Raspberry and Peach Crumble Pie

The thought of pie making used to (and still does to some extent) really daunt me. Whether sweet or savoury, pie is something that everyone likes, or at least has an opinion on. For you, it might be sweet over meat, or ice cream before cream but whatever your preference, the dough has to be spot on - none of this soggy bottom business! 

I only really started making pies recently (See my Salted Honey Pie from last year) - it’s a baking challenge I’ve put off for long time for fear of not living up to all of the amazing pie I’ve sampled over the years, but I felt like I needed to conquer it nevertheless. 

With every new baking venture, the one thing that's certain is that there will be many failed attempts. This pie and my Salted Honey Pie are probably two of my most tested recipes on the blog. I can’t say I’ve totally conquered pie yet, as there’s still so many flavours and techniques to try my hand at (I’m looking at you, pastry weave), but I’m pretty proud of the pies that I have conquered... and devoured, slice after slice in the process...!

As the weather finally starts to turn around for us Brits, I thought I’d opt for a fruity number - which bought about a whole lot of soggy bottomed challenges. As the name suggests, this Raspberry and Peach Crumble Pie is really a cross between a pie and a summery crumble. The tart raspberries add the perfect zing to balance out the sweetness of the peaches, and the crumble is classic and comforting pairing to baked fruits. It's perfect warmed up and served with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream - because you can’t beat peaches (raspberries) and cream, can you?

What you need:

For the pie dough (makes one for now and one for later):
350g plain flour
1tsp salt
1tbsp caster sugar (heaped)
250 unsalted butter (cubed)
125ml water
2tbsp white wine vinegar
1 handful of ice cubes

For the pie filling:
4 medium - large ripe peaches (peeled and cut into segments)
300g raspberries
150g caster sugar
50g cornflour
1tsp vanilla
1 lemon (juice only)

For the crumble topping:
100g oats
50g plain flour
1tsp cinnamon
50g brown sugar
75g unsalted butter (cubed)

What you need to do:

For the pie dough:

1. Combine the flour, salt and caster sugar in a large mixing bowl. Remove the butter from the fridge and cut into cubes, then add half the butter to the dry mix, coating the butter with the flour. Rub the butter between your fingers, combining with the flour until you have fine breadcrumbs
2. Place the ice cubes into a small jug, then add the water and vinegar - pour half the water (holding back the ice cubes) into the mixing bowl and combine with your hands
3. Add the remaining butter and begin to flatten slightly with your hands as you mix it into the flour. Finally, add the remaining water and bring the dough together - pour out onto a lightly floured work surface and lightly knead until you have smooth dough
4. Halve the dough, then roll each half into a ball and flatten slightly - wrap one in cling film and chill in the freezer for 1 hour, and place the other piece in the fridge - you can store this for up to a month
5. Prepare your filling and topping whilst the dough is chilling...

For the pie filling:

1. Place your prepared peach segments and raspberries in a large mixing bowl
2. add the sugar, cornflour, vanilla and lemon and stir to combine (being careful not to break the raspberries up too much). Set the filling aside and prepare your topping...

For the crumble topping:

1. Place the oats, flour, cinnamon and brown sugar in a small mixing bowl and stir to combine
2. Add the cubes of butter and rub together with your fingertips until you have what resembles breadcrumbs

To assemble and bake:

1. Once the dough has chilled in the freezer, you can prepare your pie shell using a 9” pie pan. Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface until large enough to fill the pie dish (with overhang). Roll the dough over your rolling pin, and then unroll over your pie dish
2. Trim the edges slightly until you have around 1cm of extra dough - then fold the overhang underneath, creating a ‘wall’ of dough around the rim
3. Crimp the dough by pushing the dough inside the pie with your index finger, then squeezing with your thumb and index finger outside the pie to create little crimps, all the way around
4. Pour your filling into the shell and then sprinkle with your crumble topping
5. Place the pie back in the freezer for 15 minutes and preheat your oven
6. When the pie is ready to bake, place the dish on a foil lined baking tray and bake for 15 minutes on 200°C, before turning it down to 180°C to bake for a further 60-75 minutes
7. Just before the pie is ready to come out, lightly brush the crust with a milk/egg wash
8. Once golden brown, remove the pie from the oven and leave to cool and the filling to set - ideally for around 2 hours - before cutting into it
9. Serve with a big dollop of vanilla ice cream!