Peach Pie

There are few things as wonderful as a perfectly ripe peach - and few things as difficult to find. Even here in North Carolina, in such close proximity to Peach Country. Thankfully, over 4th of July weekend, I lucked out with a couple pounds of beautiful, sweet, smooth organic South Carolina peaches. My family requested a pie for our festivities, and, peaches in hand, I was happy to oblige.

This pie was unbelievable. Relying almost entirely on the peaches themselves for sweetness, the fruit nestled between two layers of buttery, flaky, perfect pie crust, served with orange blossom-scented whipped cream. Oh, my. It disappeared in a matter of minutes.

Peach Pie

For the filling

2 pounds of ripe peaches, pitted and cut into chunks about 1/2" x 1" (I left my skins on to create a textural difference in the filling, but peel them if you prefer)

1 tablespoon agave nectar (Madhava brand is best, it's the real deal.)

2 teaspoons tapioca powder or cornstarch

For the crust

1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

1 1/2 cups white spelt flour

heaping 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into chunks and frozen

1/4 cup - 1/2 cup ice water

Filling

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.

Crust

Combine flours and salt in a large bowl. Add butter chunks and cut in with a pastry blender. You aren't aiming for a meal-like consistency here, you want butter pieces of various sizes - though none terribly large. Add the water a little at a time, working it in with your hands until the dough comes together. Work quickly, as you don't want the butter to warm too much. Turn dough out onto a board, divide into two, form each half into a ball, flatten into a disk and wrap well in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling.

When ready to assemble the pie:

Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 9" pie pan. Pull out one disk of dough at a time, and roll out on a well-floured board to about 1/8" thick. Line pie plate with first circle of dough, and trim overhang to about 1/8" - 1/4". Fill with peach mixture. Lay second circle of dough over filling, trim overhang to about 1/4 inch beyond bottom crust. Pinch edges of crust together, tuck top around bottom, and flute crust to make an attractive edge. Cut slits in top crust. If the dough seems to have softened a lot while you were working with it, pop it in the freezer for about 10 minutes before baking.

Bake for about 60-70 minutes, or until crust is evenly browned and fruit juices are thick and bubbling. Cool on a rack until warm.

Marmalade Tart

Wow, a lot of citrus around here lately, eh? I kind of forgot how much I love citrus. It was all I wanted as a kid, then I got all caught up in chocolate and didn't eat many citrus desserts for many years. I'm so glad to be re-discovering it. How great is it that the brightest, sunniest fruits are in season when it is cold and grey! I mean, look at this tart; can you imagine a happier looking dessert on a dreary January day? I can't!

The recipe for this tart comes from The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook. I received this book for Christmas, and until yesterday hadn't had a chance to look at it very carefully. It has a lot in it that I don't eat - lots of meat, people, lots of meat - but it is a beautiful book, and I love the way it is structured. Each chapter has a bio on one of the people who grow (or otherwise cultivate) the produce, honey, etc. that the bakery uses.

As soon as I saw this tart, however, I had the feeling that the book was worth having for that recipe alone. I was right.

The tart is composed of a sturdy, citrus-scented crust spread with a layer of marmalade, topped with an almond cream which is studded with bits of toasted almonds, and to finish it off, thin slices of fresh citrus are placed on top.

While there are several components, they are all rather simple to execute. The only thing that gave me trouble was the dough for the crust. It was very crumbly, even with several extra tablespoons of orange juice, and was a real pain to roll out. I had to patch it more than I have ever had to patch any other dough I've ever worked with. After it came out of the oven, however, I loved the taste and texture of the crust, so I don't think I'd substitute a different dough.

This tart has a lovely balance of flavors and textures: the firm, almost crunchy crust plays beautifully off of the creamy filling and soft fruit; the sweetness of the almond cream is tempered by the fresh citrus. It is a dessert that is equally appropriate for a fancy holiday dinner or an informal breakfast.

Marmalade Tart

adapted from The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook

For the Tart Dough

1 1/2 cups cold unsalted butter cut into small cubes

3 cups unbleached white flour

1/2 cup sugar

grated zest of 1 orange

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons - 4 tablespoons orange juice

For the Almond Cream

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, sifted

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

grated zest of 1 orange

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

3 tablespoons unbleached white flour

3/4 cup almonds, toasted until brown on the inside, then finely chopped

For Assembling the Tart

1 cup high-quality citrus marmalade at room temperature

2 medium-sized citrus fruits (or more if you want more variety)

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

To make tart dough:

Combine butter with flour, sugar, orange zest and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer, place in freezer for 30 minutes. Remove from freezer, covering your hands so they don't stick to the metal bowl, attach to mixer. Using paddle attachment, mix until very crumbly. Add orange juice a little at a time until the dough comes together. Turn out onto floured board and knead until dough is smooth, about 2 minutes. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic and place in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

While dough is chilling, make almond cream:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, powdered sugar, almond extract, zest and salt until light and fluffy. Add beaten egg slowly, and mix until incorporated. Add flour and mix until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the toasted, chopped almonds.

