We're getting to that point in the summer where—knock on wood—you may have eaten your fair share of berries and stone fruit. You may have found your pie dough groove. You may have had—I hope you've had!—at least one slice of damn fine cherry pie.
Let's say you are feeling accomplished and satisfied and ready to tip-toe to the next pie level. How should you begin?
These dreamy pies are hiding a couple secrets. Photo by Julia Gartland
One thing I've found when seeking inspiration from pie shops and bakers—be it in over the web or, if I'm lucky, in person—is that I'm most attracted to the pies that are just slightly little out-of-the-ordinary when it comes to flavor.
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A pie with an unadulterated fruit filling and an immaculate all-butter dough is classic—and, when all goes well, spectacular!—but it's the pie with the rye crust, or a dash of balsamic mixed with the strawberries, or the caramel coating the apple pieces, or wisps of lemon puckering the blueberries, or espresso powder that deepens the chocolate—that makes me absolutely lose it. (See below for evidence.)
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Have you lost it now, too?
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“I am baking a peach and cherry pie this morning and now I do believe I shall add some lemon balm. I was pondering almond but I have done that before. Hmmm ... maybe basil too?. Yes, basil.”
Just as there's a time for the purist's brownies and a time for the hedonist's brownies, there's a time for straight-shooting pie and a time for pie that's, you know, showing off a bit. The time is now!
batch of your favorite pie dough (enough for a double-crust pie)
5 to 6
small/medium ripe peaches (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1
pint sweet cherries
1
cup sugar
2
sprigs fresh mint (you'll need a generous handful of leaves)
3
tablespoons cornstarch
1/2
lemon, zested
1
splash lemon juice
1 fat
pinches kosher salt
1
tablespoon cream beaten with 1 egg
Turbinado sugar and flaky salt, for sprinkling
1
batch of your favorite pie dough (enough for a double-crust pie)
5 to 6
small/medium ripe peaches (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1
pint sweet cherries
1
cup sugar
2
sprigs fresh mint (you'll need a generous handful of leaves)
3
tablespoons cornstarch
1/2
lemon, zested
1
splash lemon juice
1 fat
pinches kosher salt
1
tablespoon cream beaten with 1 egg
Turbinado sugar and flaky salt, for sprinkling
First up is the Peach, Cherry, and Mint Pie. By processing fresh mint with the sugar before tossing it with the fruit, you can permeate the whole filling with a fresh, herbal flavor that won't feel as if you've jammed your nose in an herb bouquet.
Because peaches and cherries can be especially juicy when they're ripe, you'll want to collect the sugary run-off and boil it down. When you fold that reduction back into the prepared fruit, you'll sidestep the risk of a runny filling while adding intense flavor to your pie.
Whipped cream and lemon zest, for garnish (optional)
one
9-inch pie crust
Poppy seeds for scattering over dough (optional)
4
cups (about 2 pints) fresh blueberries
2 to 4
tablespoons granulated sugar, to taste
1
pinch salt
2 1/2
tablespoons cornstarch
5
tablespoons crème fraîche, divided
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Whipped cream and lemon zest, for garnish (optional)
Next is the Blueberry Lemon Poppyseed, which is creamier, crunchier, and zingier than most blueberry pies get. The cream comes from crème fraîche, which is spread over the bottom of the par-baked dough and dotted across the top of the pie; as the pie bakes, it will bubble into a tangy, light custard.
The crunch comes from a poppy seed streusel that's scattered above and below the blueberry filling (if you'd like, you can add a scattering of poppy seeds to the dough itself, too). And the zing comes from a generous amount of lemon zest in the filling and as garnish.
Ready to run? Here are a few more ideas for taking your pie game to the next level:
Add fresh herbs. Chop them up and mix them with the fruit; pulse them into the sugar; or take a tip from our community members: vvvanessa sweetens her White Peach Galette with lemon thyme-infused honey, and Elizabeth Stark drizzles tarragon-scented butter over her peach pie filling.
Incorporate the seeds of a vanilla bean (or use vanilla-scented sugar). You can also try rubbing citrus zest—lemon, orange, lime, even grapefruit—into your sugar before mixing it with the fruit.
And don't forget about another powerful baking tool: extracts. For a concentrated flavor, add a drop (go slowly) of lemon, peppermint, or almond extract (the latter of which is especially good with cherries).
