Monday, August 17, 2009

Peach and Crème Fraîche Pie...for real this time


I have kind of a love/hate relationship with peaches. I like the flavor of real, fresh peaches. I love them sliced up with a little sugar on top and whipped cream or crème fraîche. I don't like peach-flavored things--peach jello, peach candy, etc. Frankly, they make me a little bit nauseous. I don't think I've ever had any type of peach pie, so this was not only a cooking experiment but also a tasting experiment for me.

I found the recipe here and it was the first time I've ever thought "YUM!" when I saw a recipe that involved peaches. It's a really simple recipe. Crème fraîche is not necessarily easy to find, so you'll probably have to make your own (for instructions, just follow the link within the recipe on smitten kitchen and remember you'll have to start that process at least 24 hours before you want to make your pie). Other than that, it couldn't be more easy.


Sliced peaches sprinkled with sugar and a little salt.


Crème fraîche spread in bottom of partially baked pie crust (in the recipe she says to prebake the crust...or not. I chose to prebake, but for only half of my usual prebaking time).


Streusel on top. It's an interesting streusel--made with confectioners' sugar and no spices.


Voilà! Pie.

Of course, I used my own pie crust recipe, but she has an all-butter dough that might be worth trying, especially if you're vegetarian. And if you do try it, let me know how it worked for you.

A couple of things:
  • The streusel is deceiving. I'm used to streusel turning out a little crispy. This one doesn't, probably because it's not brown sugar. It does, however lend an additional creaminess (on top of the creaminess from the crème fraîche) that I really liked.
  • I like the color in the pie from leaving the skins on the peaches, but in my pie the skins seemed a little tough. Maybe it had something to do with their freshness? I got them at Costco. A few days ago. And they've been in the fridge. So, yeah, that one's probably my bad.
  • You know...and this may be a problem with peach pie in general...when they're cooked, peaches lose some of their delightful flavor and start leaning over into the "peach-flavored things" category.
I liked the pie. It just wasn't my favorite thing ever. Nor was it quite as good as I imagined it would be when reading the recipe. I'll give it another chance today. On smitten kitchen she says she liked it better after refrigeration.


TGIP Rating--Peach and Crème Fraîche Pie--KEEPER. It's a good pie. Truly. I don't know that I would ever make it for myself and my family again. But if I had a friend who loved peach pie, this is the one I would make for THEM.

Next up: We're having a 7th Birthday Party for Seconda on Saturday. She wanted a water party--with tropical beach themed cake. Considering how many people will be here, I think cupcakes are in order, decorated in some clever way, and using the Whiteout Cake recipe from BAKED.

4 comments:

Miriam Latour said...

If you don't like cooked peaches, you might want to try fresh peach pie, April. Dave has a great recipe. Like his fresh strawberry pie, most of the peaces are sliced and placed over a baked crust while still raw and then topped with a cooked sauce of peach puree, sugar, corn starch and almond extract. So the flavor you get is from the fresh, raw peaches. It is served cold and topped with whipped cream.

April Fossen said...

Oh Miriam. That does sound delicious. Can I just follow the strawberry pie recipe except with peaches?

Zack Phifer said...

Fresh Peach Ice Cream.....yum.

Miriam Latour said...

I think that the strawberry pie Dave makes is actually an adaption of his peach pie, so it's probably the same. Just omit the lemon juice and add almond extract. Dave has been making those pies since long before I met him, and I'm pretty sure they change a bit each time he makes them because he doesn't necessarily follow a recipe any more. But the idea is to use mostly raw peaches. :)