The Fresh Loaf

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Spiced Peach Rhubarb Pie

Benito's picture
Benito

Spiced Peach Rhubarb Pie

I still have some rhubarb from a friend’s farm from last year frozen in my freezer.  We are hosting a dinner party for neighbours tonight so wanted to bake a pie with a pate brisée pastry crust using the rhubarb.  I couldn’t source any sour cherries so decided to try a spiced peach rhubarb filling for the first time.  I recently purchased a Fat Daddio’s pie dish.  I have always used glass pie dishes because I could see the crust and tell if it was fully baked.  The problem though is that the glass doesn’t heat as quickly as I’d like even with the pie baking on the baking steel on the lowest rack.  This metal pie plate should transfer the heat sooner to the crust so hopefully these juicy filling pies will have a crisp and non soggy bottom.  Another benefit of this pie plate is that it is a bit deeper so more fruit filling is a good thing in my book.

You will need to have a double batch of your favorite pate brisée pastry recipe for this pie.  You can find the one I use in my index here.

Peach Rhubarb Filling

  • 2 1/2 cups sliced rhubarb (about 1/4 in. thick)
  • 2 1/2 cups peaches (peeled and sliced)
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp allspice 
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 tsp vanilla

 

Put frozen fruits in the dutch oven to defrost with ½ cup of granulated sugar to help macerate.

 

Later add the other ½ cup of granulated sugar to the ¼ cup of cornstarch to loosen the cornstarch and remove the clumps.  Then add the ¼ cup brown sugar and all the spices and salt to the liquid from the fruit. 

 

Will partially cook to thicken a little bit.  Brought up to 155°F so a bit thickened but not fully thick.  Tested the liquid by removing some and microwaving it and it does fully thicken well.

 

Once the bottom pastry is rolled out and transferred to the pie plate cover and place in fridge for at least 30 mins and up to 3 hours allowing the butter to firm up and the gluten to relax before adding the filling and topping with the top pastry.

 

When ready to bake pre-heat oven to 425°F baking at this temperature for 30 mins on the lowest rack on a baking stone or steel.  Watch the edge and protect it from over browning.  

 

After 20 mins shielded the edge and continued to bake at 425°F for another 10 or so mins then shielded the whole pie with a cookie tray and decreased temperature to 350°F and baked until the bottom crust was nicely browned another 60 mins or so. 

My index of bakes.

Comments

gavinc's picture
gavinc

Wonderful. We have a lot of rhubarb in our garden and always on the lookout for nice recipes. The peach is a good choice to match with the rhubarb. The lattice work give a great visual appeal. Have a good dinner party.

Cheers,

Gavin.

Benito's picture
Benito

Thank you Gavin, this is the first time I’ve tried the combination of peach and rhubarb and it is very very good, everyone seemed to enjoy it.  Once again this pate brisée recipe did not disappoint, it is the best balance of extreme flakiness and tenderness for a 100% butter pastry.  I made enough for two full pies and froze the two portions for next time, better than having to clean the food processor twice.

Benny

CalBeachBaker's picture
CalBeachBaker

Benny - I like the sweet and sour combo you've got going there. I'm sure your dinner guests will enjoy this home made treat.

Tony

Benito's picture
Benito

Thank you Tony, this was a nice surprise how good it was really.  Just the bit of warmth from the spices with the sweet peach and tangy rhubarb really hit the spot.  Everyone devoured their pie for dessert and all the crust.

Benny

Benito's picture
Benito

I’m all in on the metal pie dish.  I purchased a Fat Daddio’s 9” pie dish and this is a revelation in terms of ensuring a crisp nicely browned bottom crust.