Preheat oven to 375. Line a cookie sheet with parchment.

Remove tart dough from fridge and place on a well-floured board. Roll out to 1/4" thick. Using a sharp knife, cut a rectangle 12" x 16". Carefully transfer rectangle to prepared cookie sheet. Spread marmalade over dough, leaving a 1" border all the way around. Spread almond cream as evenly as you can over the marmalade. Fold edges of dough in to create a crust. Place in fridge for 30 minutes.

Prepare the citrus for topping:

Cut both ends off of each piece of citrus, creating a flat surface. Place fruit on one of the flat ends, and following the curve of the fruit, cut off all of the rind and pith. Then slice into rounds, 1/4" thick each. Remove seeds as necessary. Remove tart from refrigerator and lay citrus slices evenly over the surface. Place them close together, but not overlapping. Brush the edges of the tart with the beaten egg, and dust the whole thing with sugar, going heavier on the dough than the fruit. Place a dot of butter on each slice of citrus to prevent burning. Bake tart for 40-45 minutes, or until both the almond cream and crust are a deep golden brown. Cool on rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

French Silk Pie

When I was young, a holiday was never a holiday without a French Silk Pie. It was one of my grandmother's specialties. She passed away when I was 9, and sadly, I never learned how to make it from her. After she passed away, we had many Thanksgivings and Christmases without this delicious dessert, until a few years ago when my aunt picked up the slack. This year I was in charge of the Thanksgiving sweet treats, so it was my turn to test my French Silk Pie making skills.

This is an amazing dessert for so many reasons. The crust is perfect - flaky and buttery. The pie is light and airy and melts in your mouth, it is rich and deeply chocolate-y, it looks like it took hours to make but it really only takes a matter of minutes (not including the time it takes to make the crust). It does contain raw eggs, but I think we can look past that, don't you? I mean if I can do it, so can you. I am not at all a fan of eggs, and this is far and away the only way you could ever get me to eat raw ones. I'm working on a version with cooked eggs - when I figure it out, I'll let you know. Until then, this is just too delicious to pass up because of a couple of raw eggs, so I hope you'll give it a try.

French Silk Pie

All-Butter Pie Crust

adapted from Good for Almost Everything Pie Crust by Dorie Greenspan

makes a 9" double crust

3 cups unbleached white flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

13 ounces (3 sticks + 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and frozen

1/2 cup ice water

Combine flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until it is well-distributed. There should be pieces of butter in varying sizes. Add the water a little at a time, working the dough with your fingers to incorporate it. Add as much of the water as you need for the dough to form a ball. If you need a little extra water, go ahead and add it. When the dough has come together, divide it into two equal pieces. For a single crust, roll out one piece of dough on a well-floured board. Place in buttered 9" pie plate, trim the edges, and bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let crust cool completely before filling.

Filling

4 oz best quality semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream + more for topping

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter. After about 2 minutes, add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Meanwhile, melt chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. When chocolate is fluid, slowly add it to mixer in a thin stream. When all of the chocolate is incorporated, pour heavy cream in a thin stream and whip on high for about 2 minutes. Spoon filling into crust, and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

When ready to serve, remove pie from fridge and top with freshly whipped heavy cream that has been lightly sweetened with agave.

Sweet Potato Pie

This is another one for Eileen, who requested some diabetic-friendly holiday pie recipes. She requested pumpkin pie, but I decided to go with sweet potato, because they are naturally sweeter than pumpkin, so you don't need to add much additional sweetener to the pie.

I looked at several recipes online, but in the end decided to go my own way.

This is an unbelievable pie. It is so much better than any pumpkin pie I've ever had, and I really love pumpkin pie. It is smooth and creamy, flavored with warm Fall spices, just sweet enough, delicate yet rustic, and oh so easy to make. The scent of it is enough to make you want to devour the whole thing, and when you actually take a bite you're done for.

Most recipes for sweet potato pie will have you boil the sweets before mashing them and then add lots of sugar. That seems silly to me when you can bake them, enhancing their natural sweetness (not to mention their flavor).

I used a no-roll crust again to make this pie especially user-friendly, though I tweaked it a bit from the last time I used it and I think it is even more flavorful this way.

I made two mini pies this time around, but this is will certainly be sitting on my family's Thanksgiving table in full-size form.

