Blackberry Plum Crumb Pie

Homemade pastry crust is filled with sweet blackberries and tart plums, topped with buttery brown sugar crumb topping.

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Prep Time 45

Cook Time 1 30

Total Time 2 15

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings8

Make 1/2 the recipe for pie dough as instructed.
Shape the dough into a disk-shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
On a well-floured surface, roll out the dough into a circle, about 1/8 inch thick, using a bench scraper and additional flour as needed, to loosen the dough from the counter. Fit the dough into a deep-dish pie pan or 9-inch tart pan so that the dough hangs over the sides of the pan. Fold the edges of the dough under to create a thick crust. Crimp the crust with your fingers.
If using a 9 inch metal tart pan, lightly grease the pan with non-stick baking spray. You can use either a metal or ceramic pan, but metal conducts heat more efficiently for a better-baked bottom crust and filling.
Set the pan in the freezer to chill the crust while you prepare the filling.

Cut the plums in half, remove the pits, and slice the plums into 1/2 inch slices
In a large bowl, toss the plum slices with the blackberries, sugar, corn starch and allspice until well coated. Reserve the flour to sprinkle over the bottom crust and the butter to dot over the filling.

Preheat the oven to 375 F, and position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set the frozen pie pan on the baking sheet.
Sprinkle the 1 tablespoon of flour over the bottom crust (to prevent a soggy crust), and pour the filling, including all the juices, into the crust. Dot the filling with the cubes of butter.
Bake the pie for 45 minutes while you make the topping.

In a bowl, combine all the topping ingredients in a bowl until moistened and crumbly.
After the pie has baked with just the filling for 45 minutes, remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle the filling with the topping.
Return the pie to the oven and continue to bake for an additional 35-45 minutes (for a total bake time of 90 minutes), until the topping is browned and the juices are thick and bubbling over the edges. You may or may not need to cover the edge of the pie with a pie crust shield partway through baking to keep it from over-browning; I did not need to cover mine.
Note: A browned crust on top does NOT mean the pie is done. You need to bake it until the juices in the middle are thick, with slow bubbles coming to the surface. This indicates that the corn starch has been activated and has properly thickened your pie filling, which can take the full 90 minutes.
Let the pie cool at room temperature for at least 4-5 hours. You can slice the pie while it's still warm, although it may be a bit messy. You can speed this up by cooling at room temperature for one hour, then in the refrigerator for two hours.

Making the Dough. If you like, you can use a food processor, instead of a pastry cutter, to make your pie dough. Combine the dry ingredients first, then add the cold butter and pulse until crumbly. Add the wet ingredients, and pulse just until it comes together into a dough ball.
Storing and Serving. Fruit pies are best stored at room temperature, covered loosely, and eaten within 1-2 days. The crust will be at its most crisp and flaky within one day, and after two days, will begin to soften as it absorbs moisture from the filling. Serve with ice cream or fresh whipped cream!

Keyword Blackberry, Pie, Plum