Mixed Berry and Plum Pie with a Simple Lattice Crust.
Triple berry plum pie, with blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and sweet purple plums inside a flaky lattice topped pie shell, is the perfect summer fruit dessert.
Before we talk about this triple berry plum pie, let’s address the fact that the lattice crust represented in these photos is a total cheater lattice crust.
Are the strips of pie dough carefully woven across the top in a traditional lattice pattern? Nope.
Do I think the pie still looks lovely and like something I want to eat? Yep.
Did my cheater lattice top affect the deliciousness of this pie? “Not even a little bit”, she says as a plump blackberry falls off her fork and into her lap.
If you look at any photo of a pie with a lattice crust on this blog, you will notice that they are ALL unwoven.
Strawberries and Cream Pie? Proudly unwoven. Fresh Peach Pie? Didn’t even think about it. Triple Cherry Pie? There are three different kinds of cherries in there, let’s not get hung up on the pattern of the crust.
It’s true. I am lazy about weaving my lattice strips. A total slacker.
It’s not that I mind the extra time in the kitchen. I love little more than hours spent baking. I guess, when it comes right down to it, I just don’t feel that weaving those strips of dough matters one bit to the finished look and taste of the pie. And, the older I get, the less I’m into doing stuff that doesn’t matter to me.
Q: So, Rebecca, feeling as you do about not weaving your lattice strips, why do you bother with lattice strips at all? Why not just cover your pie with a whole crust?
A: Great Question! Here’s why…
Berries contain a lot of juice.
And good, ripe summer berries that are bursting with juice is exactly what you want if you’re going to make a berry pie. But, all that juice must be thickened up if your intention is to bake something that actually results in slices of pie instead of soggy crusted berry soup.
To thicken the juices for this triple berry plum pie, I’ve chosen to use a combination of corn starch and quick cooking tapioca. I think this combination of thickeners is great. Both will thicken a berry pie all on their own, but too much cornstarch can make the filling cloudy and give it a slightly chalky taste.
Tapioca creates a berry filling that is bright and clear, but too much can create a gluey consistency. Combining smaller amounts of both of them is a great solution. However, I still want to be careful about using too much. And that’s where the lattice crust comes in – it allows excess moisture in the pie’s filling to evaporate while baking.
So, you end up with …
Tripple Berry Plum Pie Recipe Notes
Use whatever kind of berries you want, in whatever proportions you like. In this pie, I used an equal amount of raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. But, the type of berries you use, or whether you use them in equal amounts is not important. Just use a total of 6 cups of fresh berries.
The addition of plums in a mixed berry pie is delicious, but also unnecessary. I love the flavor a few sliced plums give to this berry pie. You can’t really even tell they’re in there… but the flavor of the plums complements the berries and adds some meatiness to the texture of the filling. If you’d prefer to leave them out, please do. Just add another 2 cups of berries in their place.
You can use a whole top crust instead of lattice strips on your triple berry plum pie. Just make sure to cut a few large vents in the top crust to allow extra moisture to escape and evaporate.
Taste the filling before baking. I like my berry pies to be on the tart side, and this recipe reflects that preference. If you prefer your pie to be sweeter, or if the batch of berries you’re using is overly tart, simply add a bit more sugar. While the flavors will condense while baking, tasting the filling before pouring it into your crust to bake should give you a pretty good idea of whether you need to sweeten it up a bit more or not.
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Triple Berry Plum Pie
Triple Berry Plum Pie Recipe
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 mins
- Yield: 8 slices 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Triple berry pie, with blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries and sweet purple plums inside a flaky lattice topped pie shell, is the perfect summer fruit dessert.
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Fool Proof Pie Crust, chilled for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator
- 3 tbsp quick cooking tapioca
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 6 cups fresh berries, any mix of varieties (for the pie pictured, I used raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries)
- 6 small black plums, unpeeled, pitted and cut into ¼ inch slices
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp turbinado or granulated sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400.
- Using a spice grinder or food processor, grind the tapioca into a powder. (TIP: I find it easier to grind a larger amount of tapioca at once. Store ground tapioca in a zip top bag in the cupboard, just as you would unground tapioca.)
- In a large bowl, add the ground tapioca, sugar, cornstarch, honey, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Stir to combine. Add the berries and sliced plumbs and stir gently just to mix. Allow filling to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, stirring every once in a while, to allow the tapioca to soften.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg with 1 tbsp of cold water and set aside.
- Remove the pie dough from the refrigerator. On a floured surface, roll out a portion of the dough to a 12-inch circle that’s about ⅛-inch thick. Using a large spatula, gently loosen the dough from the work top, fold it in half and then fold it in half again. It will form a triangle shape. Lift the crust and place it in a pie plate with the point of the triangle in the center of the plate. Gently unfold the dough in the pan and press into the corners gently. Leave any dough that overlaps the edges of the plate in place.
- Roll another portion of the dough into a large circle, about 18 inches. With a pizza wheel, fluted pizza wheel, or paring knife, cut the disk into 1-inch wide strips.
- Starting in the center of the pie, lay half the strips across the top of the filling in one direction, than lay the other half of the strips across the pie, perpendicular to the first. Trim the edges of the strips so that they are even with the edge of the bottom crust.
- Fold the edges under, forming a rim around the pie that is higher than the pie plate. With one hand on the inside of the edge and one hand on the outside, use the index finger of your inside hand to push the dough between the thumb and index finger of your other hand to form a U or a V shape. Continue this crimping motion around the entire edge.
- Gently brush the egg wash over the top crust with a pastry brush and sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons of turbinado or granulated sugar.
- Put the pie on a baking sheet (to catch any drips) and place in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 and bake for an additional 35-45 minutes. The pie is done when the crust is golden brown and the filling in the center of the pie is bubbling.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack, about 4-6 hours, before slicing.
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Putting plums in a berry pie is pure GENIUS! I am so in love with this- definitely need to try soon!
Thank you Karly! Let me know what you think after you make it. xoxo
Are you sure you have the correct oven temperatures advised?
Hi Brian! Yes – bake the pie for 20 minutes at 400 degrees then drop it down to 375 for the rest of the bake. If it looks like your crust is getting to brown, just lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the pie, which should do the trick. The higher temperature at the start of the bake will help “set” the crust, preventing it from shrinking too much and also ensuring that the bottom crust will bake through. Does that answer your question?