Butterscotch Peach Pie

Peaches and butterscotch always seemed an unlikely match to me: surely two super-sweet flavours would be overkill? I put it down to funny American tastes, but once I'd tried sliced fresh peaches with a little whipped cream and a thick drizzle of butterscotch sauce I was instantly converted. Somehow it brings out the flavour of the peaches, rather than the sweetness, and makes the most incredible dessert for hot summer days.

This pie is a heftier version of that dessert, which could actually work well with tinned peaches to bring a bit of summer sun to a long cold winter. But let's not talk of winter with all this glorious sunshine and the seasonal fruit about. Now is the time for finding ways to eat as much of the fabulous berries and stone fruits as possible before the short season is over.

Things I have leant from making this pie...

When adding egg yolks to shortcrust pastry you should whisk the yolk into the water before using, as this prevents streaks of egg yolk appearing in the pastry

This rich shortcrust is slightly more difficult to work with than regular shortcrust, but the extra butter gives it such a great flavour that I think it's definitely worth the extra effort/calories involved

To make a good crimped edge on the pie, cut any leftover strips of pastry in half and use to make a circle around the edge of the pie. Use the thumb of your right hand and the thumb and index finger of your left hand to pinch this edge into the shape you see in the pictures.

Butterscotch Peach Pie: makes one 9inch pie

(adapted from the recipe on this website)

 

rich shortcrust pastry:
340g plain flour
pinch of salt
200g cold butter
2 egg yolks
4 tablespoons cold water

filling:

10-12 peaches
120g light brown sugar
60g butter
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons plain flour

• Put the flour and salt for the pastry into a food processor and whizz briefly to combine
• Cut the butter into chunks and pulse with the flour and sugar until it has the texture of breadcrumbs
• Briefly whisk together the egg yolks and water with a fork
• Slowly add the water/egg mixture and pulse briefly before tipping out onto a square of cling film, kneading briefly, and shaping into two rounds of dough
• Chill the pastry for 30 minutes, whilst you prepare the filling
• Slice the peaches into segments and peel
• Heat the sugar and butter in a pan until combined
• Remove from the heat and stir in the salt and flour, followed by the sliced peaches
• Preheat the oven to 200°C, grease a 9inch pie dish with butter
• Roll out half of the pastry to a large circle large and line the pie dish
• Tip the peaches and butterscotch into the pie shell and trim off any excess pastry
• Roll out the other half of the pastry and cut into strips about 1.5cm across
• Lay the strips of pastry over the pie in a lattice pattern
• Trim off any excess pastry before using any scraps to make a thin line of pastry around the edge
• Crimp the dough using a pinching motion with your thumbs and an index finger to seal the edge
• Brush with a little milk or egg wash
• Bake for 15mins before turning the oven down to 170°C and baking for a further 35mins
• The pie is done when the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling up through the crust

Serve warm with a lashings of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream