One of my favorite things to play around in the kitchen is taking a familiar dish and turning on its head. This pie is a basically a tongue-in-cheek play on Peaches and Cream which is exactly what it sounds like. The Pie has two layers the first is a single layer of peaches and the second layer is what's known as a Indiana Sugar cream pie.The sugar cream pie is a basic pudding which uses cornstarch as a thickener. The pudding is thickened on the stove and then baked to "set" the filling. The pie is garnished with cinnamon and (hopefully) fresh nutmeg. My favorite recipe for sugar cream, (I mean besides my own, tee-hee), is this one created by User Chef Assig. It's an absolute great recipe and was the one that introduced me to Indiana's Signature Pie.
When looking for a good indiana Sugar Cream Pie you will see a lot of different dairy products used for the filling. First I would like to list the Milk Fat content of the most common dairy products used,(like a nerd), and then discuss some of my findings from my baking.
- Whipping or Heavy Cream (30-36%)
- Half and Half (10.5-18%)
- Whole Milk (3.25%)
The pudding in my recipe has a approx Milk Fat Content of 37% giving its uses of heavy cream and Whole Milk. Other recipes use Half and Half instead of Cream which places its MFC around 21%. Before baking I spent some time seeing if there was a consensus between milk and cream in the recipe and milage varied. The most common ratio was 1:1 with the runner up being 3:1. For this recipe I created three fillings to test how the ratio affected the filling. I should state here I am not a food scientist or a professional test kitchen and this "experiment" has not sustain any scientific rigor. However, this is my findings.
I created three ratios for the pies for baking 3:1 C/M , 3:1 M/C. and 1:1 C/M. All three thicken relatively quickly with about the same level of consistency. All baked relatively the same although the milk based one did overbrown near the end of its time in the oven. For me I say a direct correlation between the fat content of the pudding and the how well and how thickly it set. If you have a classic sugar cream recipe feel free to use it instead of the my recipe but as a generally rule of thumb the filling should at least be 1:1 Cream to milk any less then that and the pudding becomes to soft to hold up as a slice.
As I have mentioned before this is part of a series of pies I planned to do for this years County Fair. For Navigation they are:
Pie Lineup
01: Apple | Icebox Nogada Apple Pie (Apple Gelee, Nogada Cream, Pate Brisee Crust)
02: Berry | Marionberry Pie with Lemon Zest Crust
03: Cherry | Double Chocolate Cherry Pie
04: Peach | Peaches and Cream Pie (Hoosier Sugar Cream Variant)
05: Other | Bacon Bourbon Pecan Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- Your Favorite Pie Crust Recipe
- 1 t Lemon Zest (About half a Lemon)
Filling
- About 2 Peaches
- 3/4 W. Sugar
- 1/4 B. Sugar
- 1 1/2 C Cream
- 1/2 C Milk
- 1/4 C Cornstarch
- Pat of Butter
- 1 T Cinnamon
- 1 T Nutmeg
Fruit Caramel
- 1 C W. Sugar
- 1/2 C Water
- 1 C Fruit Puree
- 1 T Cream
Procedures
Step 1: Crust
As always I recommend making the crust the night before. If your using a premade pie shell continue onto the next step but if your making your crust from scratch preside to add the lemon zest with the rest of the dry ingredients. Be careful with working with zest as the pith, (the white part), of the lemon is quite bitter. One thing I've noticed when adding zest is that the crust comes out lighter so keep that in mind when baking.Allow the crust to rest for at least an hour but preferably overnight. On a well floured surface roll out the pie dough until it is a few inches wider than the pie tin. Place the dough in the pie tin and gentle press down. Cut off the excess pie dough leaving a 1 inch hem around the circumference. Fold the remaining crust underneath creating a plush rim for the shell. For crimping a chose a basic fork crimp, but a scallop crimp or even a classic finger crimp would look nice.
