Summer isn’t complete until I have baked a peach pie!
There are already a few peach pie recipes on the blog. There is something so special about the jammy tenderness and bold sweetness that comes out when you bake with peaches, whether in a pie, cobbler or crisp.
Basil Crust
Today’s pie is made special with basil in the crust. I love the earthy beauty that herbs bring to fruit desserts, and you will see them regularly in my baking. Basil is light, slightly sweet, and compliments the flat sweetness of stone fruit. So adding it to the crust is a no brainer. You could also add chopped basil to the prepped peaches, but I just didn’t want the flecks of green in the filling this time around. If it were not a custard filling I would have happily added even more basil to this pie!
Prepare the pastry, and place it into your pie plate. Flute or crimp as desired. Place a round of parchment or foil to cover the bottom and sides, and fill this with baking beans or pie weights. Push them gently but firmly along the sides, so that the pastry will not have any room to buckle down as it bakes.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes till starting to turn golden on the edges. Gently remove the paper and weights, and return to the oven to help dry out the bottom of the pie shell. Then place on a wire cooling rack while you prepare the filling.
Prepping the Peaches
First of all, I don’t always remove the skin from peaches. These days the skin is much more tender than back in the day when all peaches had a fuzzier and thicker skin. If I’m baking any stone fruit in a crisp or crumble, I leave the skin. But these peaches will be surrounded by a delicate custardy filling, so I didn’t want any firmness of the skin to break the custard as you eat the pie. So let’s remove the skin. It’s so easy.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Take your peaches and cut a small cross with a paring knife on the bottom (not the stem end) and place them into the boiling water. After about 30 seconds in the boiling water, remove the peaches with a slotted spoon or spider and transfer them to a ice water bath. This will shock them from cooking any further. You will see that the skin will most likely have started to pull away from the peach flesh. Just take a sharp paring knife and pull the skin away from the entire peach, it should pull away with little to no resistance. Once cooled you can slice the peaches for the pie. Place them in a bowl and set aside.
Custard Filling
Eggs, dairy and spices, how easy is this! Instead of the usual cream, let’s use sour cream. The tang from sour cream is the perfect contrast to the sweet peach flavour. All you will do is mix up the custard filling and set aside while you place the peaches into the cooled pie shell. The eggs I use (Conestoga Eggs here in Ontario) have the brightest egg yolks, which make for a sunny yellow custard.
Assemble
Arrange the peaches evenly in the pie shell. Pour the custard filling over the peaches. And into the oven! Bake till the crust is golden brown, and the filling is just set. It will be set around the side, and the centre should have only the faintest jiggle. Let cool completely before slicing into this pie. In fact, I usually chill it in the fridge before serving. This pie is best made early in the morning, or the day before you want to serve it.
Final Thoughts
Vanilla Ice Cream. That’s all! The most classic way to finish a slice of this pie. The creamy vanilla is the best way to compliment this pie. Peaches and Cream, such an iconic summer flavour!
For other peach or stone fruit pies, check out my Peach Lavender and Thyme Honey Pie, Peach Custard Pie in a Pretzel Crust, Stone Fruit Pie, Apricot Hazelnut Pie with Creme Anglaise
Peach Sour Cream Pie in a Basil Crust
Ingredients
Basil Crust
- 1 1/4 cups flour, can use cup for cup gluten free blend
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil, packed tablespoons
- 1 stick or 8 tbsp butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, chilled
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 1-3 tbsp ice water, if needed
Filling
- 4 medium to large fresh peaches - peeled, pitted, and sliced, see Notes
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp flour, can substitute with cup for cup gluten free flour
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/4 tsp salt
- vanilla ice cream for serving
Instructions
Basil Crust
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Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) and have the rack set on the lower third of the oven.
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Place 1 1/4 cups flour, fresh basil, and salt in a medium large bowl. Add the chilled butter into the flour mixture. Toss to coat the butter and spread it around evenly, pressing the butter gently between your fingers to soften and mix it into the flour. Stop before the butter warms up too much, you want to larger pieces of butter throughout.
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Add 2 tablespoons sour cream and mix together. If it is a dry day, you may need to add 1 or 2 tbsp ice water. Once it holds together when you pinch it between your fingers, shape into a disk and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
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Roll out and press dough into prepared pie dish to form a crust. Don't worry if this pastry falls apart as you line the pie plate, you can patch easily with this pastry. Fold under the outer edges to create a clean finish. Crimp or flute as desired. Use a fork to dock the bottom of the pie shell. Cover the entire pie shell with a large circle of parchment paper or foil, and fill with pie weights or dried beans and ensure that the edges are fully lined to keep the pastry from puffing or buckling down as it bakes. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
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Place on a baking sheet and bake on the lower rack for 20 minutes. The edges shouldn't be brown but they should be set.
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Remove the paper and weights and return to the oven this time on the middle rack. Bake for another 8 minutes to get the edges golden and the bottom dry. If the pastry puffs up at all, gently use a tea towel to push back down and continue baking. Cool on a wire rack while you work on the filling.
Filling
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Reduce the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
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Place the sliced peaches in a bowl. Toss gently with cinnamon.
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Arrange peach slices in the cooled pie crust.
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In a medium to large bowl, lightly beat egg yolks. Add in the sugar, sour cream, flour and salt. Whisk until well combined. Pour egg mixture over peaches.
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Bake the pie on a baking sheet on the centre rack for 50-60 minutes until the filling is set. Use a pie guard or foil if the edges are browning before the pie is set. The edges will be set but the centre will be just ever so slightly jiggly. Transfer the pie to cool on a wire rack. Chill in the fridge to ensure that the filling is set before slicing.
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Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Recipe Notes
To prepare peaches for the pie: Boil water in a large pot. Cut small crosses at the bottom of the peaches. Place all the peaches into the pot. After 30 seconds or so in the boiling water remove the peaches with a slotted spoon and transfer immediately to a ice water bath. Gently pry the skin starting at the sliced skin with a sharp knife. The skin will pull away easily. Slice into 5 or so slices and place in a bowl.
You may need 5 peaches if they are on the small side.
Delicious dessert! Made it tonight with peaches that were really ripe and they tasted terrific.
Question, the recipe calls for “1 cup sugar divided”. I’ve ready the instructions a few times and I’m not sure why the sugar is “divided”. Should some go with the peaches?
Many thanks for your great content, I love your recipes!
Hi Denise, Thanks, so happy you liked it as much as we do! Thanks for catching that. A writing habit for other pies, that I forgot I don’t use with peaches. I fixed it, all the sugar into the filling. Love Jen