After I gave birth to my second child, I realized that, while my feet had grown a full shoe size, I would never grow an extra set of hands. To keep an eye on my boys, I put them to work in the kitchen, and one son has especially taken to the world of pastry.
Since this month’s By the Book is all about pie, I figured Dough Boy might like to lend a hand. To sweeten the deal, I let him choose which recipe to prepare among those I’d marked in The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book: Uncommon recipes from the celebrated Brooklyn pie shop by Emily Elsen and Melissa Elsen. Would it be nectarine-blueberry (delightful fruit combo), paprika peach (love me some spice), muskmelon chiffon (melon juice, saltine crust – cool), Concord grape (because it grows in my backyard) or Plumble Pie (plum pie baked in bowls)? He chose the last.
The recipe calls for an all-butter crust, which the Elgen sisters note is the signature and most popular crust at their popular pie shop. It holds a hint of tangy cider vinegar and is easy to put together. The sisters do a fine job explaining exactly how to incorporate the ice water-vinegar mixture into the dry ingredients so the dough is neither wet nor overkneaded. Since the Elgens recommend refrigerating the dough overnight, we made the oat topping next and refrigerated both as well so it would be ready when we needed it the following day.
One reason the Plumble Pie recipe interested me was because aromatic bitters was listed among the ingredients. Bitters are made from numerous roots, barks, fruit peels, seeds and other plant matter infused in high-proof alcohol. Just a couple dashes of Old Fashion bitters adds complex flavor to the three ground spices – ginger, cardamom and allspice – that are tossed with the sliced plums.
Instead of a pie pan, bowls come into play for this dessert. My bowls varied in depth, so it was a tad tricky decide how much to roll out each piece of dough so it fit inside its respective bowl.
Once I ladled the filling inside and added the crumbled oat topping, my stomach started growling. It was a matter of tick-tock, watch the clock…
The results were spectacular. The buttery crust was incredibly light and flaky. The cooked filling offered ripe plum flavors with thick fruit juice oozing about. The whole thing begged to be topped with vanilla ice cream.
Distance prevents me from visiting Four & Twenty Blackbirds pie shop on a regular basis. Luckily, the Elgin sisters have given me the tools to duplicate their unique pies at home. And since my butter-loving boy is a teenager, I’ve a lot of parenting yet to do. Ergo, we’ll be baking together often from this book.
Plumble Pie Makes 4 4-inch or 2 6-inch bowls
All-butter Crust (Recipe follows)
2 cups Oat Crumble (Recipe follows)
2 lbs. plums, sliced (4 to 5 cups)
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
3 Tbsp. potato starch
¼ tsp. ground allspice
¼ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground cardamom
2 dashes Old Fashion bitters
• Divide the dough into 2 or 4 pieces, depending on the size of bowls being used. Roll each piece into a disc 2 to 3 inches larger than the oven-safe bowl. Grease the bowls well and fit the dough inside; crimp the edges as desired. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Position the oven racks in the bottom and center positions, place a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack, and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Combine the plums, lemon juice, granulated and brown sugars, potato starch, allspice, ginger, cardamom and bitters in a large bowl and mix well.
• Place the bowls on the rimmed baking sheet and distribute the plum filling evenly among them. Top with the oat crumble. Bake on the lowest rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pastry is set and beginning to brown. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees, move the pies to the center oven rack, and continue to bake until the pastry is a deep golden brown and the juices are bubbling throughout, 30 to 35 minutes longer.
• Allow the bowls to cool completely on a wire rack, 1 to 2 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
• The pie will keep refrigerated 3 days or at room temperature for 2 days.
All-butter Crust Makes 1 single-crust 9- to 10-inch pie
1¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ tsp. kosher salt
1½ tsp. granulated sugar
¼ lb. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
½ cup cold water
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
½ cup ice
• Stir the flour, salt and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the butter pieces and coat with the flour mixture using a bench scraper or spatula. With a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture, working quickly until mostly pea-size pieces of butter remain (a few larger pieces are okay; be careful not to overblend).
• Combine the water, cider vinegar and ice in a large measuring cup or small bowl. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the ice water mixture over the flour mixture, and mix and cut it in with a bench scraper or spatula until it is fully incorporated. Add more of the ice water mixture, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, using the bench scraper or your hand (or both) to mix until the dough comes together in a ball, with some dry bits remaining. Squeeze and pinch with your fingertips to bring all the dough together, sprinkling dry bits with more small drops of the ice water mixture, if necessary, to combine. Shape the dough into a flat disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight, to give the crust time to mellow.
Oat Crumble Topping 2 cups
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
¾ cup rolled oats
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 Tbsp. (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes, at room temperature
• Stir together all the ingredients except the butter in a large bowl. Sprinkle in the butter pieces and toss to coat. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the butter is incorporated and the mixture is chunky but not homogenous.
• Chill for at least 15 minutes before using.
What is your favorite pie shop and why? Tell us in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book!
This article appears in August 2014.