Step 2: Peaches
Once you finish shaping your pie crust the next step is to prep your peaches. Keep in mind that you will be adding a sugar cream filling on top and that you will most likely have the pie for a few days, so chose peaches that are soft but not overripe. You will need to peel the peaches. To prep the peaches for easy peeling the conventional wisdom is to shock the peaches, (the same way one concasses tomatoes). Add the peaches to a pot of boiling water for about 45 seconds, Remove and place in a pan of ice cold water. You will want to make the difference as stark as possible as it is this rapid shift in heat that shocks the fruit and releases the skin. Also it may help to etch a small x into the bottom of the peach to help with peeling.
Once peeled cut the peaches into small segments around 8 slices per peach. I found that 1 1/2 to 2 peaches was sufficient for a single pie shell. Layer the slices in a rosette pattern. It doesn't have to be perfect as you'll be covering it up but this will ensure that the slices are symmetrical when you cut the pie. Once you have finished placing the fruit it is time to start the second filling.
Step 3: Sugar Cream
If you have ever made a pudding you have made sugar cream. Add the Milk, Cream, White Sugar and Salt to a pan and bring to a boil. In another pan add the Brown Sugar and Cornstarch. Once the Cream mixture is simmering gradually beat it into the cornstarch mixture. Once completely mixed add the butter and vanilla. Stir constantly for 5 minutes or until it thickens to around the consistency of condensed milk. The color will also change slightly. Take off heat.
Pour the sugar cream over the peaches covering the pie crust evenly. The filling will be a thick liquid at this point so be careful handling. Sugar Cream is traditional garnished with Cinnamon and Fresh Nutmeg, (if you can't find it at your local supermarket try online shops or local natural food stores)
Step 4: Baking and Garnish
Place the pie on a baking sheet in a preheated 375F/190C oven. While the pie is baking lets get started on the fruit caramel.
Fruit Caramel, (which I learned how to make from this amazing article by Sarah Jampel), is actually really easy but I know that like many home cooks caramel sauce scares the absolute piss outta me. Don't worry I'll walk you through it.
First puree the peaches in a food processor or if you have a more lo-tech kitchen dice and then microwave 30 seconds at a time until mushy.
In a medium saucepan add the sugar and water and stir to mix. Afterwards add to a medium-high heat and allow it to simmer. Once you began simmering DO NOT TOUCH IT as this affects the texture. The caramel will seem not to darken at first but keep a close eye as once it starts to darken its a slippery slope to burnt sugar glass stuck to your favorite pan. Like one of those light games that you see in arcades you want to pull the caramel before it reaches the desired color. Add the fruit puree immediately after you pull the caramel off the heat this is to cool the sauce and prevent it from overcooking. I also added a touch of cream at this point to finish but use your judgement as you don't want to then your caramel too much. Depending on how well you pureed the fruit there may be some bits of the fruit left over. I strained my caramel but these pieces won't affect the taste.
After Allowing the Caramel to cool slightly I recommend transferring it to heat safe container, (I used a jelly jar.)
When you pull the pie from the oven it will not be completely set. this is normal. do not panic this is why pies need a cooling period. Allow the pie to cool preferable overnight. I noticed that these pies took a bit longer to completely set then a standard sugar cream pie. I would recommend at least 10 hours to cool but use your discretion.
Step 5: Enjoy
Once your pie has completely set, (It will be firm the the touch like a soft cheesecake), it is time to serve. Using a microwave, (or a small saucepan over low heat), warm the caramel so that it is a pourable consistency. Drizzle a fair amount of caramel over the pie slice between serving.
As this is a custard pie refrigeration is recommended to keep the filling consistency, (this pie can melt in hot weather), that being said sugar cream is surprisingly hardy so it will keep for a little over a week.
Enjoy!
Did you enjoy making this recipe? Have any Changes or problems? Suggestions for future articles/recipes? Let me know down below in the comments I'd love to hear from you.
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