Peach, Honey & Vanilla Pie

Sharon Webber, Tuesday 19th January 2016.

Summer time fruit is just the best, and with it being abundant at the moment I was excited to see a recipe for a Peach, Honey & Vanilla Pie. Now some people may think that a fresh peach is just too good to slice and cook in a pie, and whilst I don’t disagree, my defence is at just $6.00 p/kg it was a good chance to give it a go!

I like to keep a packet or two of sweet short pastry in the freezer for moments like these, and so I grabbed a packet out and set about preparing the filling. Turn your oven on now and preheat to 180c.

1.2kg of fresh peaches, sliced thinly with the skin on (or not, your choice)

2 tablespoons of honey

1 cup (220g) caster sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla paste, (or if you have 1 vanilla bean, split & scraped)

1/4 cup (35g) arrowroot

Mix all of the above ingredients in a large bowl, and set aside.

I cut the pastry block in half, and rolled one half into a 18″ circle in between two sheets of lightly floured baking paper to fit my metal pie pan. Line your pie pan, trim the edges with a sharp knife, then pop into the refrigerator to chill for 15-20 minutes.

With the other half of the pastry I rolled it out between lightly floured baking paper again but this time into a rectangle shape, and then cut it into strips.

The idea was to twist the pastry lengths from each end, and lay them on a tray, refrigerate until ready to finish the pie! I have to say that this was not as easy as I thought! The heat of the day had softened the pastry and it kept breaking as I twisted!! I re-rolled the pastry and decided to leave the lengths straight so put them in the refrigerator to firm up a bit.

1/3 cup (40g) ground almonds

Spread the ground almonds in the base of the pastry case and top with the peach mixture.

Let the pastry lengths sit for a few minutes on the bench before working from the centre of the pie, twisting the pastry lengths and creating a spiral pattern. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with raw sugar.

1 beaten egg and 2 tablespoons raw sugar.

Place on a baking tray and cook for 45 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and cooked through. Allow to stand for 30 minutes before serving. I served this with an unsweetened vanilla yoghurt but it would have been good with ice-cream or cream, if you are not watching your waist-line!

As you can see from my very amateur pic, my peach pie was not perfect looking!! But I have to tell you it was very tasty…and as my husband says of any new recipe I present for tasting that he loves “this one is a keeper”.