Sunday, July 4, 2010

North Fork Peach Raspberry Pie


Sometimes, I'm not very smart. Take this pie. I waited until today to make it even though the forecast high was 90, and we don't have air conditioning. Not very smart.

Rebecca of Beurrista picked the recipe for Sweet Melissa Sundays this week. I intended to make it as written, truly I did, but when I saw the crust wasn't all butter, I decided to give Melissa's all butter crust one more try. I made it here and it was a disaster. If I was a pie newbie, I would have sworn off of pie making forever. But lots of SMS bakers were successful with it, so I gave it another go.

After reading Tracey's post, I decided a mini pie was the way to go (check hers out...it's adorable!) I tweeted her...did she use the pie crust from the book? She hadn't but still I stuck to my plan. Inspired by Tracey's mini deep dish pie pan, I went with my heart-shaped pie plate.

The peaches on our tree are finally ripe so I used those with some raspberries I had frozen a few weeks ago. Our peaches are white Babcocks, delicious and juicy but very fragile. I was concerned they would lose their beautiful white color after I peeled and cut them, but the pie was still lovely. I also blew off the tapioca and used very little sugar (resulting in less juice to jell) and just 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch. I also skipped the egg wash, and instead slathered on some heavy cream with my finger and then lightly dusted with sugar. I baked my little pie for 1 hour and 15 minutes and forced myself to not cut into it while it was hot. I had to go to work for a few hours so it worked out well.


Instead of cutting the pie into wedges, we shared it with a single spoon. It seemed appropriate for a heart shaped pie, don't you agree? The raspberries gave the white peaches a pink hue that was lovely, and the peaches were wonderful and sweet. I was glad I cut way back on the sugar and let the flavor of the fruit come through. In the end, the crust was fine. Not as good as my regular crust, but definitely less fussy and easier to make. It makes a perfectly fine fast all butter crust.

Thanks, Rebecca for choosing this delicious pie for us. I really enjoyed making it, even if I did go a little rogue. Rebecca has the recipe for you here; and if you'd like to see how it's supposed to be made, she has it for you.

9 comments:

TeaLady said...

This looks good. Good for you on the crust. Perfect.

rebecca @ beurrista said...

Leslie, thanks for trying out the recipe... I wish I had my own peaches to use like you do!!

I would love to know what your regular crust recipe is. Do you use a food processor or a pastry blender? I do plan on trying the recipe out again (and not cut into it so soon) to see if it'll work out better.

Kayte said...

Sometimes you just have to have a pie no matter what the temperature is...at least that what Mark is always saying. He would love this one...and I think that little heart shape is so cute! Nice crust.

Shandy said...

You have your own peach tree? How wonderful! I love your heart shaped dish and glad to hear your pie was still delicious even after the slight struggle with Melissa's pie crust. This is the third time I have used her crust and I fight it every time.

Tessa said...

I love the heart-shaped pan, and I agree - it's perfectly appropriate to share it with two spoons :-)

Would love to know what your "go to" recipe for pie crust is! I'm still new to pie crusts and need all the tips I can get!

Anonymous said...

I like the heart shape, and how great that you have a peach tree! Someday I'll tackle pie crust again; the last time I tried it didn't go too well.

Gloria - The Ginger Snap Girl said...

So cute! How fabulous to have a peach tree. Your heart shaped pie looks delicious! I agree...perfect for eating straight out of the dish with a spoon!

Julie said...

Looks delicious. I love the mini version. I was sorry to miss this one.

Unknown said...

I'm so sorry I've fallen behind on getting over here - I love your blog Leslie! Someday I'll figure out a way to balance this whole working thing with blogging :)

Anyway, about the pie - I love your deep dish heart pan! I had to exercise extreme restraint not to take a spoon to my pie too so I definitely think you had the right idea. Oh, and I'm so jealous of your peach tree! I want a fruit tree in my yard - lemon maybe...