife Wanda, asked that I pick up a pie down the street.

Are you kidding?

Pick up a pie?

That was not going to happen.  Though I couldn’t go up against Dinah’s classic apple pie.  I didn’t even want to try to compete.  So I wanted a bit more of a twist on the pie, so I went with one that had a crumble top.  I got the full recipe from one of my new favorite blogs, The Pioneer Woman.  And I was up for a challenge, so I chose her pie crust that she, a very experienced baker, said was very difficult to make.

And it started with (gulp)… shortening!  EEEEEEEEEEEEK!  How can you make a buttery crust without butter?  I just wasn’t sure, but I had trust.  So I took out the stuff that always reminds me of kindergarten paste and measured myself a cup.

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 And because I have never seen the difference between pastry that I do by hand and when I do it in the food processor (except in wrist pain), I “cheated.”

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 So I pulsed the shortening with the flour until it made a lumpy mess.

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 So I pulsed it a bit more until it looked more like crumbs. 

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 My idea of the right texture for pie crust is always where most of it is making pencil eraser size chunks with a few bigger and some crumbs.

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 Then I added some egg.

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And some water, white vinegar, and salt before separating the crust into 3 parts and making some balls.

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 I put the balls into ziplocks.

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Then used a rolling pin to smush it down so it would be “easier” to work with later (HA!)

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Then I stuck it in the freezer, for what wound up being overnight.  I took it out the next morning to thaw while I prepared the filling.  First I cut up apples (uniformity is important!) 

The filling recipe also came from the Pioneer Woman recipe collection.

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And then stirred together this mixture that was like heaven in my mouth.

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 Phew!  Now just to roll out the crust.

I added flour to my surface and pin.

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And then I rolled… and rolled… and folding it up… and rolled… and rolled.. and refloured… and rolled and rolled and folded it up and rolled and rolled and refloured and rolledandrolledandfoldeditupandrolledandrolledandrefloured… and rolled…

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 It just never quite made it smooth.  I decided that even though it looked like it was falling apart that I would try to lay it into the pie dish and just patch it as needed.

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But how do I get it off of the mat?  It had been floured and all… but it was STUCK.  And it was right around the moment when I somehow looped my apron around the handle of the cabinet and in one foul swooped yanked it open, toppled out the top to my salad spinner, and dumped a combo of flour and pie dough all over the floor.

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Mike was looking at the sorry state of me covered in flour, fear, and frustration and suggested that I turn the whole thing over on the pie plate and peal the dough off. 

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Much to my relief, it worked.  

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 I had to patch some areas and wound up with no where near enough to make nice edges, however, it was SO thin that I dared not roll it anymore. 

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The recipe didn’t mention if the crust should be pricked to allow air out, however, I didn’t want to take any chances so I pricked.

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Then I filled it with the apples that were covered in the delicious sauce. 

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 And I made the topping, which was supposed to be like crumbs… but it never really came close.

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So I wound up breaking it into little chunks with my fingers and spreading it across the top.

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 The smell while this was baking was absolutely fantastic.  And it came out looking BEAUTIFUL!

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But how did it taste?

Well…. ehhhh… it was good… but it wasn’t great.  Not even all that special.  I don’t know why this fell short.  It had all the makings (and look) of a brilliant pie… but it just wasn’t.  And the crust was no better than my other crust, which was much less effort.

So while I still love Ree and her recipes, I think I have to say… skip this pie.   And from what I hear from Lori, make this Pecan Pie instead (which I plan on doing very soon).

For the recipes, it’s better (and so worthwhile) to check out Ree’s summaries:

The Crust

The Pie

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