Pie-a-Day #15: Peach Pie with Streusel Topping

It’s still all about stone fruit, especially peaches so I went looking through my sources for something different to do with them in a crust. Ken Haedrich’s Pie has a recipe for a Peach Sour Cream Pie and Dorie Greenspan’s Baking from My Home to Yours has a Peach Custard Tart, so I started thinking about how I make a custard out of mascarpone for a breakfast foccacia I do.

So I made an all butter crust making a high ridge out of the edge so it would hold all the filling. I really like a crisp crust so I prebaked it and let it cool. Then I peeled some peaches that were still a little firm. I don’t bother to boil them and slip the skins. I just peel them with a sharp knife, but if you prefer, peel them just like tomatoes.

Boil water gently put the peaches in and let them bob around for 10 seconds or so, carefully lift them out of the boiling water and run cool water on them then just slip the skins off.

I hope you’re using a freestone variety because then it will be easier to just cut thin slices off the pit, arranging them in a pleasing pattern in the cooled pie shell. The only reason you should arrange them is for you and to make sure there are peaches evenly distributed throughout the pie. The surface will be covered with Streusel. I do a double layer of sliced peaches.

Then I beat together a little mascarpone, 2 eggs and 1 yolk and half a cup of half and half which I had in the house throwing in a pinch or two of sugar. I like Dorie’s directions to release the air bubbles in the custard caused by whisking by firmly setting the bowl down on the counter a couple of times. Pour the custard over the fruit and cook at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, until the custard sets justs enough that it will hold the weight of the streusel.

During this 20 minutes I made the streusel, using a little smashed amaretti cookies in place of flour. Pretty good I must say. Also a nice breakfast pie because of the custard.