Ain't that peachy? The Labor Day Peach Pie Challenge

I must say, I have neglected my blog somewhat of late but there's nothing like a good old blogger challenge to get you back in the game! To celebrate the release of their new film Labor Day, Paramount Pictures invited a group of bloggers to take part in a baking challenge and I was lucky enough to be involved.

The Film

Based on the Joyce Maynard novel,  Labor Day tells the story of a depressed single mother Adele (played by Kate Winslet) and her son Henry (Gattlin Griffith) who end up sheltering injured escaped convict Frank (Josh Brolin). A story of love, passion, and betrayal, it's narrated from the point of view of the teenage boy. Frank turns out to be a decent fugitive and a dab hand around the house when it comes to doing repairs, repairing the car and making peach pie in the most iconic scene of the book and film.

You can catch Labor Day out in cinemas now and head to their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LaborDayFilm to find out more:  Though if you're like me, you'll come out craving a piece of juicy peach pie - luckily, here's one I made earlier....

The Challenge

Paramount asked us bake our own version of the Peach Pie based on the film recipe but with a twist. 

I'd decided I wanted to use Disaronno in my pie but to avoid it being too sweet, I decided to also include stem ginger and ginger syrup with a dash of cinnamon. Please note all measurements are approximate - I've picked up my mum's way of baking which is to eye things up and estimate! The pie has a short crust base and a puff pastry top.

The Ginger, Amaretto & Peach Pie

        For the base

• 125g of plain flour
• pinch of salt
• 55g of butter 
• 2-3 tbsp cold water
  
  
  The filling
  
  
  • 10 medium sized fresh peaches
  • 6 large pieces of stem ginger (chopped)
  • Approx 100ml of ginger syrup
  • Approx 60-80ml of Disaronno amaretto liquor
  • 130g caster sugar
  • 30g of cornflour
  • A dash of ground cinnamon 
  
  
  The crust 
  
  
  • After accidentally dropping my first attempt, I was a bit naughty and used Sainsbury's puff pastry for the lid - sssh!
  • 1 beaten egg
  
  
  Ready Steady Bake!
  
  
  
   
  
  • Put the flour, salt and butter in a large bowl and use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs.
  • Add the water in small amounts until the dough binds together.
  • Wrap the dough in clingfilm and pop in the fridge for 10-15 minute.
  • Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C 
  • Wash, stone, peel and slice all the peaches. Add the sugar, cinnamon, Disaronno, stem ginger and ginger syrup to a large bowl and mix together with your hands. Set aside and leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  • Roll the pastry out and line the pie dish.  I use ceramic baking beans to blind bake the pastry for 8 minutes. Pop your feet up and have a cuppa whilst waiting for the peaches!
   
  
  
  
  • Drain the peaches with a coriander over a bowl to collect the juices and return the peaches to the mixing bowl.
  
  
   
  
  
  • Pop the juices in a small saucepan, bring to the boil and then simmer over a low heat until the juices become a thick syrup. Add the syrup to the peaches and mix together again.
    
  • Add the filling to pie crust and roll out the puff pastry. I use a funnel to help the steam escape from the pie, you'll need to cut a slit in the pastry where you want it to come through. Brush the pastry with the egg.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  • Pop in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes - I just kept checking on it until it was a golden as I liked. 
  
  
  
  
  
  Allow to cool and serve! The pie should serve about 8 -10 people. It works really well with creme fraiche, custard or the blackberry Frozen Fruit! (You can read about those here)