Peach Delight: Fresh Glazed Peach Pie with Mascarpone Cream Filling, topped with Browned Butter Pecan Crumble

Instructions

1. Flaky Pastry Recipe (adapted from Claire Saffitz)
2. 1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.
3. 2. Prepare about 1 cup (227g) of ice water and set it aside.
4. 3. Add the butter to the bowl with the dry ingredients and toss with your clean hands, separating the pieces and coating them in the flour mixture.
5. 4. Use your fingertips to squish the pieces of butter into smaller bits.
6. 5. Make a well in the center of the bowl and add 2⁄3 cup (158g) of ice water.
7. 6. Toss with a fork to distribute the water until you have a clumpy mixture with lots of dry spots.
8. 7. Tip the contents of the bowl out onto a clean work surface.
9. 8. Use the straight edge of a bench or bowl scraper to chop up the mixture directly on the surface, breaking up the clumps and pieces of butter and periodically using the scraper to toss and push the mixture back into a pile.
10. 9. Continue to chop and toss the mixture until it’s broken down into small, uniform pieces with very few floury spots and the butter pieces are no larger than a pea (this process helps you bring the dough together without working it excessively, increasing tenderness).
11. 10. Bring the dough together: Push the mixture into a pile and squeeze it with your hands all over so it holds together in large pieces.
12. 11. Depending on your brand of butter and flour, the entire mixture might hold together without any dry spots—if that’s the case, skip to the next step.
13. 12. If you still have some floury areas, move any large pieces to one side, leaving the dry bits in the pile.
14. 13. Drizzle ½ tablespoon of ice water over the floury area, then use the bench scraper in the same chopping motion to evenly distribute the water.
15. 14. Squeeze to bring it together, moving the pieces to the side, then repeat with more ice water as needed until no dry flour remains on the surface.
16. 15. Stack the dough: Use your hands to pat the dough firmly into a square, then use a floured rolling pin to flatten the square until it’s ¾ inch thick. Pat around the four sides with your hands or the side of the scraper to square off and compact the dough, then use the flat edge of the scraper or a knife to cut the dough in half. Lift one half up (again, using the scraper to help) and place it directly on top of the other. Use the scraper to lift the stack of dough and dust underneath with more flour, then roll over it with the pin to flatten and lengthen it slightly, dusting the top with flour if needed to prevent sticking. Cut the dough in half again, this time crosswise, and stack the halves again.
17. 16. Divide and shape the dough: Working quickly, use the scraper to loosen the dough from the surface and dust underneath and on top with more flour, then flatten it with the rolling pin into a long rectangle measuring ¾ inch thick. Cut the rectangle in half crosswise to make 2 equal pieces.
18. 17. Use the heel of your hand to round off any corners and press the pieces into a disk shape.
19. 18. Wrap and chill the dough: Wrap each piece in plastic or reusable food wrap.
20. 19. Roll over the wrapped pieces with the rolling pin to flatten the dough and force it to fill out the plastic or food wrap (applying this pressure will help prevent cracking later). Chill the pieces until they’re very cold and firm, at least 2 hours.
21. 20. OR…use store-bought frozen or ready-to-use dough.
22. Brown Butter Pecan Crumble
23. 1. Preheat your oven to 325°, and line a half sheet or cooking sheet with parchment paper.
24. 2. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
25. 3. Cook until butter turns a medium-brown color and has a nutty aroma, 7 to 8 minutes.
26. 4. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
27. 5. In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (142 grams) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (114 grams) roughly chopped Pecans, 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar, 4 tablespoons (56 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher salt.
28. 6. Drizzle with browned butter and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Crumble with your fingertips until the desired consistency is reached.
29. 7. Pour and spread out the crumble over the parchment.
30. 8. Bake the crumble for about 30 minutes, or until it smells delicious and is slightly browned.
31. 9. Pull from oven, set aside, and cool completely.
32. After the dough has chilled:
33. 1. Roll out chilled and rested dough (2 portions, or the entire amount from the recipe above) to a 15 x 21-inch rectangle. (3 inches wider and longer than your 12 x 18 sheet pan/cooking sheet)
34. 2. Carefully move the rolled-out dough to the cooking sheet, and gently fit the dough onto the sheet, gently coaxing it into the corners, leaving the excess overhanging the edges.
35. 3. Using clean kitchen shears, trim any excess dough from the overhang, leaving 1 inch over the top of the pan.
36. 4. Carefully fold this 1-inch overhang under to create a clean edge.
