Gingery Peach Crisp

This simple, summery dessert is based on a couple of Jim Dodge’s recipes in The American Baker.

Fri, Feb 05 2010 at 2:56 PM

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Gingery Peach Crisp

Ingredients

10 medium peaches, ripe but firm
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1⁄2 cup (about 3 ounces) crystallized ginger, coarsely chopped
10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 cup bread flour

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
Wash and dry the peaches, but do not peel.
Cut into eighths and place in a mixing bowl.
Combine the cornstarch and 3 tablespoons of the sugar, add to the peaches, and toss to coat; stir in the ginger.
Spread the contents of the bowl in a shallow 2 1⁄2-quart baking dish.
Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces.
Combine in the bowl of an electric mixer with the flour and the remaining 1 cup sugar.
Mix with the paddle attachment at low speed until crumbly; stop mixing as soon as the color begins to show yellowish.
Spread the topping over the fruit and bake until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling around the edges, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature, plain or with vanilla ice cream.

Yield

Serves 10

Time estimates

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 1 hr

Total time: 1 hr 30 min

Good to know

Most of what I know about desserts I have learned from my wife Elaine Ratner and indirectly from pastry chef Jim Dodge, with whom Elaine worked on two classic cookbooks. This simple, summery dessert is based on a couple of Jim’s recipes in The American Baker. A stand mixer with a paddle attachment makes short work of preparing the crisp topping; if you don’t have a mixer with a paddle, rub the butter together with the flour and sugar as if making pie dough, and when it reaches the consistency of coarse meal, gently press it together into pea-sized clumps.

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