Sam’s Pie earned him a second place ribbon in the Fruit Pie category at the Third Annual Good Food Pie Contest. Read Sam’s story below…
As an amateur baker I was thrilled to place second in the Fruit Pie competition behind pastry chef Stephanie Shaiken of Crust. And I might add that being able to say “Jonathan Gold ate my pie” brings me great joy. I am a CA native with a long history of work in the arts – specifically theatre. I am an artist in residence through the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department with a multi-generational drama program called “Senior Reflections: Bridging the Gap” which brings the talents of youth and senior citizens to the Geffen Playhouse stage. I’ve been competing in the Culinary contests at the Los Angeles and Orange County Fairs for the past three years, where I have won a few awards including placing first in the Ghirardelli Competition. A year ago I started a business in floral design called: Flowers First Then Food – you can see my work at www.flowersfirstthenfood.com. Still working on getting the use of a commercial kitchen and I might add baking to my flower business!
Inspiration for the Peach Blueberry Crumble Pie??? Well, I love fresh fruit. I have an organic garden with lots of different flowers, fruits and vegetables – and my partner Lu and I raise 4 hilarious chickens. Love using fresh eggs for baking. I wanted a summer fruit pie that incorporated a few different taste elements: sweet, salty, creamy and crunchy to name a few. I am an avid reader of Cook’s Illustrated and Epicurious, where I found inspiration for my pie. As i tested the recipe, I went for a complex mix of flavors and textures. Enjoy!!!
Continue reading for the complete recipe…
Peach Blueberry Pie with Cream Cheese Topping Yield: 2 Pies
Buttermilk Pie Crust
1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup chilled vegetable shortening
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
Combine flour, sugar and salt in large bowl. Add butter and shortening. Cut in using hands or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir with fork until moist clumps form. Press together to form dough. Divide dough in half. Gather dough into balls; flatten into disks. Wrap separately and chill 1 hour. Let dough stand at room temperature to soften slightly before using.)
Almond Crumble Topping
1 cup flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
½ tsp salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 tablespoons softened unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Combine flour, sugars, and salt in a food processor; add vanilla over top. Preheat oven 350 degrees and place rack in middle. Pulse to combine mixture. Add butter and half of nuts; process until mixture clumps together into large, crumbly balls. Add remaining nuts and combine. Place mixture on a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread into even layer. Bake 14 to 16 minutes.
Peach and Blueberry Filling
13 medium peaches, skinned, pitted and sliced
1 ½ cups blueberries
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons ground Minute tapioca
Toss peach slices, lemon juice, 1 cup sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and Minute tapioca (3 tablespoons for moderately juicy peaches in a bowl.
Preheat oven 350 Degrees. Roll out dough and place in pie pan, trimming the edges of dough. Top with crumble. Pour peach mixture into pans and bake for 45 – 55 minutes until bubbling at edges. Cool to room temperature and serve with Cream Cheese Topping.
Cream Cheese Topping
2 packages 8oz Cream Cheese softened
½ cup softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cream butter and cream cheese in large stand mixer until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Add sugar one cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.