MAKES ONE 9-INCH TART
With a name like this, who can resist? If you have fantasized about your (or someone else’s) mother’s peach pie, then this is a dessert to make as soon as peaches hit their prime. It is homey yet sophisticated, which is what we would all like to be.
Don’t waste your time using peaches that have no aroma. To taste terrific, peaches must be fabulously fragrant, right then and there in the market when you are lifting them to your nose.
This dessert, still wearing the warmth of the oven, is more than enough for the stuff of dreams, but if you want to gild the lily, add a scoop of ginger, lemon, or mango ice cream (pages 487, 490, and 491, respectively).
8 firm but ripe, fragrant peaches (about 3 pounds)
Finely grated zest of 1 scrubbed lemon
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
⅓ cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Prebaked Tart Shell (page 463), partially baked
Hazelnut Streusel Topping (recipe follows)
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Move an oven rack to the top position.
2. Cut each peach lengthwise in half, pit, and quarter each half into wedges. Combine the fruit with the lemon zest and lemon juice in a heavy non-aluminum saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the peaches are wilted and soft, 5 to 8 minutes.
3. Drain the peaches, reserving ¼ cup of the cooking juice. Return the juice to the saucepan and stir in the sugar and cornstarch. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the mixture turns glossy and slightly thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour the mixture over the peaches and toss gently to blend.
4. Spoon the peaches into the tart shell. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the fruit, keeping the streusel about ½ inch from the rim. (It will expand when baked.)
5. Bake until the streusel is golden, 45 to 55 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool.
6. Serve the tart warm or cool.
Ice cream served with a tart is pleasure times two! Who can resist the thought of something à la mode, especially if the something is a freshly baked tart? Our spicy ginger ice cream is the perfect yin-yang partner to many of our tarts, but our other light ice creams may tempt you even more.
Whipping some cold cream into the soft, sexy peaks that the French call crème chantilly is another great accompaniment, either plopped alongside or on top of a slice of tart. If you use great fresh cream, don’t add sugar, vanilla, or booze. This is typically done, but in my opinion it’s a distraction if the cream you’re using tastes terrific.
MAKES 1¾ CUPS, ENOUGH FOR ONE 9-INCH TART
Heaping ½ cup (2 ounces) hazelnuts
Streusel Topping (page 475)
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Move an oven rack to the middle position.
2. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast until the skins blister and the nuts turn golden beneath their skins, 10 to 12 minutes.
Promptly fold the hot nuts into a clean, dry kitchen towel and rub together to remove most of the skins.
3. Coarsely chop the nuts. Add to the streusel topping and toss to combine.