Bourbon Peach Pie

It was unseasonably warm so I decided it was still peach weather and the farmers' market agreed with me. I had guests this weekend so it was the perfect excuse to bake with peaches again. I don't know why, but I got it in my head that I NEEDED to make a lattice pie. So I did (suck it, imaginary reader).

Total time: This is not something you just whip up. Peach preparation is more messy and tedious than you'd think. I want to say set aside 4 hours if you don't have a crust already made and ready to go. With a crust, give yourself 2 hours, 3 if you want a completely cooled pie.


VERDICT: Made this Friday and I don't remember there being much left by Monday. I wish that the bourbon came through more, but a clean pie tin speaks for itself?

Bourbon Peach Pie

adapted from Mark Bittman's recipe in How to Cook Everything, makes 1 8" pie

About 2 pounds of peaches, or a little more (whatever, just eat the leftovers)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
About 1/2 cup sugar, more if the peaches are not quite ripe, plus a little for the top
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon bourbon
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 pie crusts (I used the shortening recipe from What's Cooking America)
Milk as needed (I used almond milk, but I'm sure regular milk will work).


1. Preheat the oven to 450F.
2. Prep peaches:  bring a pot of water to a boil and drop the peaches into it, a couple at a time, for 10 to 30 seconds, until the skins loosen. Plunge into a bowl of ice water. Slip the skins off, using a paring knife to ease the process. Pit, slice, and toss with lemon juice.
3. Mix together the sugar, cinnamon, and bourbon. Toss the peaches with this mixture. Pile into the rolld-out shell, making the pile a little higher in the center than at the sides. Cover with the top crust (or lattice it). Crimp the edges with a fork or your fingers.
4. Put the pie on a baking sheet and brush the top lightly with milk; sprinkle with sugar. Use a sharp paring knife to cut two or three 2-inch long slits in the top crust to steam to escape (skip this if you go the lattice route).
5. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F and bake for another 40 to 50 minutes, or until the pie is golden brown. Err or the side of over-baking if you must. Cool on a rack before serving warm or at room temperature.

There should be some bubbling of the filling and it should have a thick, syrupy consistency.

Bourbon Peach Upside Down Cake

I have been even worse at updating and baking than usual. I've been meaning to make something summery for the better part of a month and I nearly had an anxiety attack when I saw mums and acorn squash outside of Whole Foods last week. Seriously fall, back off. I am not ready for you yet and I want at least another week to laze around and be on semi-vacation mode all.

I was in Connecticut visiting friends over Labor Day weekend or, as I like to call it, Last Weekend of Summer. I decided to commemorate my last trip of the summer with a cake. Nothing says summer like peaches and my go-to summer whiskey: bourbon. This bourbon cake was really a multi-tasker. I failed to bring a gift and it was an excuse to go to the liquor store and find some Hudson Baby Bourbon, which I had been hunting down all summer because it's handmade in New York (first home state bourbon!) and it's the first whiskey made there since Prohibition. A bit pricey at $40, but it was totally worth it.

Total time: 1 hour for baking, plus 10 minutes for cooling.

VERDICT: Having never made an upside down cake, I was rather pleased with how it turned out. The topping really caramelizes in the oven and the brown sugar gives it this intense taste that stands up to the bourbon. My peach slices were 1/4" thick. I would go for a thicker cut so that there's more peach flavor. My only other regret was not having some vanilla ice cream over a warm slice of cake (yum).

Left: Cake. The peaches slide when the sauce is poured. Not the prettiest, but it gets the job done.
Right: The inspiration. Hudson Baby Bourbon and fresh peaches :)

Bourbon Peach Upside Down Cake

adapted from "Whisky Peach Upside Down Cake" recipe from Crepes of Wrath, yields 1 8"X8" cake

Topping:
3-4 ripe peaches, sliced 1/2" thick
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons bourbon
1/2 cup butter

Batter:
1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon whiskey vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup bourbon

1. Preheat oven 350F. Butter bottom and sides of baking pan (my host had a square one, feel free to use a round one).

2. Prepare topping. Melt butter in saucepan on low-medium. Add brown sugar and simmer for 5 minutes. Take off heat and stir in bourbon.

3. Line bottom of baking pan with peaches. Pour butter and brown sugar sauce over the peaches.

4. Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
5. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

6. Beat in eggs, one at a time, to butter mixture. Add vanilla.

7. Alternate flour mixture with bourbon and mix until just blended. The batter may look slightly curdled; this is fine.
8. Spoon batter evenly over peaches. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before inverting and serving cake.