Peach Melba Pie

You’ve probably noticed I post a lot of fruit recipes around here.  I love fruit whether I’m eating it raw as a snack or putting it into a salad or baking with it.  I don’t discriminate, but I mean come on, fruit baked into a dessert is kind of my favorite.

You might also have noticed that I have never posted a recipe with raspberries.  Because I used to have a sensitivity to them.  But I don’t any more.  It’s crazy how bodies change, like how I didn’t used to be allergic to chocolate but now I am.

It’s also crazy how brains change because I don’t know how I worked up the courage to actually try raspberries.  I mean it’s scary eating a food you think bothers you after years and years of not coming into contact with it.  But I ate like one and was fine and then more and was fine and now I’m not quite a raspberry junkie, but I enjoy them.

We’re cool.

Friends.

But not besties yet.

Pie is obviously one of my besties.  I mean this blog is called Pies and Plots.  After awhile it’s hard to constantly come up with new and exciting but not weird flavors of pie, particularly fruit pies.  Particularly peach pies, because they are kind of my favorite.

Enter the Peach Melba Pie.  Peach Melba is a classic dessert (that I have never had) and to take those flavors and put them into pie sounded pretty awesome.

And is totally was.  Peaches make up the vast majority of the filling, since it only takes a small number of raspberries to make a huge flavor difference.  Their tartness totally shines through.  Any more and they would totally take over.

I also mixed up the spiced.  I think I have put cinnamon in almost every single pie I have made.  But cinnamon and raspberries didn’t feel like a good combination to me.  instead I focused on ginger, vanilla, and my other new flavor friend: cardamom.

You might remember the Paleo Cardamom Snickerdoodles I recently posted.  I love those cookies.  There the cardamom plays well with cinnamon.  Here the floral flavors make the raspberries pop.  The spices and the fruit are the perfect foil for that super flaky buttery crust.

Don’t even get me started on the flavor explosion that happens when you add a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I hope raspberries and I have a long future together.

Peach Melba Pie

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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Laura

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Ingredients

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Crust

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, cold and cubed

½ cup vegetable shortening, preferably organic

About ¼ cup cold water

Filling

7 cups peeled and sliced peaches

1 ½ cups raspberries

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup tapioca starch

2 tablespoons berry flavored vodka (I used Cîroc Black Raspberry)

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons vanilla bean powder

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed

2 tablespoons of milk or cream, for finishing

2 tablespoons raw or coconut sugar, for finishing

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Instructions

Make the crust.  In a large bowl or the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar, and salt.  Add in the butter and shortening and work into the dough until it takes on a sand like consistency.  Slowly add the water, combining into the dough until it comes together and is pliable, not crumbly.  Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

When ready to make the pie, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Divide the dough in half and roll one half before fitting it into a deep dish pie pan.  Roll the other half and reserve.  If possible, place both halves back in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

In a large bowl, stir together peaches, raspberries, sugar, tapioca, vodka, ginger, vanilla, and cardamom until well combined.  Spoon filling into the pie pan on top of the bottom crust, leaving as much of the excess liquid behind as possible.  Place the 4 tablespoons of cubed butter around the fruit.

Place the top crust over the fruit and crimp the edges however you wish.  Brush with milk or cream and sprinkle with sugar.  Cut a few slits for steam.  Place pan on a foil lined baking sheet.  It will bubble over.

Bake 15 minutes.  Without opening the oven reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F.  Bake for an additional hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling in the center and around the edges of the pie.  If at any time the pie gets too brown, tent it with foil.

Cool the pie completely before cutting and serving.  Pie may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen wrapped in parchment and foil and placed in a zipper bag for up to 3 months.  Thaw in a 350 degree F oven for 30-40 minutes.