Spiced Plum Pie

This review is for the filling because I have a crust recipe that I've always used that is absolutely delicious. I used 3 lbs. of plums and 2 ripe peaches that needed to get used cuz I felt there weren't enough plums. Instead of cornstarch, I used 3 tbsps. flour. Reduced the cardamom to 1/2 tsp, added 1/2 cinnamon, 1/4 ginger, 1/8 allspice, 1/8 mace and 1 tbsp. lemon juice. I also put small pats of butter on the top of the filling before placing the top crust on... again, this added more liquid to the already juicy pie filling. Won't do that again either. I think the temp. is off cuz my crust was not done at 40 min. I ended up bumping the temp to 400 degrees for last 15 min. It still needed more time to cook the crust so bumped the temp again to 425 degrees for 15 min. and left the pie in the oven for 10 more min. with the oven off. I think in all I cooked the pie way too long just to get the crust cooked. The result was that my filling turned to mush and there was loads of juice which ran all over the counter. The pie was delicious, but I think next time I would bake it at 425 degrees... and reduce the cardamom and cinnamon to 1/4 tsp. each. The juice was fantastic served over vanilla ice scream! It was deliciously edible anyway. My first ever plum pie in all my years of baking! I'm ready to take the challenge again!

• rose_hoppe

• Los Osos, CA

• 8/29/2014

I liked the idea of this pie, but I did not like the cornstarch as a thickener. I used 2tbsp (per the recipe), not more, and felt it dulled the flavor. I guess I'm just used to using tapioca in my fruit pies. Next time I make this pie I'll probably use ground tapioca. Company loved the pie -- served it with vanilla ice cream.

• mooglegirl

• Mansfield, MA

• 8/24/2014

This review is for the filling only as use another recipe for the crust. I love this recipe. I make it all the time. I have a prune plum tree in the yard so we have a lot of plums. I even make this recipe with plums that have been frozen. The flavors are strong in this recipe so adjust them to match the people you are serving it to.

• denisetech

• Victoria, BC

• 5/28/2014

Review is for the filling only, as I use my family's pie crust recipe for all my pies. This pie is amazing. I found this pie several years ago, and I've made it every year since. Because of the combination of spices it is quite reminiscent of Christmas, so eating this pie reminds us all of the holidays. When plums are in season here (late summer) I will prepare this pie filling and freeze it for use later in the year - Christmas time! It's absolutely a keeper.

• VintageAvonLady

• 8/4/2011

I absolutely love this recipe! This pie is to die for- but here is the secret. I loved it the first two times I made this, but this time I learned a great lesson. Make this pie two to three days before you actually intend of serving it. By that time, the flavors will have settled and become balanced. We all liked the pie the day- but the second and third day (I made a big pie) we were besides ourselves. Also, I was to lazy to go to the store to buy cloves- so I used Pumpkin Pie Spice instead. It was still wonderful.

• Anonymous

• St. Louis, MO

• 11/28/2010

I was excited about discovering this pie recipe. Unfortunately I was really disappointed with the filling, and so was my company. We found that the spices overwhelmed the fruit. I bake a lot and my spices are really fresh, especially freshly grated nutmeg. Ultimately, the pie reminded me of a meatless mince pie, in flavor. The recipe for the tender pie crust is excellent, though. It will be in my recipe box forever.

• mumathome2

• Calgary, Alberta

• 9/6/2010

I love to bake, and this is the best pie I've ever made. The dough recipe came out flaky and light. (I refrigerated the dough for about 5 hours, and then rolled out each one in a Ziploc bag before finishing on the counter -- this really helps to roll out an even crust that doesn't stick.) The only changes I made were adding about 8 strawberries since I didn't have quite enough plums, replacing one tsp. of orange zest with lemon zest, and using about 4 1/3 tbsp of cornstarch, per the other reviews. The flavor from the spices was outstanding, and the consistency of the filling was great. Perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Highly recommended!

• andreabf

• San Francisco, CA

• 7/12/2010

Went with the 4 cornstarch which was about right. Next time I'll use apricots or even apple as we couldn't really taste the plums. Overall, very tasty.

• penns

• Sydney, Australia

• 6/2/2010

This review is only for the filling, as regrettably, I did not make the crust. I was not crazy about the filling using purple plums because they were just too strong and bitter for my taste, though they tasted fine out of hand.I would recommend the red plums or combo pluots and apricots which I will try next time.The spice mixture with the zest was wonderful. Perfect balance of flavors and definitely double the cornstarch. I used 3 tbsp and wished I had used 4 and half as it was still pretty runny.

• TheCrazyGourmand

• Bay Area, CA

• 6/2/2010

I really liked this pie. I too used pluots along with plums and also added more cornstarch. The spice combo was really interesting with the plums and the crust recipe is one I use over and over. My husband loved the crust, liked the spice, was just ok with the plums. Which left more pie for me. (And I know I can't be the only one who will eat pie for breakfast, right?)

• Anonymous

• Columbus, OH

• 10/19/2008

SO GOOD! The spice combo is really good, and not overpowering like I thought it might be. Like the other reviewers, I used 4 tbsp cornstarch instead of 2. My plums didn't seem very juicy when I cut them so I was kind of reluctant to increase the cornstarch, but I'm glad I did, because it made the pie the perfect consistency. Also, DO NOT FORGET THE DRIP TRAY!!!!

• dombot

• Calgary, AB

• 8/22/2008

Fabulous, one of the best fruit pies I have ever eaten and made. The cardamom is wonderful in this pie. I used home grown pluots and apricots...WOW...my fruit was so juicy that I indeed went to 4 1/2 tbsp of cornstarch and when putting the fruit in the pie shell, I used a slotted spoon and only took the fruit mixture, I left all the juice in the bowl which was a good idea because even doing that the juice ran over the pie dish while cooking. I recommend making this pie in the morning so that the fruit has a chance to set up before serving.

• debbiede

• san rafael, ca

• 8/7/2008

I made a version of this pie that was strawberry and plums. It was absolutely magnificent. Had it for a dinner party and my future in laws loved it. I did add the 4 tablespoons of cornstarch like someone else suggested in their review, and it was the perfect cohesiveness. Not too soupy at all. It was so popular I'm making two more of the same tonight.

• AngelavengerL

• American Fork, UT

• 3/20/2008

this is perhaps the best pie i've ever made! i used pluots (cross btw plum and apricot), which were delicious. i also served it with fresh whipped cream. highly recommended!

• ssuchdev

• brooklyn, ny

• 9/2/2007

The whole family agreed that this was the best pie EVER. I made it twice and went to the store and bought 8 lbs of plums for freezing so we could enjoy this pie year around. As a result of the other comments I prepared the filling in a pot and cooked it until it was the right consistency. I added tapioca to achieve this. You will surely enjoy this pie. Carolyn

• Carolynhauswald

• Colorado Springs

• 11/3/2006