Paris the intern may have left the office, but she's still baking up a storm. She sent us the following missive from the countryside. We love the update, but miss being taste testers.

I’ve been spending the last week and a half at my country house and a few doors down, artist and Opening Ceremony designer Terence Koh had rented a house. I made him a pie for his birthday!

Peach and Strawberry Pie with Lavender Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream

Crust:
3 cups of flour
3 teaspoons of sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons of salt
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon of cold milk
1 cup of canola oil

Filling:
7-10 peaches (7 big 10 small)
¾ cup of strawberries
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2/3  cup of sugar
¾ - 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon of ginger
1/8 teaspoon of cloves
1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon of allspice
1 ½ tablespoons of cornstarch
3-4 tablespoons of butter
Extra cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

Whipped Cream:
2 cups of heavy whipping cream (1 pint)
1 vanilla bean
2 1/2 teaspoons of dried lavender
2-4 tablespoons of light brown sugar

1. Put the heavy cream in a medium saucepan and add lavender. Scrape out the seeds of the vanilla bean and add to the saucepan along with the beans. Whisk while cooking until the heavy cream has started to simmer. Take off of heat and strain out the vanilla bean and lavender. Put the cream in the fridge to cool.

2. Peel the peaches: If the peaches are really ripe, you’ll have no trouble at all of getting the skin off. But they probably won't be perfect, so you will need to boil them. First, put in a small pot of water to boil, cut an X on the bottom of each peach. Then put the peaches one by one in the pot of boiling water for 30-45 seconds. Once each one is cooked immediately take them out and immerse them in a bath of ice water to stop the cooking. Peel off the skin starting from the X on the bottom of the peach. Cut each peach into about 8 slices removing the bitter red center. Put the cut peaches in a large bowl. Cut off the tops of the strawberries and then cut in half. Add to the peaches.

3. Pour lemon juice over berries and stir. Add vanilla extract. In a small bowl mix sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and cornstarch. Mix in with berries until thoroughly incorporated and let macerate while making the crust.

4. Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until sugar and salt are dispersed throughout the flour. In a large measuring cup, pour in milk and oil and beat with a fork. Pour into the flour and mix with hand or fork, until it is mixed without being tough. Separate into two separate balls.

5. On the counter lie down a piece of wax paper. Sprinkle flour on top of it and then put dough on top of the flour. Sprinkle flour on top of the dough and cover with another sheet of wax paper. Roll with a rolling pin until big enough to fit in the pie pan. Use the bottom sheet of wax paper and flip dough into the pie pan. Fill in fruits and half of the juices. Put three tablespoons worth of pads of butter on top of the fruits. Roll out second crust and place on top of the filling, and crimp the edges. Cut slits in the crust for heat to escape. Pour generous amounts (about 3-4 tablespoons worth) of cinnamon-sugar on top of the crust.

6. Place in the oven at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Half way through the baking, place on the last tablespoon pads of butter and pour on more cinnamon sugar. Take the pie out of the oven once most of the pie is slightly browned or golden.

7. Let sit for about two hours so juices can rest. While the pie is resting, finish the whipped cream. Add brown sugar to the flavored cream, and whisk on high speed with an electric mixer until the perfect consistency.

8. Cut pie into slices and add a dollop of whipped cream on top!


FILED UNDER: paris starn , pie , baking , mini martha , terence koh