Fall is just around the corner and plums are in season. Most recently, I was on a trip back home and my in-laws were in the midst of harvesting their plum crop. If you know anything about harvest season, then you know any kind of crop harvesting is an all-day affair. Usually, my mother-in-law packs their lunch and takes it with them. This time, I stayed behind and prepared a hearty meal for when they returned, including this Šljivopita. I thought it was most fitting for them to actually enjoy the fruits of their labor, literally, after a long day in the orchard.

Šljivopita, a plum crumble dessert, is the perfect ending to a late summer meal. This recipe passed down to me from my family, is quite simple and reminds me of an American crumble cake or dessert. The plums, in all their glory, are fragrant, juicy, and when combined with the delicious vanilla flavored crumble truly are unforgetable. You’ll notice in this recipe I use both vanilla sugar and vanilla extract. I do this for extra flavor but feel free to leave the extract out if you don’t have any on hand.

Traditionally, this would be served cut into squares or triangle slices and may be dusted with some powdered sugar. I like to serve mine plain or better yet, with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. That version is always a favorite. I’d like to mention that if you try to serve this while it’s still very hot it will fall apart and you’re better off scooping it into a small bowl. If you let it cool to warm, you’ll be able to slice clean and neat pieces. And if you cool it completely, it will make slicing it even easier. I like to leave it to cool completely, cut into my desired shape, and then pop it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. Best of both worlds!

I hope you give this nostalgic, fragrant, and traditional dish a try very soon. So easy to put together with simple ingredients, I know you’ll love it as much as we do. Prijatno!

Šljivopita / Plum Crumble Pie

Recipe by The Balkan HostessCourse: DessertCuisine: Balkan, Serbian

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Šljivopita, an old family favorite.

Ingredients

Crumble Crust
2 sticks (226 g) butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 g) sugar
4.5 cups (650-700 g) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar (1 kesica)
1 tablespoon baking powder (1 kesica)
1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
Plum Filling
Plums (I use 5-6 large plums, but the amount will depend on your plum variety)
2 tablespoons (42 g) sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar (1 kesica)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 F/175 C and line your baking pan with baking/parchment paper. I use a round, 12.5 inch/31.75 cm baking pan but feel free to use any shape or size you’d like. Keep in mind the smaller the pan, the taller/thicker your slices.
Cut your plums in half, remove the seed, and then depending on the size of your plum cut them into smaller pieces or leave them halved. Place the cleaned and cut plums into a bowl and add the sugar and vanilla sugar. Mix to coat all the plums and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and butter. Using your hands, mix the butter and flour until slightly combined. Then, add in the rest of the crust ingredients and continue mixing with your hands until all the flour has been combined and you have a nice crumble mixture. Do not knead the dough into a ball, use your fingers to break up the dough and mix the ingredients together.
Next, divide the dough in half and pour 1 half into the bottom of your lined baking pan. Using your fingers, press the dough into the bottom of the pan, forming a crust.
Place your sugared plums on top of the crust covering it as much as possible. Drizzle any syrup/juice left in the bowl all over the plums.
Take your remaining crust/crumble mixture and crumble it all over the top of the plums, covering them as much as possible. Break up any large clumps of dough into smaller pieces using your fingers. Press down very lightly to ensure the dough sticks to the plums.
Bake at 350F/175 C until golden brown (30-35 minutes). If you notice the top is starting to brown too quickly, cover the baking pan with aluminum foil and continue baking for the full time
Serve warm or cool, cut into slices, and top with powdered sugar or ice cream.