Plum-Blackberry Pie

This plum-blackberry pie recipe and technique—from chef Laurent Gras and writer Mitchell Davis—can be adapted to use just about any summer fruit that you like. Try substituting the vanilla to your taste with almond extract or any liqueur. If working with extremely ripe and juicy fruit, add an extra tablespoon or two of cornstarch to adequately thicken the filling.

Featured in “ 4 Simple Steps to Baking Better Pie .”

Ingredients

For the pie crust:

• 3¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled, plus more for greasing
• ⅓ cup vegetable shortening, chilled

For the filling:

• 1 lb. fresh plums, pitted and sliced into ⅓-in. pieces (about 6 cups)
• 5 oz. fresh or frozen blackberries (about 1 cup)
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• ¼ cup plus 1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Instructions

1. Make the crust: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, incorporate the butter and shortening into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse sand. Drizzle 5 tablespoons of cold water over the flour mixture. Using a fork, gently work the mixture into clumps to begin to form a dough. Drizzle in an additional 5 tablespoons of cold water and continue working just until the dough comes together. Use your hands to pull in the last bits of flour, being careful not to overwork and melt the butter. Shape the dough into a ball.
2. Transfer the dough to a clean surface, and flatten into a ½-inch-thick disk. Fold it over itself, then flatten and fold an additional 4 times to form layers. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a disk, wrap them each in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 24. Pull the dough from the refrigerator 15–20 minutes before you are ready to roll it out.
3. Make the filling: In a large bowl, stir together the plums, berries, sugar, vanilla, and salt and set aside at room temperature until the juices begin to run from the fruit, about 30 minutes. Carefully pour off the excess juices, then sprinkle the fruit with the cornstarch and mix gently to incorporate the starch into the filling.
4. Assemble the pie: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F. Grease an 8-inch pie plate with butter. Dust a countertop with flour and roll half of the pie dough out to a 15-inch circle. Gently lift the crust and settle it into the pie plate, leaving any overhanging crust intact. Pour the fruit mixture into the crust and press it down carefully to fill.
5. Make the lattice top: Roll the other half of the dough out to a 6-by-14- inch rectangle. Use a knife or a fluted pastry cutter to cut the rectangle into ½-inch-wide strips. Place one strip across the center of the top of the pie. Leaving an equal amount of space between each strip, lay one strip parallel to the first. Working in the opposite direction, weave the remaining strips of dough over and under to create a lattice. Trim the ends of the lattice strips to the same size as the bottom crust, then fold the bottom layer up and over the loose strips. Crimp the edges together to decorate the rim of the pie. Chill the pie in the freezer for 15 minutes, or until the dough is firm.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350°F. Continue baking until the juices are thickened and bubbly and the crust is evenly golden, about 1 hour 15 minutes. (If the outside edge begins to darken before the filling has thickened, loosely cover the rim and any dark spots with foil for the remaining time.) Let the pie cool completely, about 2 hours, before cutting into wedges and serving.