The Sweet and Tangy Slice: Buttermilk Plum Pie

The Pasta Burner loves to make biscuits.

And why not? There are few things more delicious right out of the oven than those buttery, flaky, still-steaming-hot buns. The first one is delicious. As is the next one. And the one after that.

The key to great biscuits, of course, is a cup or two of buttermilk; the tangy (and wonderful) side effect of whipping heavy cream into oblivion adds a lovely, pleasant lightness for which there really is no other substitute.

The only problem with biscuit making is that it's nearly impossible to just buy a cup of buttermilk; if you're lucky, a quart is about the smallest container you'll find. So what to do with the leftovers?

The answer is found in today's recipe; the combination of a classic southern dessert and the summer's last bounty of stone fruit. Let's get to it.



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Buttermilk Plum Pie
Makes enough batter for two 9" pies

12 ripe Plums

3/4 Cup Sugar
4 large Eggs
2 heaping tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
1 stick Sweet Cream Butter, melted
1 and 1/2 Cups Buttermilk
2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract

2 Pie crusts (One box of store-bought is just fine)
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Start by cracking your eggs into a large bowl. Add the sugar and whip with a hand mixer until the color lightens and it becomes very thick, about two minutes.





Add in the buttermilk. Whip for an additional minute.



Follow this with the two heaping tablespoons of flour and vanilla. With the mixer on, add the melted butter to the bowl in a constant stream. This will make sure that the butter emulsifies into the batter properly.

Place the pie crusts into your pans. With a sharp knife, halve the plums and remove the pits. Place them, cut side down, into the pie pans, packing them together.



Pour the batter into each pan (as seen at the top of this post), leaving the top of each plum exposed to the air. Place into the oven and bake for 45 minutes (or until the top is golden brown and the pie's center no longer wiggles).

Allow to cool for 30 minutes, and serve. The final product:





I think you'll find this pie to be more intriguing than it might appear at first glance; the mildly piquant buttermilk, the jammy notes of plum, the luscious vanilla custard -- all of these elements combine to create a dessert of subtle complexity. Two pies may seem like a lot, but I promise you, it'll disappear quick. Give it a whirl -- and be sure to make some biscuits, too.

Music: Wu-Tang Clan -- "C.R.E.A.M"