This Peach, Plum, & Mascarpone Pie is absolutely heavenly and is a great excuse to eat more stone fruit. With a crunchy, nutty pecan crust and fruity, fatty marbleized filling, what the heck’s not to love?! With the fruity freshness and the buttery crust, this dessert is perfect for both summer and fall. With just a pie plate, hand mixer, and some sort of blender you’ll be well on your way to an heavenly treat!
Peaches and plums are some of my favorite fruits. As a child, I loved summer in part because my neighbor had a plum tree in their front yard. Their kids didn’t eat the plums much, and he told my siblings and I we could eat as many as we wanted. Every single day I would go over in the summer heat, sit in his driveway, and eat as many plums as possible before the inevitable stomach ache took hold. Even when my family took our summer camping trips, I would go collect plums to take with us. Peaches were expensive and much rarer to come by, but every time I ate one my heart sang! I thought plums were amazing, but peaches were and will forever be top freaking notch. As an adult, I actually budget for fresh peaches in the summertime because they bring me so much joy. I no longer live by that plum tree, so this summer I splurged and impulsively bough Costco sized packages or both peaches AND plums. Not surprisingly, even I couldn’t eat them fast enough. When that realization came to me, I decided to whip up a delicious dessert with my favorite fruit. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- Pecans
- Flour
- Butter
- Sugar
- Mascarpone
- Peaches
- Plums
- Vanilla
- Cornstarch
- Egg
. I recommend getting chopped pecans instead of whole ones because they’ll process faster. Also if your local grocery store has a bulk section I would head there for this ingredient, as you can get just the right amount and it’s usually less expensive.
. Mascarpone cheese can be found in the cheese section of the grocery store. It’s typically in the sub-section of island of somewhat fancier cheese like feta or goat.
. The peaches and plums don’t have to be fresh. You can also get sliced peaches and plums in a can, but make sure to wash and drain them before adding them into the filling.
What's Mascarpone?
Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese. It’s soft, spreadable, due to the fact that it’s made from cream and not milk. Indeed, this cheese is typically about 70% fat. This may feel like an uncommon cheese that isn’t often used, but in fact you can find it in sweet dishes like tiramisu or cheesecake and savory dishes like risotto. Mascarpone is thick and creamy but doesn’t have much flavor on its own, so it isn’t the type of cheese you would snack on. It can act as a substitute for other dairy products, often to make food thicker and richer. Mascarpone is actually a cheese you can make at home with heavy cream and lemon juice, but if making cheese isn’t in the cards for you it’s also available at most grocery stores.
How to Make This Pie
Cheese Layer
With a hand mixer, combine the 3 ingredients for this layer. It won’t take long; just a minute or so. Afterwards take a spatula and spread it as best you can evenly on the unbaked pie crust. Ultimately, the cheese layer will heat and rise up through the fruit layer, giving it a marbleizing effect, but the fat from the cheese helps to keep the fruit juices from permeating the crust and making it soggy.
Crust
For the crust, a food processor is best but if you don’t have a food processor try using a blender for the pecans. They need to be blended up and small enough that they will easily combine with the other crust ingredients. Once the nuts are ready, all you have to do is mash all the crust ingredients together until it’s a thick, greasy paste. When it’s all mixed, press it into the pie plate with your hands until the whole plate is covered up to the edges.
Fruit Layer
Slice your peaches and plums (or rinse and drain them from the can) and remove any remnants of the pits. Toss gently in a large bowl with the vanilla and cornstarch, then pour it on top the the mascarpone layer.
Bake the pie for about 50 minutes, then check on it. If it’s still really wobbly and doesn’t look done then give it 10 more minutes before checking again. The pie will wobble and bubble a bit even when it’s ready since the fruit juice will need to cool to solidify. Let it rest at least 1 hour before serving up with some vanilla ice cream!
Peach, Plum, & Mascarpone Pie
Equipment
- Pie plate
- Food processor or blender
- Hand mixer
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup pecans, put through a food processor
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup salted butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
Cheese Layer
- 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Fruit Layer
- 2 cups yellow peaches, sliced thin
- 1 1/2 cup plums, sliced thin
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Add pecans to a food processor and process until the pieces are small.
- To a large bowl, add all crust ingredients and combine well.
- Once combined, press the crust into the pie plate until the whole plate is covered up to the edges. The crust may be thick.
- In the now empty large bowl, add the cheese, vanilla, and granulated sugar. Use a hand mixer to mix a minute or so until the cheese has become smooth and creamy.
- Layer the cheese mixture into the pie plate on top of the crust.
- In the now empty large bowl, now add the fruit, vanilla, and cornstarch. Mix well and pour on top of the cheese mixture.
- Bake for 50 minutes, then let rest at least 1 hour. Refrigerate leftovers.