Sweet Potato Pie with No-Roll Crust

No-Roll Whole Wheat Crust

adapted from Joy the Baker

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup unbleached white flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup butter, frozen

1/4 cup ghee*, melted

1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons cold milk

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flours, salt and baking powder. Using a box grater, grate the frozen butter into the dry ingredients. Add the cream cheese, and using your fingers, rub the butter and cream cheese into the flour mixture until they are well-incorporated, and there are butter bits of various sizes. Whisk milk and melted ghee together in a small bowl (it's okay if the ghee seizes and hardens) pour over flour/butter mixture. Toss together with a fork until all of the flour is moistened - it need not form a ball. Dump into a prepared pie plate and using your fingers, evenly press dough into the plate. Place in freezer while you make the filling. Preheat oven to 400.

*Ghee is clarified butter. It is incredibly easy to make, but if you don't have any, can't get any or don't want to make any, you can use any other mild-flavored oil.

Sweet Potato Filling

2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes

1/4 cup palm sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 400. Wash but do not peel sweet potatoes, and pierce them a few times with a fork. Place sweets directly on middle oven rack, with a baking sheet or a piece of aluminum foil on the rack below to catch any drips. Bake for about an hour, or until the sweet potato is very soft and the skin has become separated from the meat. Remove sweets to a rack to cool. When cool enough to handle, remove the skin (this should be quite easy) and place the sweet potatoes in a fine mesh sieve. They should have developed a sticky caramelized coating under the skin. Press through the sieve (fingers work well for this) and measure out 2 cups of it. It should be completely smooth, with no strings or clumps. Add palm sugar and spices, whisk until incorporated. Add heavy cream and whisk until smooth. At this point, you can taste the filling to see if you need to adjust anything. Keep in mind that it will be slightly diluted by the eggs that haven't been added yet, so all of the flavors should be a bit stronger at this point than you want them to be in the final product. Depending on the sweetness of your sweet potatoes (and your personal preferences) you may need to add a bit more palm sugar. I don't like terribly sweet desserts, so this was perfect for me. When everything is to your liking, add the eggs and whisk until smooth.

Pour filling into prepared pie crust, smooth the top and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the filling puffs and is set in the center. You can test this by jiggling the pie plate, or by pressing on the top of the pie gently with your fingertips.

Cranberry-Ginger Streusel Pie

I received an email from a reader a few days ago, asking me to post diabetic-friendly holiday-appropriate pie recipes. She asked specifically for pumpkin and pecan - which I'll get to in a few days - but first, I have this one.

This pie is about as healthy as a pie can be. It is sweetened solely with palm sugar, and uses nothing but whole wheat flour. There is a minimum amount of butter, as well as a little olive oil.

It is a snap to put together, helped out by the fact that it uses a no-roll crust. Nothing to be afraid of here!

Although the filling is almost entirely cranberries, it is not overly tart. The combination of palm sugar, vanilla extract, water and fresh ginger forms a delightful sweet, slightly spicy thin jelly-type layer below the cranberries which was a delightful surprise when taking my first bite. If you want to, other fruits can certainly be combined with the cranberries to sweeten it even more.

I was so impressed with the texture of this crust. It certainly isn't the same as a traditional crust that is laden with butter, but it has a charm all its own. It is so quick and easy to make, it cuts perfectly into beautiful clean slices, and is lovely and tender. It has a definite wheat flavor, and if that doesn't appeal to you, you could certainly do a combination of whole wheat and white. I really liked the earthiness of the wheat, and thought it paired nicely with the cranberries and ginger.

I hope this works for you, Eileen, more pies to come!

Cranberry-Ginger Streusel Pie

Before beginning, preheat oven to 350 and butter a 9" pie plate.

Streusel Topping

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour

2 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

1/4 cup palm sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine flour, palm sugar and salt in small bowl. Add butter and toss with fingers until all flour is moistened and crumbs have formed. Refrigerate until the rest of the pie is assembled.

No-Roll Whole Wheat Crust

adapted from Joy the Baker

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup butter, frozen

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons cold milk

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. Using a box grater, grate the frozen butter into the dry ingredients. Add the cream cheese, and using your fingers, rub the butter and cream cheese into the flour mixture until they are well-incorporated, and there are butter bits of various sizes. Whisk milk and olive oil together in a small bowl and pour over flour/butter mixture. Toss together with a fork until all of the flour is moistened - it need not form a ball. Dump into a prepared pie plate and using your fingers, evenly press dough into the plate. Place in freezer while you make the filling.

Cranberry-Ginger Filling

4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (If using frozen, work quickly so they don't defrost)

1/2 cup palm sugar

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons water

Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, and toss with fingers.

