Summer fruits have been abundant this year and I have made this pie using the wonderful peaches and apples from Rod and Boris, farmers from Orange, who sell their fruit direct to the public at Parklea Markets. It is a lovely blend, marrying the tartness of the apples with the sweet peaches and spices.
Peach and Apple Pie
Ingredients:
Pastry:
- 230g plain flour
- 30g cornflour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 125g caster sugar
- 140g butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Pie:
- 3 Granny Smith apples
- 600 g peaches, stones removed and cut into eighths
- 140g brown sugar
- Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- a pinch of ground cloves
- Extra 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- Icing sugar, to dust (optional)
Method
- Preheat oven to 200°C.
- Line base of a 22cm round springform cake tin with baking paper.
- Grease sides with butter.
- Peel and core the apples and then slice them.
- Remove the stones from the blood plums and then cut into eighths.
- In a large bowl gently toss the apples, plums, brown sugar, lemon zest and juice, the cinnamon and ground cloves with a wooden spoon.
- Place the mixture into a large wide saucepan over a medium heat.
- Cook for 25 minutes or until fruit is tender. As the peaches will release moisture, separate the juice using a seive and set the fruit aside
- Cool the mixture.
- Sift flour, cornflour, baking powder and 1/2 tsp cinnamon and then pour into into the food processor bowl.
- Add caster sugar and butter to the bowl and process until it looks like fine breadcrumbs.
- Add beaten egg and process until a dough forms. (these steps can also be done by hand)
- Reserve 1/3 of the dough.
- Press the rest of the dough into the prepared springform tin, lining base and pressing it with your hands approx 2 cm up side.
- Spread the cooled fruit mixture over dough base, smoothing it out evenly.
- Take small pieces of the reserved dough about the size of a hazelnut scattering them over the top of the fruit and leaving a gap in the middle.
- Sprinkle the extra brown sugar over the pie.
- Bake for 10 minutes then lower the heat to 170º 30-40 minutes or until light golden.
- Allow the pie to cool before you remove the cake tin.
- Dust the pie with icing sugar and serve with a little double cream or ice-cream.
