SWEET SLICE

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158 SWEET SLICE FROM PLUMP, JUICY FRUIT TO MOREISH SALTED CHOCOLATE, WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT THESE KILLER PASTRY TREATS? – SHARING OPTIONAL

Crumbly goodness Pies to eat on the go, around the kitchen table, give as a gift or impress at a dinner party. Turn the page for our easy-as-pie recipes. A

a PIE is ... a fruit buried under a crust and baked in an oven

nectarine, brown butter & honey pie

Serves 8 Prep time 35 mins Cooking time 30 mins

Equipment Sharp knife; rolling pin; large deep saucepan; small bowl; spoon; baking tray; baking paper; serrated knife; pastry brush 70g unsalted butter 500g nectarines, stones removed, chopped 1 tsp vanilla bean paste 1⁄3 cup honey 1 tsp plain flour 2 sheets frozen butter puff pastry, thawed & rolled to 2mm thickness 1 lightly beaten egg 1 tbsp demerara sugar ● 1 Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 mins until nutty brown in colour. Pour into small bowl and set aside. ● 2 Reduce heat to medium-low. Add nectarines, vanilla and honey and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 mins or until nectarines are soft and jammy. Remove from heat. ● 3 Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan). ● 4 Cut pastry sheets in half, then press ends of two of them together, overlapping by about 3cm to form a 36cm x 15cm rectangle. Place on baking tray lined with baking paper. Press the two remaining pieces together to form another rectangle. Using serrated knife, shallowly score pastry about 8mm apart, leaving 1cm border all around edge. ● 5 Spread nectarine mixture over first rectangle, leaving 2cm border all around edge. Brush edges with some of beaten egg. Cover with second rectangle and press edges to seal, then brush with remaining egg and scatter with sugar. ● 6 Bake for 30 mins or until bubbling and golden. Leave to cool for 30 mins, then slice to serve. A

65

MINS

2+

HRS

blackberry, pear & lemon pie

Serves 8 Prep time 50 mins + 4 hrs chilling Cooking time 1 hr 25 mins

Equipment Vegetable peeler; sharp knife; fine grater; bowl; pastry cutter or flat-bladed knife; plastic wrap; 23cm x 4cm-deep pie dish; rolling pin; large saucepan; spoon; baking tray; baking paper; pastry brush 1kg fresh or frozen blueberries 3 hard, crisp pears, peeled & chopped into 2cm pieces 220g caster sugar 1 vanilla bean, split lengthways & seeds scraped Finely grated zest of 1 lemon 3 tsp cornflour 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water 1 tbsp demerara sugar

Pastry

375g plain flour 55g caster sugar ½ tsp fine sea salt 250g cold unsalted butter, cut into 2cm pieces ¼ cup apple cider vinegar mixed with ½ cup cold water & 4 ice cubes ● 1 Prepare pastry Combine flour, sugar and salt in bowl. Add butter pieces and toss. Turn out onto a clean work surface and roughly cut butter into flour mixture using pastry cutter (leave some large chunks for flakier pastry). ● 2 Create a well in centre of flour mixture and add vinegar water in 3 batches, working it in with your hands to form a rough dough. ● 3 Divide dough in half then shape each piece into rough discs. Cover in plastic wrap and chill for 3 hrs. ● 4 Roll out each disc on a lightly floured work surface to 3mm thick. Line pie dish with first pastry sheet, leaving a 3cm overhang. Cut second sheet into eight 3cm-wide strips. Chill both for 1 hr. ● 5 Heat fruit, caster sugar, vanilla seeds and lemon zest in saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until syrupy. ● 6 Combine cornflour with 3 tbsp of blueberry liquid in bowl and stir until smooth. Return to pan and cook until thickened. Leave to cool. ● 7 Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan). ● 8 Place lined pie dish on baking tray and fill with blueberry mixture. Make lattice top with chilled strips. Fold overhanging pastry to conceal ends of lattice and to seal. Brush with egg wash, scatter with sugar and bake for 20 mins until golden. ● 9 Reduce oven temperature to 180°C (160°C fan) and cook for a further 40 mins until pastry is crisp and filling is bubbling. A

