Recipe Sleuth: Baked & Wired's Peaches-and-Cream Pie

One of our favorite bakeries gave us its recipe for a quintessential summer dessert. By Kate Nerenberg

Comments () | Published August 25, 2010

At our Best of Washington party, Baked & Wired owner Teresa Velazquez dished out generous slices of her peaches-and-cream pie. One bite in, we rushed back to find out the recipe. Turns out, there’s no professional secrets behind it—it’s a simple pie crust with fresh peaches, cream, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. As the end of summer approaches, this recipe is the perfect way to make use of the season’s last ripe peaches.

Baked & Wired’s Peaches-and-Cream Pie
 
Makes 1 lattice-work pie

Make the crust
 
3 cups flour
2⁄3 cup Crisco shortening
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2⁄3 cups cold water  
 
In a bowl, mix the flour, shortening, and salt until well-combined. Using your fingers, work the mixture until it forms pea-shaped balls (you can work it for as long as needed to get all the flour mixed well with the shortening).
 
Sprinkle the ice water over the dough. At this point, you don’t want to work with the mixture much, just toss it until it comes together. Form 2 balls, one a little larger for the bottom crust.   
 
Roll out the crust, and lay it in bottom of a 9-inch glass pie dish, leaving some dough overhanging the lip. Set aside the other ball of dough.
 
Make the filling
 
5 fresh peaches, peeled and each cut into 6 slices
¾ cups sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1⁄8 teaspoon salt
½ cup heavy cream
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk (save the white for assembly)
Cinnamon to taste

Combine sugar, flour, salt, cream, the whole egg, and the egg yolk. Whisk together. Arrange the peaches in the crust. Pour the cream mixture over the peaches (pour it almost to the top of the crust; you may not need all the liquid. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Assemble the pie

1 egg white
Sugar to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Roll out the other ball of dough, and cut it 8 ¾-inch strips to use as a lattice topping. To seal the lattice strips to the bottom crust, put a dab of water under each strip of dough and push down on the bottom crust to seal together. Tear away all but ¾ inch of extra dough from the bottom crust. Fold lattice strips under the edge of the bottom crust and pinch with thumb and pointer finger to create a decorative edge.

Using a basting brush, apply some of the egg white to wet the lattice strips. Sprinkle sugar on strips.
 
Bake for 1 hour.

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