37. 5. Crimp the edge, being sure to anchor it to the top of the pan edges. (You want the edges to stay straight and leave you enough room for the filling)
38. 6. After the edge has been crimped, put the sheet into the refrigerator, chill, and let rest for at least 30 minutes (or longer) until the dough is cold and set.
39. 7. Preheat your oven to 350°.
40. 8. Remove the chilled sheet with dough from the refrigerator, and dock the dough with a fork, pricking small holes over the entire base of the crust.
41. 9. Using aluminum foil, completely cover the entire crust with foil, carefully manipulating it into the corners. (Use 2 sheets of overlapping foil)
42. 10. Make sure the foil is pressed carefully against the cold dough to help keep the crust from falling while baking.
43. 11. Add baking ceramic beads or dried beans to the top of the foil to aid in keeping the crust from puffing up.
44. 12. Remove completely baked pastry from the oven and cool completely before filling.
45. 13. OR…use store-bought frozen or ready-to-use dough, roll out 2 sheets to the same size as above, crimp, dock, chill, cover, and blind bake according to the directions on its packaging.
46. Macerate the Peaches:
47. 1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and fill a bowl with ice water.
48. 2. Using the tip of a paring knife, score a shallow “x” on the bottom of each peach.
49. 3. Separately, to be ready when the peaches come out, set up a large bowl with enough ice and ice water to submerge the peaches. Set this aside.
50. 4. Working in batches, carefully place the peaches in boiling water until the skin begins to split apart, 25 to 45 seconds. If the peaches aren’t very ripe, leave them in the water for a minute or just a bit longer. (Don’t worry, this won’t cook your peaches).
51. 5. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the peaches to the bowl of ice water to cool. You’ll want to keep them in there for at least a minute to make sure they are completely cooled down. Add additional ice if you have multiple batches. (You want to shock the peaches quickly from hot to cold)
52. 6. Transfer peaches to a towel and pat dry.
53. 7. Using your fingers or a paring knife and peel starting at the “x” mark on the skins. They should really slip right off, and most of the time no knife is required.
54. 8. Remove the pit from each peach.
55. 9. Slicing the peaches into ½ inch thick full slices (creating about 8 – 10 slices from each peach)
56. 10. In a large bowl, place all of the peeled, cored, and sliced peaches.
57. 11. Add 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar, the zest of 2 lemons, and the juice of 2 lemons.
58. 12. Stir until peaches are coated with sugar.
59. 13. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit for at least 30 minutes to create juices.
60. 14. After 30 minutes or so, check to see if you have 2 cups of juice. If you don’t, stir the fruit and keep it macerating.
61. 15. Once you see a lot of juices, strain the peaches, reserving all of the juices created, and setting 2 cups aside.
62. 16. Cover and refrigerate the peaches.
63. For the Glaze
64. 1. Whisk together 1 ½ cup (300 g) granulated sugar and 6 Tablespoons cornstarch in a medium saucepan, then add the 1 cup of water and reserved 2 cups of peach juices.
65. 2. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
66. 3. Cook for 3 more minutes, until the glaze mixture turns thick and translucent.
67. 4. Set aside and let cool to room temperature.
68. For the Mascarpone Cream Filling:
69. 1. In a large bowl, add the room-temperature 8oz (228 g) Mascarpone cheese, 8 oz (228 g) room-temperature cream cheese, 1 cup (100 g) powdered sugar, and Juice of 1 lemon.
70. 2. Using a hand mixer, blend on medium until smooth.
71. 3. Add 1 cup heavy whipping cream, and carefully mix until smooth. Do not overmix! The cream should be smooth, not curdled.
72. 4. Set it aside.
73. Final Assembly:
74. 1. Pull out the peaches from the refrigerator, and make sure they’re in a large bowl.
75. 2. Add the room temperature (NOT HOT) glaze to the fresh peaches and gently fold with a spatula until the peaches are evenly coated.
76. 3. Fill the cooled pie crust with an even layer of the Mascarpone Cream mixture. Spread with a spatula or offset spatula. I like a lot of Mascarpone, so I use the entire mixture, but if you don’t like it as much, use only as much as you’d like.
77. 4. On top of the Mascarpone filling, starting at one short end of the crust, place the coated fresh peaches in rows all the way across, and over the entire surface of the mascarpone cream. Spoon any leftover glaze over the top of the peaches, making sure to cover all of the cream.
78. 5. Sprinkle the baked and cooled Brown Butter Pecan Crumble over the entire top.
79. 6. Chill for 2 hours (or overnight) until set.
80. 7. ENJOY!!