Sweet and Tart Plum Pies

Jenny Morris, Plums

  • Serves 2

Ingredients

The short crust pastry

  • 160g cake flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 115g cold salted butter cut into small cubes
  • 2-3 Tbsp cold water

The topping

  • 1 beaten egg
  • Caster sugar for sprinkling

Method

  1. Preheat oven 180◦ C.
  2. For your mini pies spray a standard size muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
  3. In a large bowl stir together the flour and salt, add the butter to the flour and use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs .
  4. Slowly add the cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until the dough starts to come together. You may not need all of the water.
  5. Once the dough starts to form, knead it gently into a ball. Be careful not to overwork it.
  6. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let it firm up before rolling it out. …
  7. Roll the pastry out onto a lightly floured clean surface, to about 2mm thick. Use a cookie cutter and cut out 24 circles to fit the muffin holes.
  8. Press the dough circles gently into the muffin holes, make sure they fit snugly. and cover the bottom and sides of the holes.
  9. Delete the rest of the sentence marked in red from and cover to sides of the holes
  10. Spoon some plum filling into each pie crust, filling them about 3/4 full.
  11. Cover each one with the remaining circles, crimp the edges to seal, brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with caster sugar.
  12. Use a toothpick or a fork and prick holes into the top of each pie.
  13. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or till golden and bubbling.