I have a loquat tree in the yard that puts out a huge crop last year, right before a late spring freeze that destroyed every piece of fruit before it could ripen. It was disappointing. This year, we had no hard freezes after the tree had set fruit, and so I have an amazing crop again this year–but it’s ripening. I went out today and picked a basket of loquats, so I could try to make a pie.
I checked around online, and there are several variations of pies and cobblers, with varying ratings. Ultimately loquats remind me a bit of tiny pears, so I used a general two-crust pie recipe.
Ingredients:
- Enough loquats to fill a deep dish pie plate
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1.5 C white sugar
- .5 C light brown sugar
- 1/4 – 1/2 C wheat flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp mace
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp salt
Optional crust topping:
- Almond milk
- Cinnamon sugar (a mix of cinnamon and sugar, at about 1/2 C sugar to 1 tsp cinnamon)
Loquats are small fleshy, pear-like fruits that contain one-to-several large slimy seeds. Cleaning them is a bit labor intensive–think about prep for an apple pie, and you have a pretty good idea what you’re in for with regard to getting loquats ready for pie filling.
They have to be cut and seeded. There is also a lining around the seeds that you need to pull out when you remove the seeds. Again, think about the casing around apple seeds.
Some of the recipes I found online called for cooking down the loquats first. I added extra flour to compensate for the extra liquid. I normally use 1/4 C flour, because I prefer a thicker pie filling, not runny or watery.
After you wash and pit the loquats, add all the ingredients together and toss until the fruit is evenly coated.
Place the bottom crust in your pie plate or tin, and add the filling. Then top with the second crust, roll or shape you outer crust, and cut your slits to let out steam.
Optional: I brushed the crust with almond milk and sprinkled liberally with about 2 tsp of cinnamon sugar.
Tip: I always put my pie plate on a baking sheet when I put it into the oven, so that if it overflows it doesn’t get all over the bottom of the oven.
Bake at 400F for 50 minutes to an hour. If you have trouble with crusts overcooking in your oven, you can cover with foil before baking, and remove 15 minutes before it’s done.
Hot out of the oven, it’s a gorgeous pie. The filling isn’t looking as thick as I generally like it (as I watch how it’s bubbling), but once it cools, I’ll see if it congeals more.
Result: It was thicker sauce than I thought it would be, but I also could have had it even thicker. The flavor is amazing. I would definitely eat this again, and I’m happy with it. If I were serving it to guests, I would probably go to the trouble and take the extra step of peeling them as well as seeding them. The skins are definitely recognizable, and unexpected for a fruit pie. But I’d eat this thing all day. It would also make a good cobbler filling.
Enjoy!
ADDENDUM: I tried another pie, where I tried boiling and dropping them in ice water to help peel them. It was not good. It messed up the taste of the fruit. I probably should have tried blanching. But I think in the future I’m going to NOT peel them, but maybe chop them up more finely than I did for this pie in the article. I think that will be a good balance, but will let you know.
at home in my head 