Press a rolled-out circle of almond paste into the bottom crust before filling and baking. It will turn silky in the oven and absorb any of the fruit's juicy mess.
For another layer of toasty richness, brown a few tablespoons of butter before mixing it into the filling.
Sprinkle a layer of cookie crumbs over the dough before piling in the fruit. Not only will the crumbs sop up any excess sogginess, but they'll also provide another chance to for play with texture and flavor. (Please take these last two tips, go into the world, and make a peach pie with brown butter and a layer of graham cracker crumbs. I beg you!)
Alternatively, roll out your entire dough in cookie (or, heck, pretzel) crumbs. You can also add small seeds—like poppy, sesame (white or black), even flax!—to your dough, pressing them in gently as you roll.
And use that streusel not just to crown the pie, but also to line the bottom of the dough, too (just as you'd apply those cookie crumbs).
Fold in fruit caramel for a concentrated, ultra-intense fruit flavor. In Erin McDowell's Cider Caramel Apple Pie, she makes caramel by reducing apple cider, then enriching it with butter—and you can use other fruit juices as your base. Mix together your filling, collect the juices (peach juice, plum juice, you name it), then transfer it into a small pan and cook until reduced, adding butter or cream towards the end of the process if you'd like something richer. This process, which Rose Levy Beranbaum pioneered in The Pastry Bible, will concentrate the juice's flavor and—added bonus—reduce the likelihood of a soggy filling without the addition of thickeners.
Try adding cheese to your apple pie, either in the dough or in the filling (or both). It's a tradition that has "silently polarized the nation"—but you should decide for yourself.
A (former) student of English, a lover of raisins, a user of comma splices. My spirit animal is an eggplant. I'm probably the person who picked all of the cookie dough out of the cookie dough ice cream. For that, I'm sorry.
When I make deep dish blueberry pie, I add a pinch (1/8 tsp.) of ground cloves. No one can identify that "something different" element but not a crumb is left. I am a big fan of cardamom and always add a pinch or two to whatever I'm baking. Thanks for all the new ideas!
I once made a butter and bacon fat pie crust to accompany an apple pie, and it was out-of-this-world amazing! http://the-cooking-of-joy.blogspot.com/2017/02/quintessential-apple-pie-with-bacon-fat.html
I'm seeing this zested sugar concept in a lot of recipes these days, and I don't understand it. Why do we need the extra step? Since they all go in and get mixed up together, what difference does it make if the zest goes into the sugar separately?
Perfect Timiing Miss Jampel! I am baking a peach and cherry pie this morning and now I do believe I shall add some lemon balm. I was pondering almond but I have done that before. Hmmm ... maybe basil too?. Yes, basil.
well, I happen to have peaches and cherries right now. I like the idea of mint-but hubbie doesn't like mint. I think I'll try the almond extract idea, though. I never make pie crust. have tried all the ideas here over the years (except almond paste) to no avail alas. So now I stick with cobblers, slumps, buckles, crisps and grunts. I toss my fruits with flour, a bit of sugar and whatever flavor tickles my fancy. Last time I used cardamom in my peach grunt. I like them to be a little runny to moisten the delicious topping I have concocted to compliment the fruit. Grunts are especially nice--all cook up in one pan on top of the stove........But this article gave me some new flavor combinations to try. Thanks
Nut crescent crust. Press it in (no chilling, no rolling, perfect for beach or lake house baking). Good for tarts with fruit laid simply on and sprinkled with a touch of sugar, gussied up or not, or for pies. Pecans give it a great flavor: https://food52.com/recipes/30140-ricotta-custard-blueberry-tart-with-nut-crescent-crust Also, about that boiling down of the extra juices: take a page out of pie-Ninja Stella Parks' book and skip that step, using her foolproof ratios, based on weight, of course, to calculate the perfect amounts of sugar and thickener: http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/06/how-to-make-the-ultimate-cherry-pie.html A clever, useful "not recipe" every baker of fruit pies should commit to memory. ;o)
The chocolate espresso pecan pie sounds incredible. My go-to pecan pie recipe is Deep Dish Porter Pecan Pie from The Beeroness which is just the right amount of different to be enjoyed by everyone.
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