#freeze summer fruits to use all year long

55

MINS

#serve with a thick dollop of mascarpone

peach & amaretti squares with caramel

Serves 4 Prep time 30 mins Cooking time 25 mins

Equipment Rolling pin (if needed); sharp knife; pastry brush; spoon 1 sheet frozen butter puff pastry (total 165g), thawed and, if needed, rolled to a thickness of 2mm, cut into 4 squares 2 white peaches, stones removed, sliced thinly 4 amaretti biscuits, crumbled 1 tbsp soft brown sugar dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water

Brown sugar caramel

50g soft brown sugar 50g unsalted butter ¼ cup pouring cream ● 1 Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan). ● 2 Place pastry squares on lined baking tray and scatter over crumbled amaretti biscuits, leaving a 1cm border all the way around. ● 3 Divide peach slices among squares. Brush over sugar water then bake for 18 mins or until golden. ● 4 Make caramel Place all ingredients in saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 5 mins or until golden and thickened. Cool to room temperature, then drizzle over squares to serve.

tip | If amaretti biscuits aren’t your thing, use ginger nuts (gingersnaps) or shortbread for the base and they will work just as well.

lemon & blueberry meringue pie

Serves 6 Prep time 40 mins + 30 mins chilling Cooking time 35 mins

Equipment Rolling pin; 16cm springform cake tin; baking paper; baking beads (or uncooked rice or dried beans); medium bowl; electric mixer with whisk; piping bag fitted with 1cm nozzle; kitchen blowtorch

½ x 435g frozen Carême vanilla bean pastry, thawed, or other bought sweet shortcrust rolled to 3mm thick 250g mascarpone cheese 1 cup lemon curd 125g fresh blueberries 3 eggwhites 160g caster sugar ● 1 Line cake tin with pastry, roughly folding in edges. Chill for 30 mins. ● 2 Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan). ● 3 Line pastry case with baking paper and fill with baking beads. Bake for 25 mins or until pastry is light golden. Remove paper and baking beads, and bake for a further 10 mins or until base is golden and dry to the touch. Cool completely then carefully remove from cake tin. ● 4 Fold mascarpone, lemon curd and blueberries together in bowl. Spread in base of pastry case. ● 5 Whisk eggwhites and sugar together with electric mixer for 10 mins until stiff and glossy and sugar has dissolved. Transfer to piping bag and pipe a spiral of meringue over filling. Caramelise meringue with blowtorch. Serve. A

75

MINS + CHILLING

#salt added to chocolate is still really underrated

Life of pie

Fancy filling your face with more crumbly creations? Check out The Pie Project by Phoebe Wood & Kirsten Jenkins (Hardie Grant Books; $29.99).

salted chocolate & date pie

Serves 16 (makes 2 × 16cm pies) Prep time 20 mins + 30 mins resting + 1 hr chilling Cooking time 10 mins

Equipment Sharp knife; heatproof bowls; kettle; food processor; two 16cm x 4cm-deep pie dishes; colander; saucepan; spoon 250g Medjool dates, pitted 300g plain chocolate biscuits 100g unsalted butter 300g dark chocolate, chopped finely 400ml thickened cream 1 tsp sea salt flakes ● 1 Place dates in bowl and cover with 2⁄3 cup of boiling water. Set aside for 30 mins. ● 2 Place biscuits in food processor and pulse to fine crumbs, then pulse in butter. Press mixture into bases and sides of pie dishes. Chill. ● 3 Drain dates and place in food processor with 2 tbsp of boiling water. Process until very smooth. Spread over biscuit bases and chill. ● 4 Place chopped chocolate in bowl. Heat cream in saucepan to just below boiling point, then pour over chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Pour over date puree and smooth surface, then chill for 1 hr until chocolate has set. Scatter over salt flakes to serve. R

30

MINS