Sometimes I feel like one of those overly excited dogs when it comes to new seasons and new crops. Uh rhubarb, I love rhubarb. Uh, asparagus, I love asparagus. Finally, strawberries, I love strawberries. Yeeesss, pumpkin, I love pumpkin. Every time something new arrives I get too excited and try to stuff as much of it as possible in my face. I do love plums more than anything though and judging by my excitement for other fruits and veggies, this must mean a lot. Hint: I absolutely love plums.

When I was little I would pick fresh plums from the tree, whenever I didn’t feel like going inside the house for a snack. But the first time I had plum compote for dessert was the time my love for plums really started to get out of hand. From that moment on plum season was the time I went crazy. There are just too many delicious things you can make with plums. Zwetschgendatschi, plum compote, ice cream…But until somebody mentioned plum pie on Instagram, it didn’t really occur to me to put plums in pie as well. I was too curious to let this idea go so this is the result: spelt pie with plums in cinnamon and red wine.

The pie might be a teeny bit healthier than other pies, which is mostly due to the fact that I used spelt flour and basically no sugar. I used plums that came directly from the tree and they were so ripe and sweet that I only added a little bit of maple syrup. I probably could have left it out entirely. I feel like plums have a very specific taste to them and adding too much sugar makes everything taste bland and overly sweet.

Makes one pie:

300 g light spelt or all-purpose flour

250 g butter

2 eggs

1 pinch of salt

2 tbsp. of brown sugar

800-900 g ripe plums

3-4 tbsp. maple syrup

2 tbsp. corn starch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1) In a bowl, mix flour, sugar and salt. Add one egg one tbsp. of sugar, cold, cubed butter and knead well until you have a firm dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2) Cut plums in halves and take out the stone. Mix with maple syrup, corn starch and cinnamon. Let sit for a couple of minutes so that the corn starch can dissolve.

3) Divide the dough in half. Roll out one half on a floured surface and place into a pie pan. Add the fillings, roll out the remaining dough and use to weave a lattice on top of the pie. Directions can be found here. Whisk the egg and brush the pie crust, then sprinkle 1 tbsp. of sugar.

4) Bake the pie in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes at 175°C until the pie is golden and the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before serving.