Peach Streusel Pie With Ginger

Peach Streusel Pie With Ginger combines the crunchy brown sugar crumble topping of a fruit crisp with the flakey crust of a pie. The filling of sliced sweet, fresh peaches, their caramelized juices mixing with brown sugar and the spice of fresh grated ginger is delicious. You can taste the sweet goodness of summer in each and every bite.

Peach Streusel Pie With Ginger

All during the summer, people have eaten wonderful sweet peaches in lots of salads, served alongside grilled meats and of course eaten in desserts but not in our home. After searching all summer long to find perfectly ripe peaches, I was thrilled to finally find some at the market that looked beautiful. They were still a little firm so I placed them in a bowl to ripen. After two days, they had the slightest give and you could smell their wonderful peach aroma when you walked pass them sitting on the counter. I had perfectly ripe peaches but now the question became how was I going to enjoy them.

A Bowl Of Fresh Peaches

Growing up in Texas, the first sweet peaches were always turned into peach ice cream to celebrate the 4th of July. After that, fresh peaches would usually be made into peach cobbler. Both desserts symbolized summer to me and still do. I don’t have an ice cream machine at our summer cottage in Maine and didn’t have enough peaches to make a large cobbler. I decided to turn my six beautiful peaches into a pie and it turned out terrific.

A Slice of Peach Streusel Pie, A Taste of Summer In Each Bite

Peach Streusel Pie With Ginger

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

• 1 pie crust – Use your favorite recipe for a single 9 inch pie crust or use a pre made refrigerated pie crust

Filling

• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. cornstarch
• a pinch of salt
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 6 peaches, peeled*
• 2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

In a large bowl, mix the sugar, cornstarch and salt together, then stir in the lemon juice. Cut the peaches in half, remove the pit, slice and then add to the bowl. Stir in the grated ginger and let rest while you prepare the streusel.

*For easy peeling, bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the peaches for ten seconds, immerse in ice water, then the skins will slip off easily with your fingers.

Streusel

• 1/2 c. flour
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. butter, cut into small cubes and softened
• pinch of salt

Place all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix with a pastry blender or fork. Then use fingertips to press into clumps.

To assemble the pie

Place the crust into a 9 inch glass pie pan. Trim to fit, leaving about a half-inch overhang, fold under and crimp the edge. Spoon in the filling and sprinkle the streusel over the peaches. Place on a foil or Silpat lined baking sheet (to catch juices that may bubble over) and bake on the lower rack of the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for 30 more minutes until the juices are bubbling thickly and the streusel is golden brown. If getting too brown, cover with foil. Remove from the oven and let the pie cool for at least an hour before serving.

****

I served the peach streusel pie with vanilla ice cream but whipped cream would be delicious as well. It was worth waiting for perfectly ripe peaches to make this pie. Peaches mixed with the caramelized goodness of brown sugar and ginger is a memorable taste of summer. I hope you will try the pie and enjoy it as much as I did.

For many people living in the US, the Labor Day holiday marks the end of summer even though fall doesn’t officially begin until the 22nd of September. I’m never willing to have summer end before it should. To my many friends living south of the equator, I hope fresh ripe peaches will be in your future before too long.