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With 50 plus pounds of peaches in my freezer, it’s time to start a little peach baking. Here’s my first – Peach and Pecan Crumble Tarts – puff pastry, chopped peaches with a hint of sugar and lemon, topped with brown sugar pecan crumble mixture, baked until the pastry is flay and golden and the topping has taken on a caramel flavor. Served warm as-is or with ice cream. Also lovely as part of a brunch. And if like me, you’ve got a peach stash in the freezer, then these tarts will take very little time to throw together.

As I mentioned, this recipe is easy to make and takes little to no culinary mastery on your part. In keeping with this simple, rustic recipe I’ve not added spices and other flavorings to complicate its simplicity. Instead peaches, pecans and brown sugar are left to shine, encased in the flaky, almost fragile, puff pastry.

These are best served warm with a good dousing of powdered sugar and served with a bracing espresso or a strong pot of tea. Because they’re quite small (muffin pan hole size), they also make quite a divine dessert topped with a dollop of ice cream. You can make them ahead of time and warm them for 15 minutes in the oven before serving.

The haul of peaches I bought came from The Peach Truck: a company owned by a young couple from Nashville, Tennessee. Their company buys peaches from Georgia growers and they sell them across the US, visiting different towns and cities for people to collect the peaches they’d ordered online. Having no idea of the magnitude of the operation, I didn’t know what to expect when I went to collect my peaches, pecans and a cookbook – a white van and about 30 people was my vision. I was wrong. It was a giant semi trailer with hundreds of people lined up. It was so hot that day and I had Ramsey with me so I popped him in my little red wagon and got in the very long line that wound around like immigration and customs in an airport. It took 5 to 10 minutes and we were on our way. I will definitely be doing that again next year. If you’ve not considered it, I urge you to try. Not only is the process streamlined but the peaches are divine.

A couple of other peach recipes on Fresh Hunger you must try are: Peach, Raspberry and Nut Crumble and Brown Sugar Pavlovas with Rum Peaches.

Peach season, like summer is short so make the most of it. This Saturday is August and admittedly, I’m already looking forward to the cooler weather of autumn (sorry). Take care, chat soon, Lovoni xo

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PEACH AND PECAN CRUMBLE TARTS

Serve these tarts with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream. They’re equally as good served hot or cold. Make sure to choose peaches that are ripe but not over-ripe. You can use peaches you’ve frozen yourself, just let them thaw first. I avoid store-bought frozen peaches as they’re frozen before they’ve had a chance to ripen so they don’t have much flavor.

Prep Time20

Cook Time22

Total Time42

Course: Baking

Servings:

Calories: 367kcal

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

1 sheet puff pastry
1 1/4 lbs ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped*
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch cornflour
Powdered sugar for dusting

PECAN CRUMBLE

2/3 cup self-rising flour
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup cold butter, cut-up
2/3 cup toasted pecan halves

Instructions

To make the crumble:

Place flour, sugar and butter in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse once or twice until the butter is cut up. Add the pecans and pulse a few times until the pecans are coarsely chopped and mixture resembles very coarse crumbs – do not over process.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Grease 9 holes of a 12-hole muffin pan with melted butter or cooking spray.
Roll the pastry on a lightly floured surface until it measures an 11-inch square. Cut the pastry into 9 equal size rectangles and lightly press into the prepared muffin pan, making sure pastry comes up the side of each of the 9 greased holes.
Combine peach, sugar, juice and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Divide the mixture among the pastry cups.
Sprinkle with the crumble mixture, piling the mixture up and pressing it gently down into the peaches to use all the crumble mixture. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden and crumble is browned. Serve warm with ice cream or cream or at room temperature.

Notes

* To peel the peaches, make a small X on the bottom of each peach. Plunge peaches into a large pot of boiling water and simmer or boil for 40 to 60 seconds then transfer to a bowl of iced water (water and ice) and allow to sit until cool enough to handle. Peel away skin, cut around the peach and open if the peaches are slip stone and chop.

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