Finishing the pie:

Remove crust from freezer. Pour cranberry filling into crust. Scatter streusel topping evenly, ensuring that there are crumbs of various sizes throughout.

Bake pie for about an hour, or until the cranberry juices are released and they have thickened. The top layer of cranberries will keep their shape, but should give way when pressed. If topping looks like it is browning too quickly, place a foil tent over the pie. Let pie cool for at least an hour before cutting.

Finally... TWD: Creamiest Lime Cream (Meringue) Pie

You may notice that there is something missing from my pie. I'll give you a hint, it's one of the title elements. Did the parentheses give it away?

Oh, meringue... You were supposed to be on my pie. I had visions of you in huge, smooth, golden peaks. Alas, it was not meant to be...

The problems started when I was making my meringue while trying to feed/watch a 10 month old and a 2 3/4 year old at 8:00 this morning while making an omelette. Needless to say, things did not go well. I over-whipped my meringue, and it just wouldn't make huge, smooth peaks. I tried anyway, and hoped that a minute under the broiler would magically transform it into something beautiful, golden. Hmmm... As soon as the first pie went into the broiler (I made 2/3 of a recipe in 2 mini pie dishes) I was beckoned by my older son into the living room - did I mention he was sick with a cold? No sooner did I attend to him than I smelled something burning. Pie number 1 had black meringue, looking no better coming out of the broiler than it did going in. The second one didn't get quite as singed, though it still wasn't pretty. I think it would have been slightly improved by using a torch, but I don't have one, so I opted for removing the meringue altogether and smoothing the top of the cream and digging in.

I went with a graham cracker crust made from homemade graham crackers. Wow. Let me say it again. Wow. A little too much trouble to do on a regular occasion, but I still had some dough from a couple of weeks ago.

Oh and the pie? Double wow. Twice. I love it. Smooth, creamy, tart, just sweet enough. Citrus dessert perfection.

Some of the other bakers had trouble getting their cream to temp in a reasonable amount of time, but mine went pretty quick - about 10 minutes.

I wish the ginger flavor was a little more pronounced, so if I make it again, I'll use more. I'm a ginger fiend. Also, I used half the butter called for - a suggestion made by other TWDers. It was a lot of fun to make, and fairly easy, so I'm sure I'll be making it again. One day. Perhaps I won't be making an omelette, keeping my baby from bonking his head, taking care of a sick toddler, etc.. and my meringue will not be over-whipped, and I'll buy a torch and finally achieve my golden peaks.

Linda of Tender Crumb chose this fabulous pie. See hers - meringue included - and get the recipe on her blog.

Sweet Melissa Sundays: Sour Cherry Pie with Pistachio Crumble

When we started baking through The Sweet Melissa Baking Book several weeks ago, this recipe was the one that jumped out at me the most. I was hoping to pick it when it was my turn, but Michelle of Flourchild beat me to it!!! Needless to say, I couldn't wait to make it.

I had some concerns about the cherries - all I could find was frozen sweet cherries. Other people seemed to have the same experience, however, and commented that theirs had turned out great, so I forged ahead! 

I made quite a few changes to this recipe:

Crust:

I didn't use Melissa's flaky crust recipe as suggested, or any of her crust recipes for that matter. I don't use shortening, so I just stuck with my tried and true crust recipe from Heaven's Banquet by Miriam Hospodar.

Filling:

The recipe called for sour cherries, but as I couldn't find any - canned, jarred or otherwise - I used frozen sweet cherries. I also omitted the sugar altogether. I figured the cherries would be sweet enough, and without sugar my 2 1/2 year old - who has never had sugar - would be able to eat it.

Topping:

I left the sugar out of the topping as well, but replaced it with maple syrup. I added it to taste, so I'm not sure how much I used, but my guess is ht it was about 1/4 cup, maybe a little less. Also, I substituted cardamom for cinnamon in the topping. I thought it would pair better with the pistachios, and I loooooove cardamom. 

I was slightly disappointed, because when my pie came out of the oven it was very liquidy - even after cooling completely - and this made the bottom of the crust soggy. The crust was very nicely browned, and the topping was quite dark in places, so I was afraid to leave it in any longer, though I think that would have solved the runny problem. Other than that I did love it. My crust was great, the flavor of the cherries was great, and the topping was insanely delicious. As I was eating it, all I could think of was all of the other things I could make as an excuse to eat this topping again. It was that good. 

***UPDATE***

I popped my pie back in the oven for another 40!!! minutes, and it came out perfect!

Thanks to Michelle for picking this great recipe! Look here for the rest of the SMS bakers' pies.