Everybody knows that peaches and cream go well together, so it makes sense to think that peaches would also pair perfectly with creme fraiche. I recently discovered that you can make creme friache at home with just heavy cream and buttermilk – which is way cheaper than buying it! I used the thick, creamy, and tart product in not one, not two, not three, but FOUR peach recipes. So let’s dig in!
First up is a pie that I have blogged about before, but am bringing up again because it is just so freaking good. Peaches, creme fraiche, and streusel – layered into tender, flaky pie crust. Definitely one of my favorite pies ever.
Next up we have muffins made moist with the help of creme fraiche, packed with chunks of juicy peach, and with a little kick from both fresh and candied ginger. My husband LOVED these – we went through all 24 muffins in 2 weeks!
What is better in the summer than a lovely bowl of ice cream? This peach sherbet gets it’s tart creaminess from (you guessed it!) homemade creme fraiche.
It’s pretty easy to make, too, as far as ice cream goes. You do have to cook the peaches first, and then chill them. But after that it is just blend and freeze!
Last, but not least, is a white peach and lemon thyme galette served with sweetened creme fraiche. I, foolishly, did not notice that my peaches weren’t ripe before I peeled them and had to get a bit creative, poaching them in honey, lemon thyme, and white wine in order to soften them before baking.
There are many recipes to choose from here, all of them delicious. Enjoy those peaches while they last!
Homemade Creme Fraiche
2 cups heavy cream
3 tbsp buttermilk
Combine in a glass bowl or jar. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit out for 24 hours. Once thickened, transfer to refrigerator.
Peaches and Cream Pie
from Martha Stewart
(I used this pie dough instead of the pate sucree this time.)
For the Pate Sucree:
1 1/4 cups flour, plus more for dusting
2 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
2 tbsp ice water, plus more if needed
For the Streusel:
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup cold (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
For the Filling:
1 1/2 lbs ripe (4 to 5 medium) yellow peaches, pitted and quartered
2 tbsp granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
5 tbsp creme fraiche
Make the pate sucree: Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter; process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. Add egg yolk, and pulse. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube until dough just holds together. Turn out dough onto a work surface; shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour (up to 2 days).
Make the streusel: Sift together sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Using your hands or a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9 1/2- or 10-inch pie plate (about 1 1/2 inches deep). Trim edge to 1 inch; fold under, and crimp as desired. Pierce bottom of dough all over with a fork. Transfer to freezer for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover edge of crust with foil. Line crust with parchment paper, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake, covered, 10 minutes. Remove weights and parchment (keep foil on edge). Bake until pale golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly; remove foil; reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.
Make the filling: Put peaches into a medium bowl, and sprinkle with sugar and salt; gently toss to coat. let stand 15 minutes. Spread 2 tablespoons creme fraiche onto bottom of crust; sprinkle with one-third of the streusel. Arrange peaches on top; spread or dot with remaining 3 tablespoons creme fraiche. Sprinkle with remaining streusel.
Bake pie until creme fraiche is bubbling and streusel is golden brown, about 50 minutes. Cover edge of crust with foil if it’s browning too quickly. Let cool on a wire rack 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Peach and Ginger Muffins
Adapted from: Playing With My Food
Makes: 24 muffins
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour (I used 2 cups wheat flour, 1 1/4 cups AP)
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 eggs
1 1/3 cup sugar
10 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup creme fraiche, at room temp
1 cup milk, at room temp
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 ripe peaches, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 2 12-cup muffin tins with nonstick baking spray (I used coconut oil).
Sift together all dry ingredients into a large bowl. In a medium bowl whisk eggs, slowly whisk in sugar, butter, milk, creme fraiche, and vanilla until well combined. Pour into the flour mixture and fold gently with a rubber spatula until just combined. Gently fold in peaches and ginger. Do not overmix.
Spoon into muffin tins, filling to the rim. Bake about 30 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown on top and spring back when pressed in the middle. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then remove from pan.
Best eaten the day they are made, or they can be frozen. Reheat directly from the freezer in a 300F oven for 8-10 minutes.
Tangy Peach Sherbet
Adapted from David Lebovitz via Perfect Scoop
1 1/2 lbs ripe peaches
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup creme fraiche (you can use plain yogurt to make frozen yogurt, but it must be full fat)
A few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice
Peel the peaches, remove the pits, and cut fruit into small chunks. Place peaches in a medium nonreactive saucepan, add water, cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until soft and cooked through (about 10 minutes). Remove from the heat, stir in the sugar, and transfer to a medium bowl. Chill in refrigerator until compeltely cool.
When the peaches are cool, transfer to a food processor or blender. Add creme fraiche and puree until almost smooth (leave some peach chunks). Mix in a few drop of lemon juice. Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Place plastic or parchment over ice cream (to prevent ice crystals) and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
White Peach and Lemon Thyme Galette
adapted from Food 52
As I said earlier, my peaches were unripe. So instead of following this recipe exactly, I took the thyme infused honey, dumped it into a pot with the sliced peaches, added some white wine, and poached them until soft. Then I drained the peaches and followed the instructions from there, sweetening the creme fraiche with some of the poaching liquid.
1/3 cup honey
10 to 15 sprigs of fresh lemon thyme, or regular thyme if you can’t find it
4 large white peaches, each peeled and sliced into wedges
2 cups flour, chilled in the freezer for 15 minutes, plus an additional 2 tsp
2 tsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp table salt
10 tbsp very cold butter, cut into cubes (I used 6 tbsp butter and 4 tbsp lard)
1/2 cup ice water
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp milk or water
1 cup creme fraiche
In a small saucepan, bring the honey and thyme just to a boil, then remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Gently toss the peaches with 2 tsp of the flour to coat thoroughly, then toss them with 2 tbsp of the honey. Set the peaches aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the cold flour, sugar, and salt together. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or forks until the mixture looks like slightly chunky wet sand. Using a fork, stir in 5 tablespoons of water to bring the dough together. You might need to add in another 2 or 3 tablespoons of water, but be careful not to add too much; the dough will leave some unincorporated crumbs at the bottom of the bowl, and the dough itself should not feel at all wet. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and briefly work the dough by hand to mix the crumbs into the dough. The dough should not look smooth and completely homogeneous; you want to see discernible bits of butter. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 deg F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a circle roughly 14 to 16 inches across and transfer it to the center of a parchment lined baking sheet. Pile the peaches in the center of dough so that there is about a 2-inch border of dough surrounding the fruit. With lightly floured fingertips, create the galette by bringing up the edges of the dough up and over the edge of the fruit. Overlap the folds and gently pinch them together; continue working around the fruit until there you’ve formed a lightly mounded volcano of dough with the fruit visible in the mouth of it.
Lightly whisk the egg yolk with the milk or water, and brush it over the dough. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the dough is golden and the fruit begins to soften a bit. Remove from the oven and allow to cool until it’s just warm.
Mix 2 tablespoons of the thyme-infused honey with the creme fraiche. Serve a warm slice of the galette with a generous dollop of the creme fraiche.