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Peaches and Cream Pie

The name made it sound delicious, but the historic recipes we tried didn't pan out. Custard to the rescue. Time and again the juicy peaches wreaked watery havoc on our custardy pie filling. Roasting them on the upper-middle rack for about 45 minutes evaporated their excess liquid, and a dusting of granulated sugar encouraged a complementary caramelized coating.
Servings: 8
Author: Cook's Country

Ingredients

  • 1 9-inch unbaked pie shell
  • 2 pounds ripe but firm peaches about 6, peeled, halved, and pitted
  • 10 tablespoons sugar divided, 2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces)
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ⅓ cup heavy cream
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Make and chill the pie shell:

  • Cover the pie shell with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 40 minutes, then freeze for 20 minutes.

Roast the peaches:

  • While the pie shell is chilling, adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • Place the peach halves cut side up on an aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar.
  • Bake the peaches on the upper rack until softened and juice is released, about 30 minutes, flipping halfway through baking.

Bake the pie shell:

  • Leaving the peaches in the oven, line the chilled pie shell with parchment paper or a double layer of aluminum foil, covering the edges to prevent burning, and fill with pie weights.
  • Place the chilled pie shell on the lower rack and bake until the edges are lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
  • Remove the parchment and weights and continue to bake the crust until the bottom is light brown and the peaches until they are caramelized, about 5 minutes longer.
  • Let the crust and peaches cool for 15 minutes.

Arrange the peaches:

  • Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
  • Quarter the peaches lengthwise.
  • Arrange the peaches in a single layer over the crust with 18 peach quarters around the outer circumference and the remaining 6 quarters in the middle.

Prepare the custard:

  • Combine the flour, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl.
  • Whisk in cream, egg yolks, and vanilla until smooth.
  • Pour the cream mixture over the peaches.

Bake and serve:

  • Bake until the filling is light golden brown and firm in the center, 45 to 55 minutes.
  • Let the pie cool on a wire rack for at least 3 hours before serving.

Notes

Use your favorite pie dough or our Single-Crust Pie Dough recipe. Be sure to start chilling the pie shell about a half-hour before the peaches go in the oven.