Fresh Peach Tart with a Crumble Topping

Nova Scotia, for its size and short growing season, has a surprising selection of fruit especially stone fruits.  There are a number of u-pick farms around the province that sell apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries, grapes.  Local peaches are in abundance and each time I enter a grocery store I find myself picking up a basket.  The peach originated in China and peaches are symbols of immortality and unity. Peach blossoms are carried by Chinese brides.  Peaches are a good source of vitamins A, B and C. A medium peach contains only 37 calories.

Makes 10-inch tart pan

Pastry:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Crumble Topping:
105g (3/4 cup) flour
200g (1 cup) brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
115g (1/2 cup) butter, room temperature

4-6 ripe peaches, sliced

To make the pastry, make sure the butter is well chilled.  This is Martha Stewart’s pie dough recipe which I use as my fail-safe recipe.  In a food processor, pulse flour, salt, and sugar several times to combine. Add butter. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces remaining. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if needed, add up to 2 more tablespoons ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not overmix. Turn out onto a floured work surface; knead once or twice, until dough comes together. Flatten dough into a disk; wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 190c (375f).  Remove dough from the refrigerator and unwrap dough but leave it on the plastic wrap.  Take another piece of plastic wrap and place on top of the dough.   Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough out to desired size.  The plastic helps to keep the dough from sticking.  Remove plastic wrap from the top and use the bottom wrap to help position the dough over the tart pan.  Lay the dough across the pan and gently push along the bottom and sides of the pan.  Trim the excess dough.  Place peach slices on the pan.

 

To make the crumble topping, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon in a bowl.  Add the butter and rub it in with your fingers or fork until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle evenly over the peach slices.  Bake 30-40 minutes until topping is bubbly and pastry is golden.


The Culinary Chase’s Note:  The crumble topping is quite decadent on top of the fresh peaches as is a dollop of vanilla ice cream.  Yum!

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