Plum pie with fruit from a roadside stall to prolong that sweet summer holiday feeling

Lovely combination of crunch and juiciness

This baked cheese cake / plum pie combines the moistness of plum halves with the crunch of pistachio nuts and the flavour of vanilla. The recipe is from a supermarket mag - but the idea came from those wonderful baked things spotted in the Harz, Germany - land of the plum cake. Mine is made with still unripe (green-fleshed!) plums from a farmers' stall. The colours were just as good as the smell, and it tasted like holiday. More!

It's easy as pie

Combine the flour, half of the caster sugar and margarine, add a pinch of salt, and one egg. Quickly work the mixture into a ball of dough. Leave this covered in the fridge for about half an hour.

Wash and halve the plums; discard the stones. Chop up the pistachio nuts. Mix the nuts with 2 tablespoons of sugar and set aside. Now combine the cream cheese with the other half of the sugar, the other egg, and add the two tablespoons of flour, stirring with a fork.

Roll out the dough and line a buttered pie dish with it. Trim away any excess from the edges. Put the cream cheese in, then carefully lay the plums cut side up in the cream cheese; start along the outer edge and work inside. Scatter the nuts on top.

Baking

Preheat the oven to a 180°C. Bake for about 45 minutes; leave to cool before cutting, as this will firm up the filling and make it easier to cut through the plums. Lovely with tea or as a dessert.