Fresh Peaches and Cream Pie

It’s peach season and what could be better than peaches and cream pie? This pie is one your family is sure to love.

You will need to prebake a pie crust. You can make your own, use a refrigerator crust and bake it, or bake a frozen one. I have used all of these methods. I think the biggest bang for your buck if you are short on time is baking a frozen pie crust according to package directions. Marie Calendars is my favorite brand for frozen pie crust. I will also be posting my favorite pie crust from scratch sometime soon.

The first step in making the pie filling is to macerate your peaches. This means getting some of the natural liquid out of the fruit using sugar. This will make them soft and sweet and deliciously saucy. Peel the peaches, remove the peach pits, and slice the peaches into thin slices.  You can also cut them into chunks, depending on how you want your pie to look.

After the peaches are sliced and in a bowl, add the sugar, almond extract, lemon juice, and salt.  Toss all the ingredients together.  From here, I like to put them right into a fine mesh strainer over a bowl to collect the juices.  You’ll also need to use about 1 cup of the peaches for the glaze. I pull those out now and puree them in a blender or food processor, adding a little water as needed to get them to blend.

While the peaches are draining, we can focus on the cream filling. Add the cream, 1/4 cup of sugar, and the vanilla and almond extract to a bowl. You want to whip these together with a hand mixer until the cream forms into peaks. Next, cream together the mascarpone cheese and the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, then fold the cheese mixture into the cream.  It should be well incorporated.

For the glaze, in a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and the cornstarch.  You will collect all the juice you got off of the macerated peaches and then use water to supplement the volume. You need 3/4 c. of total liquid. You also add the pureed peaches to the sauce pan and mix them well.  Bring the glaze to a boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly.  It should thicken up nicely. Once boiling, continue to cook and stir for 3 more minutes then remove from heat.  Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before assembly the pie.

Now the fun part–we get to put all the pieces of the pie together. Fill the bottom of the baked pie crust with the cream filling. You can decide how thick you want the filling, but trust me, there’s really no such thing as too much. Cover the cream filing with a thin layer of the pie glaze.  Arrange the peaches on top of the cream filling and glaze and cover them with the remaining glaze.  Refrigerate the pie until completely chilled. Enjoy!

Fresh Peaches and Cream Pie

From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas

Serves: 6-8

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: N/A

INGREDIENTS:

• Fresh Macerated Peaches
  • 2-3 pounds peaches
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • Pinch of kosher salt
• Cream Filling
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
• Glaze
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • ¾ cup liquid from macerated peaches + water
  • 1 cup pureed peaches

INSTRUCTIONS:

Macerated Peaches

            Peel the peaches, remove the peach pits, and slice the peaches into thin slices.  To a bowl, add the peaches, sugar, almond extract, lemon juice, and salt.  Toss all the ingredients together.  Place peaches in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl to collect the juices.  Remove about 1 cup of peaches and puree them in a blender or food processor.  Set aside the puree for the glaze.

Cream Filling

            Beat the cream, ½ of the sugar, and the extracts together until cream forms into peaks.  Cream together the mascarpone cheese and the remaining sugar.  Fold the cheese mixture into the cream.  Set aside.

Glaze

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and the cornstarch.  Add the peach liquid and water as well as the pureed peaches and combine.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly.  Once boiling, continue to stir for 3 more minutes then remove from heat.  Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.

Assembly

            Fill the bottom of the baked pie crust with the cream filling and spread around.  Cover the cream filing with a thin layer of the pie glaze.  Arrange the peaches on top of the cream filling and glaze and cover them with the remaining glaze.  Refrigerate until completely chilled.