Transylvanian Rustic Plum Pie

When it comes to autumn fruits, plums are probably the most used in Romanian desserts. We se plums to make everything from dumplings, tarts, pies, jams, and, as I discovered not long time ago, a desert called 'lichiu.'

Up until recently, my go-to dish when it comes to plum recipes was our Plum Custard Tart Done Easy. Yet, after eating this Transylvanian rustic plum pie, I fell in love with it. And it didn't take me too much to learn how to prepare it and twist it around just to fit our style perfectly.

This being said, let me show you how to make plum pie in a Transylvanian fusion fashion. However, before we start, I want to tell you a thing or two about the changes I made.

Traditionally, this rustic plum pie is made with Romanian sweet bread dough. But since it's not the easiest thing to manage and, in my opinion, has a mind of its own, I decided to go with a foolproof one that doesn't change anything tastewise - our cinnamon rolls dough. With all this settled, let's make this.

• To prepare the dough, just check out the full instructions described in the cinnamon rolls recipe. Let it proof for 2 hours. Then give it a punch.
• Place it on a clean surface and roll it out. You want a 2-3 mm thick.

You may end up having more dough than needed. That's ok. At this point, you can freeze it and use it on other occasions.

• Take an 18 cm (7 inches) springform cake tin and line it with parchment paper on both the bottom and walls. It will really help you take the pie out.
• Transfer the prepared dough to your prepared springform cake tin, cover it and let it rest for another 40 minutes.
• In the meantime, you should prepare the vanilla topping.
• Place the egg yolks in a bowl and mix it with 30g of sugar and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract.
• Heat up 120 ml milk. You want it warm and not boiling hot. Start pouring into the egg mixture and stir to combine. This will allow them to cook gently without turning into scrambled eggs.
• Return everything back into the pan and place it on low heat.

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• Stir continuously for 2 minutes, then take it off heat.

If you have never made vanilla custard and are afraid to work on direct heat, you can use a double boiler.

• Take another pan and pour the rest of the milk (150 ml), 42g semolina, 30g of sugar, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. Put it on low heat and stir until you reach a soft and creamy texture. Add the butter and combine.

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• Transfer the vanilla cream to the semolina mixture and combine. Leave aside.

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• Sprinkle semolina all over the dough. This will prevent the dough from becoming mushy.
• Wash and prepare the plums. Divide them in two and take the stones out. Place them face down on the dough.

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• Pour the vanilla-semolina mixture, and spread it evenly.

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• Bake it in the preheated oven at 160 degrees Celsius (320 F) for 45 minutes or until slightly golden.
• When ready, take the form out of the oven and let it cool at room temperature.
• When it's safe to touch, remove the plum pie from the springform and allow it to rest until it completely cools down.
• Slice it and enjoy it!

That's it! That's all you need to do to prepare this amazing rustic pie. But is it the best plum dessert? Well, some may say it is. However, it's amazingly delicious, and I recommend it to everyone.

As I said at the beginning of the article, this is a rustic plum pie specific to the Transylvania region, especially within the German community of Romania. However, it should not be confused with the original German plum pie recipe as it doesn't have too much in common with it.

I do hope you will give our Transylvanian Rustic Plum Pie a chance and give us a tag on Instagram to let us know your thoughts.