Peaches, berries, citrus—you name the fruit, and it’s probably being sold at farmers markets and supermarkets everywhere around you this time of year. You might even have some growing in your home garden. Take advantage of this plentiful time, because nothing says lovin’ like a summer fruit pie fresh from your oven.
Photo by Gwénaël Le Vot
LEMON BERRY TART
Makes one 9-inch tart
Dough
1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 large egg yolk
2–3 tablespoons ice water
Filling
½ cup lemon juice
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1¼ cups sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Finish/garnish
1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 pint blackberries
1 pint raspberries
½ cup apricot preserves
Small mint leaves, for garnish, optional
In the bowl of a food processor, preferably fitted with dough attachment , combine flour, sugar and salt and pulse a few times. Add chilled butter and pulse several times until mixture is coarse. In a small measuring cup, combine egg yolk with 2 tablespoons water; slowly pour into top of food processor and continue to pulse until dough comes together into one ball. If needed, add additional water ½ tablespoon at a time. (Do not add too much water, or dough will not come together.)
Remove dough onto lightly floured work surface. Shape dough into a ball, then flatten into a thick disc about 6 inches round. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours or up to three days.
When ready to assemble, flour work surface and roll out dough into a 13-inch circle. Transfer to a 9-inch fluted tart pan and press in gently. Remove overhanging dough by running a rolling pin over the top, or use a knife to cut it away. Place in freezer while you preheat the oven to 400 F.
Line pastry crust with parchment paper topped with baking weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes until pastry is half-cooked. Remove parchment and weights. Whisk lemon juice, eggs, lemon zest and sugar in a medium bowl. Stir in melted butter. Pour filling into the warm crust and bake about 20 minutes, until filling is set and pastry crust is golden brown. Cool completely. Decorate top of tart with berries, and tuck a few small mint leaves between some berries. Heat apricot preserves and 1 tablespoon water in a small pan to make glaze. Carefully brush top of tart with glaze, using a delicate pastry brush. Slice and serve immediately, or refrigerate until chilled.
Chef’s tip: Tart pan versus pie pan. Tart pans are usually fluted around the sides, whereas pie pans have smooth sides. You can use them interchangeably.
Old-fashioned deep-dish peach pie
Photo by Iuliia Nedrygailova
Makes one 9-inch pie
8–9 medium-sized, ripe peaches, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon arrowroot or cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1½ teaspoons cardamom or cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 9-inch pie crusts, store-bought or homemade
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into teaspoon-sized pieces
Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large bowl, combine peaches, cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
Take one disk of pie dough out of the refrigerator and let rest for 5–10 minutes, to make dough easier to roll out. On a dry, well-floured surface, roll out dough into 12-inch disc, enough to have some overhang all around the pie dish. Place into a 9-inch round dish, being careful not to tear the dough. Trim off excess dough to about ½-inch overhang all around. Mound the peach mixture into the bottom crust. Dot the top of filling with small pieces of butter.
Roll out the second crust to 12 inches round, and carefully place it on top of filling. Trim top dough to about a ¾-inch overhang. Tuck top dough edges over and under bottom dough edges, and flute the edges all around using your thumb and forefinger, or crimp with a fork. Using a fork or small, sharp knife, make slits in the top crust so steam can escape and not crack the top crust. Bake in preheated oven 45–60 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.
Blueberry crumble
Photo by Karen Hermann
Makes one 9-inch pie
Crumble topping
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cardamon or cinnamon
½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
Filling
4–5 cups blueberries, washed and destemmed
½ tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Baking spray or unsalted butter for baking dish
Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine sugars, flour, salt and cardamom in the bowl of a food processor and pulse. Add chilled butter, and continue to pulse until mixture becomes crumbly. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine berries, lemon juice, sugar, arrowroot and salt. Spray a 9-inch round pie dish with baking spray, and fill with berry mixture. Sprinkle crumble evenly on top of berries. Bake in preheated oven 30–40 minutes until bubbly and light brown on top.
Key lime pie with gingersnap pecan crust
Photo by Gina Moore
Makes one 9-inch pie
Crust
1¾ cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 20 cookies)
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted melted butter
½ cup finely chopped pecans
Filling
4 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons lime zest
2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
1 cup fresh-squeezed key lime juice (about 20 key limes)
Topping (optional)
1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons confectioners’[JJ1] sugar
Additional lime zest, for garnish
Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. In a medium bowl, blend cookie crumbs, sugar, butter and pecans. Press into bottom and sides of a 2-inch-deep glass pie dish. Bake for eight minutes and remove from oven. Set aside.
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg yolks and lime zest for five minutes on high speed. Gradually add condensed milk and beat an additional four minutes, until thick. Lower mixer speed to medium and gradually pour in lime juice, mixing until just combined. Pour into partially baked crust and bake for 10 minutes or until filling is set. Remove from oven and cool on a rack. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
In the chilled bowl of a mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip cream and confectioners’ sugar until nearly stiff. (Do not overwhip or cream will revert to butter.) When ready to serve pie, serve very cold with a dollop of whipped cream sprinkled with lime zest.
Chef’s tips:
Regular limes or key limes. While the taste varies slightly, you can use regular limes—called Persian limes—instead of key limes. To extract the most juice from lime or any citrus, microwave for 15–25 seconds. This helps soften the rind and releases more juice.
Easiest way to crush gingersnap cookies or graham crackers. Pulse cookies in the bowl of a food processor until they reach the consistency you desire. Do not blitz continuously because that will make the crumbs clump together.