Please wait, the site is loading...

Sugar-crusted plum, orange and star anise pie


Serves: 6
timePrep time: 35 mins
timeTotal time:
 Sugar-crusted plum, orange and star anise pie
Recipe photograph by Tara Fisher

Sugar-crusted plum, orange and star anise pie


Serves: 6
timePrep time: 35 mins
timeTotal time:

Rate this recipe
Print Print

Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
451Kcal
Fat
14gr
Saturates
8gr
Carbs
74gr
Sugars
46gr
Fibre
4gr
Protein
6gr
Salt
0.1gr

Sarah Randell

Sarah Randell

Our former Food Director, and previously food editor to Delia Smith, Sarah has written more than 1000 recipes for the magazine. She is also author of Family Baking and Marmalade; A Bittersweet Cookbook among others.

See more of Sarah Randell’s recipes
Sarah Randell

Sarah Randell

Our former Food Director, and previously food editor to Delia Smith, Sarah has written more than 1000 recipes for the magazine. She is also author of Family Baking and Marmalade; A Bittersweet Cookbook among others.

See more of Sarah Randell’s recipes

Ingredients

For the orange zest pastry
  • 185g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 50g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
  • 90g cold unsalted butter, diced
  • zest of 1 large orange
  • 1 large egg
  • 1-2 tbsp milk
For the filling
  • 800g ripe plums, stoned and quartered
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp cornflour
  • juice of 1 large orange
  • 3 star anise

Step by step

Get ahead
Prepare the pie to the end of step 4 several hours ahead. Chill until ready to bake. If you want to make the pastry in advance, freeze the cut-out shapes on a lined baking tray, covered with clingfilm, then defrost them before decorating the pie and baking.
  1. For the pastry, tip the flour into a mixing bowl, stir in the sugar and a pinch of salt. Scatter the diced butter over the top and rub into the flour and sugar using your fingertips until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the orange zest. Separate the egg – put the yolk and the white into two separate cups. Using a fork, beat the yolk briefly with 1 tablespoon of milk. Sprinkle this over the pastry mix and stir it in, then use your hands to bring the pastry together into a ball. Add a few more drops of milk if you need to. Pat the pastry ball into a disc, wrap it in clingfilm and chill it for 30 minutes.
  2. Mix the quartered plums with the caster sugar in a bowl. Stir the cornflour into the orange juice in a cup, then combine with the plums, adding the star anise. Tip the plum filling into an 18cm base diameter pie dish, or similar. Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6.
  3. Halve the pastry and roll out one half on a lightly floured surface. Using a cutter of your choice (we used 4cm, 5cm and 6cm round fluted cutters), cut out shapes. Repeat with the other half of the pastry until the pie is covered. We cut out about 12 of each size, making 36 rounds in total. Use them to cover the top of your pie, overlapping as you go, but making sure you leave a few gaps for steam to escape. You may have a little pastry leftover depending on the cutter and decoration you choose for your pie; it freezes well if you want to keep it for another day.
    Tip
    If you are short of time, use ready-made dessert pastry – you will only need about half a 500g pack
  4. Whisk the egg white with a pinch of salt. Lightly brush the pastry with egg white and sprinkle generously with caster sugar.
  5. Bake the pie on a tray for 35 minutes or until the pastry is golden, and the plum juices are bubbling. Stand for 10 minutes; serve with custard (see recipe, below). Watch out for the star anise when you eat.
Chef quote
The subtle flavour of the star anise adds a special something to the pie filling

You might also like...