Autumn Nectarine Pie
With fresh nectarines, vanilla, cinnamon, and cardamom, this Autumn Nectarine Pie is both an ode to the fading days of summer and a welcome to the warm spices of fall baking. The interplay of late-summer fruit with autumn flavors makes for an unforgettable taste experience.
At first, I was surprised to see nectarines in a pie recipe—but once I discovered they are close botanical cousins of peaches, it made perfect sense. One of the many advantages of nectarines is their smooth skin: no peeling required. Simply wash, halve, pit, and slice.
In addition to the first-time using nectarines, I had never used tapioca flour as the thickener before. Tapioca flour, extracted from the root of the cassava plant, is tasteless and binds the juices released by fruits during baking, resulting in clear filling which allows for the natural taste to shine through.
For the topping I use the same delicious pie streusel as in our Wild Blueberry Streusel Pie recipe.
Never having used nectarines in a pie before I was happily surprised at how absolutely delicious this recipe turned out. My first piece was from the still warm pie, and with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream it was pie heaven.
Autumn Nectarine Pie
| Yield: 1 9-inch pie | # of Servings: 8 | Method: Basic fruit pie |
Ingredients:
1 recipe Pâte Brisée or Summer Pie Dough
Streusel
1 cup (4.65 oz / 132 g) all-purpose flour
â…” cup (4.75 oz / 135 g) sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 pinch kosher salt
8 tbl (4 oz / 113 g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
Pie Filling:
½ cup (3.5 oz / 100 g) granulated sugar
2 tbl + 1 tsp ( oz / g) tapioca flour
¼ tsp fine sea salt
â…› tsp ground cinnamon
â…› tsp ground cardamom
â…› tsp ground nutmeg
2 â…“ lb. nectarines, approx. 5 large or 6 medium nectarines 1
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp vanilla extract
Special tools and equipment needed:
- 1 9†pie pan2
- 1 rolling pin
- Baking sheet lined with a silpat or parchment
Pre-recipe steps:
- Wash nectarines and let dry
- Juice a lemon and measure out 1 tbl of strained juice.
Directions
Pie shell:
- Take pâte brisée or pie dough out of the refrigerator and let it rest on counter for 20 to 30 minutes, until cool but malleable.
- On a flour dusted work surface, roll out to a ⅛†thick, 13†diameter circle.
- Roll the dough around the rolling pin and drape over the pie dish, pressing into the edges of the bottom of the pan.
- Form a lip of pastry dough on the top edge and crimp.
- Place the pie pan in the refrigerator.
Streusel:
- Combine the streusel dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender, or your fingers, cut the butter into the mixture until the butter pieces are broken up and appears as coarse crumbs.
- Place in refrigerator until needed.
Filling and baking: Preheat oven to 375°F
- Place the dry ingredients for the pie filling in a medium mixing bowl and mix well with a fork or small whisk. Set aside.
- Halve the nectarines, remove the pit using a melon baller or a teaspoon, cut each half into quarters, then slice ⅛ slices into a large mixing bowl. You will need five (5) cups, 1 ½ lbs. of slices.
- Toss with the lemon juice and vanilla. Add the dry mixture and gently mix.
- Pour into unbaked pie shell. Cover fruit with streusel.
- Place pie on a heavy-duty baking sheet lined with parchment or foil, to catch fruit juices that bubble over.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375°F and bake for an additional 40 minutes, or until the fruit filling has been bubbling for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Place the pie a cooling rack, and let cool for at least 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature, with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream.
- The pie may be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes:
- You will need five cups of nectarine slices, about 1 ½ lb.
- Pyrex pie pans are my favorite for this and other pies. A standard 9-inch Pyrex pan has a 9 ¾†exterior top diameter, 9†interior top diameter, and a depth of 1 ½â€
